Weyburn and the surrounding area helped the province wide effort to raise over $540,000 for Stars Air Ambulance Service on Thursday.

Six business and community leaders from across the province took part in the Rescue on the Prairies Fundraising event. You can read more about it here.

"They took us to the base in Saskatoon, to the Stars base. We had a quick breakfast and the alarms went off and we had our first challenge to complete. Then we were into helicopters off to an undisclosed location outside of Saskatoon. Throughout the course of the day, they had us doing some different challenges amongst the participants and fundraising as well in between all that. It was a terrific day and we raised some money for STARS which is what it was all about," said Weyburn's Dan Cugnet, Board Chairman, Valleyview Petroleum Ltd.

Cugnet is grateful to the support of Weyburn and the surrounding communities in South east Saskatchewan.

"Individually, I managed to account for about $120,000 of that (total amount raised), which is a real credit to the community, and not just Weyburn but South east Saskatchewan." Cugnet also mentioned the communities of Yellow Grass, Creelman, Filmore, Midale and Estevan in reference to the supportive communities as well as places further away.

Photo courtesy Dan Cugnet.

When asked about the kind of challenges involved in the Rescue on the Prairies Fundraiser, Cugnet explained how one challenge involved being timed to get ready to go including putting on the gear and getting to the Helicopter.

"There was a medical challenge that was a series of the different things a Medic would have to do. They had a roping challenge which unfortunately as a farm kid I should have been much better at than I was."

Each challenge had a corporate sponsor who would put funds towards the participant's individual goals.

Cugnet talked about the amazing experience he had.

"The entire crew with STARS from the ground crew to pilots to the medics, nurses, their staff, it's amazing what they do and the difference that they make in the lives of so many Saskatchewan families every day. Getting to see where they work and how they work and the things they do is just incredible."

For those wanting to donate to STARS Air Ambulance, can do so at their site.

Photo courtesy Dan Cugnet.