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Roy to be recognized as 2007 Citizen of the Year |
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Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
A long-standing contributor to the area, Roy Reti's efforts have shown dedication, determination and a desire to make a difference in the community in which he lives.
With that, he has been named Citizen of the Year by the Taber and District Chamber of Commerce.
By Sharon Ulrich
Taber Times
At seven years of age, Reti came to Taber with his family in 1943 from Meath Park, Sask. in a box car, which he refers to as the mode of transportation at the time.
"From what I remember and what they tell me, it took a week to come down."
L.T. Westlake school was the first school he attended and after high school in Taber, he went on to the Olds School of Agriculture for two years as a means to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a farmer.
After six years working at the sugar factory, Reti bought out his dad's farm and operated a mixed livestock irrigation farm seven miles north of town. In 1998, after almost 40 years, he sold the family farm and moved to Taber.
Although hands-on farming is no longer for Reti, his involvement carries forth in volunteerism.
On the South Alta Rural Electrification Association (REA) board for close to 40 years, he started on the Taber Bend REA board, and also involved himself provincially for two terms as vice-president of the Federation of REA, a provincial lobby group on behalf of rural electrical issues.
"It's very interesting," says Reti of his years with rural electrification. "You're working with fellow farmers and there's some involvement with the farming industry. It's benefiting the farming industry. I think just about anything I've been involved in, is because I felt there was a need and I felt that I could have something to offer."
Where he explains a rural electrical distribution system as one built, owned and operated by the farmers or by the people they serve, during his time, Reti recalls negotiations allowing REAs to provide three-phase services and most recently providing energy to its members under the regulated rate where, in its success, $500,000 has been rebated back to contract holders.
"Some people think that government input and controls through the public utilities board governs utility companies effectively or governs them enough so people are not infringed on. Through the REA system, we still own about 45 per cent of the base farm service load in the province - the utility companies are controlling the rest of it. This way, through rural electrification, the farmers, the rural people still have a voice. They still have a voice with government before industry."
His contributions could not have been realized without the acknowledged support of his wife, Geri, and three children who also helped him in his efforts. From Geri, who edited his speeches and reports, to his entire family who picked up the slack on the farm, through calving seasons and farrowing sows when duties for the federation board called Reti to Edmonton, he is thankful. With that, Reti's service extends far beyond his work with rural electrification and his lifetime of involvement with Knox United Church, which now finds him near completion of a large renovation project for the hall. In the 1960s, Reti was involved with the junior Chamber of Commerce. He has also been a Chinook Health board member for six years and now serves as president of the Taber Kiwanis Club, of which he has been a member since 1998.
Along with fellowship, Reti has found enjoyment through community involvement with Kiwanis' Taber Walking Trail System project and through the schools with BUG and Terrific Kids programs, along with support for awards programs at W.R. Myers, St. Mary's and Dr. Hamman schools and area 4-H programs.
Providing the manpower for Cornfest and the community breakfast each Canada Day, and rebuilding the park on the south side of Taber a couple of years ago, are more ways he has found satisfaction through Kiwanis.
With time to donate to community needs, Reti has enjoyed his life in the last 10 years. And with the completion of a project, he finds not only a sense of satisfaction but appreciation from people who may in turn involve themselves.
"You're usually doing something for people because there's a need, so if you can fulfill that need or service to make life a little easier or understand the community a little better, I think people respect the volunteer donating his time. And I think sometimes, a lot of them will tend to get involved because of it. It snowballs if you get it rolling."
Nominated as Citizen of the Year by Helen Wentz, she says while she has known Reti for a long time, it has only been the last few years she has noticed how many things he volunteers for. In everything he does, it is done willingly and cheerfully, she adds, which in her determination showed he deserved to be recognized.
"I know about all the volunteer work he did with the Rural Electrification Association but also in Kiwanis, all the different projects that we do. He's always one to volunteer - whether it's working in a playground or whether it's working on the trail system or selling raffle tickets. Any project that we do, he just is one of the first to volunteer all the time, and he always does a really good job. He follows through."
Equivalent to his volunteerism, are the mannerisms he has in going about it, which Wentz finds not only of importance but to serve as an example to others.
"I guess that's maybe one of the reasons you nominate somebody for an award like this, is that you want to honour them but you also want to show them as an example for other people," she explains. "I just think that the pleasant way he goes about his volunteering is just inspirational."
Reti often wonders where the community would be if it weren't for the volunteers, and finds there are other people just as deserving of his recent honour.
"To me, it's real humbling. You see a lot of people within the churches that donate a lot of time and effort, the hospital in long-term care, the visiting they do, the playing of cards that they do, the involvement with parents in youth programs and sports programs, the Terry Fox Run and all these things... With everybody doing their little part, why I was selected in being Citizen of the Year, I don't feel I'm any more deserving than the next person." |
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