A few eyebrows were raised at last week's Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show in Weyburn, as the Kindersley Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Town of Kindersley to set up a booth about 500 km away from home.
In attendance with the Chamber was Executive Director Kevin Martin, Kindersley mayor Rod Perkins, and town councillor Gary Becker. Bringing facts and statistics from the oilfield across the province, the west-central group quickly fit right in with the southeast Saskatchewan oil crowd.
The appearance at the multi-day show carried out a plan in place since July. The executive director Martin talked about the reasoning behind the trip, and what their booth offered to the passersby.
"We are always trying to attract new companies and new businesses and people to town. Because Kindersley is a great place to live, work, and play." said Martin, as with a town slogan like "Experience our Energy, the oilfield plays a massive part in the local economy. "We also wanted to expand the oil and gas section out here too, have them more involved with the Chamber. We were advised that we should either have our own show, or have a presence at the one in Weyburn which is every two years."
Having more experience with trade-show's than an oil and gas show, Martin and the group made the decision to reserve space in Weyburn to show what Kindersley is all about. The show attracts about 4000-5000 people, and Martin says they split the cost of the booth with the Town of Kindersley.
"We just extold all the great reasons to come to Kindersley, and be apart of us up here. A lot of the people we talked to have heard of us, some have driven through, some have worked up here, so it wasn't totally new for some of them. But we did get a lot of 'Kindersley, what the heck are you doing down here?'" said Martin, though the confusion was quickly cleared after discovering a common goal. "I think we got our point across, and we spoke a lot about what's going on up here, and what we are doing and how progressive we are trying to be. I think overall it was a win-win."
A past picture from the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show (File Photo)Martin learned of similar shows in Lloydminster and Calgary. When asked if they would go back to Weyburn, Martin gave a resounding yes, as the five hour drive is a lot more feasible at the moment than creating their own show closer to town.
"We would love to do it again in two years. The Chamber produced a 40-page attraction portfolio that really is quite the document. It's quite something and it shows everything that Kindersley does... Just a perfect thing to have, and that's what we were giving out to people." said Martin as he made a point to hand out those documents while checking out the show himself.
The southeast based show had about 200 exhibits to offer. Martin shared some of his main takeaways as a consumer.
"Even though it is industry specific, I think anyone who's not in that industry and I include myself, it was very fascinating to see the equipment they are using, the techniques they are using, and the tools they are making." he recalled, calling everyone in attendance passionate about what they do. "It's really neat to see, and a lot of cool stuff, things you don't think about when your not in the business."
Martin was especially intrigued by the announcement made regarding new oil and gas related high school courses.
"It's a big time for the oil and gas industry as far education, and getting that information into schools too which is cool."
For more content from the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show, find stories in the related articles section below from our friends at DiscoverWeyburn.
Wed, Jul 17, 7:30 PM
