The King’s representative in Saskatchewan, Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty, paid a visit to Saskatchewan Tuesday. Over the course of the day, he visited Saint Michael School, the Weyburn Legion, and Parkway Lodge, leaving a positive impression on everyone he met for the day.  

“One of the nicest parts of this role is being able to travel around the province, and meet with people from all walks of life, at every stage of life, even, and just to listen to them, hear from there, share my story,” Mirasty told Discover Weyburn. 

This is the second visit to The Opportunity City since taking on the role of Lieutenant Governor in July 2019. His previous visit saw him pay a visit to the Soo Line Historical Museum, and visiting around the community.  

It is the communities themselves in Saskatchewan that are of most interest to Mirasty.  

“Hearing about the history of communities interests me personally, just how they were established, how they’ve evolved to what they are today, and certainly that, I guess, from an individual perspective but also being lieutenant governor it’s nice to get a little more detailed information about communities,” Mirasty said. “A lot of that’s just more personal curiosity than anything. It’s fascinating to hear from people, about people, and what they’ve done in their communities.” 

What people have done in the community was one of the key reasons for Mirasty’s visit to Weyburn on Tuesday. Just before lunch, he presented the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers to Harold Whiteoak at the Weyburn Legion. 

The SMV is a national award created in 2016, replacing what was then called the Governor Genera’s Caring Canadian Award. The medal recognizes the volunteer achievements of Canadians throughout the country, and it is the highest honour for volunteer service a Canadian can receive within the Canadian Honours System. 

Mirasty noted Saskatchewan as a whole, along with Weyburn, is known for its volunteerism. 

“As you start to hear more personal, specific stories around that, then you start to see there’s really something to this, and when we’re able to present that kind of recognition to an individual it really is given with meaning, knowing that there’s an underlying story to that person and to that organization, and by extension, that community.” 

It was noticed by many that Mirasty himself was very approachable throughout the day, despite some being possibly intimidated by the office. 

“I can go way back to when I was raised, my family was very much welcoming to people, and accommodating, and very respectful of others,” Mirasty said. “I carried those kinds of traits, I suppose, or principles, with me as I’ve done work in the RCMP, later in government and now in this role, but more particularly in this role.”  

He added he and his wife Donna work hard to make sure that people are comfortable around them. This allows for the conversations to be two-way conversations, which helps Mirasty to do something he has always had a keen interest in – learning about people. 

“They’re the ones that carry those stories, those experiences. It’s always really enlightening, but also heartwarming to hear those stories from them.” 

Photos by Mack Kohl

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