Westworld Saskatchewan

Speaker'S Corner 6 w e s t w o r l d | F a l l 2 0 1 5 My journey as chair of the CAA Saskatche- wan board of directors is coming to an end. During the past two years, I enjoyed leading a group of talented and highly capable board directors who provide expertise in many areas including finance, audit, business manage- ment, marketing, civic and provincial affairs, communications, transportation and law. We have a full slate of 12 directors from around the province, including Prince Albert, Saska- toon, Regina, Moose Jaw, Regina Beach, York- ton, Swift Current and Weyburn. At this time, I'd like to congratulate Heather J. Laing, Q.C., as the incoming chair of the board. During my term, I had the privilege of representing our motor club regionally as well as nationally with the CAA federation of nine automobile associations, and also with AAA, our sister organization. At the June CAA National Annual General Meeting, we recog- nized Dr. William (Bill) Elliott, whose term ended as chair of the CAA National board of directors. Dr. Elliott has done a tremendous job of representing CAA nationally, as well as his home club of Saskatchewan. As the appointed representative for CAA Saskatche- wan, I will be working with Bill Graham (South Central Ontario), the new chair of the CAA National board of directors, striving to advance the interests of CAA's 6.6 million members. To support our core travel, insurance, membership and automotive business lines over the past two years, we have restructured our CAA Regina Car Care Centre to better serve our members and now operate a retail battery store. We also remain a strong advo- cate for motorists and travellers, supporting traffic safety while addressing related public policy issues. is past March, Fred Titanich, president and CEO of CAA Saskatchewan, and I met with the Honourable Nancy Hep- pner, minister of Highways and Infrastruc- ture. We discussed CAA communications related to highway safety, such as the CAA Worst Roads campaign, as well as ministry updates on several projects including the twinning of Hwys 6 and 39 to the U.S. border. We expressed our interest in future joint communications and actions on highway safety. In closing, I would like to thank the board of directors and staff of CAA Saskatchewan for their commitment in serving our approxi- mate 185,000 valued members. And thanks as well to our members for joining CAA Saskatchewan. caask.ca/about-caa/welcome- caa-saskatchewan/board-directors –Barry D. Martin, P. Eng. Regina Chair of the Board Serving Slip-up I read your magazine as soon as it arrives in my mailbox. Love all the articles. e cover of the summer 2015 magazine gave us a lovely view of what one can expect in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. Having enjoyed four wine festivals, which included many fabulous meals, I was fortunate to never encounter a server like the one in the photo who is either serving watermelon with her bare hands or clearing a plate. Either procedure would not meet food safety regulations. –Diane Lemon, Regina Time to Chill I enjoyed Liz Bryan's "Arctic Dreams" (Sum- mer 2015) and the spectacular photographs. I do, however, take issue with her breezy claims in the sidebar where she answers the questions "is the ice really melting" and "is global warming a cold reality" firmly in the affirmative. I'm sorry, but a September voy- age from Cambridge Bay to western Green- land is hardly the stuff of sound scientific observation. Given the context that we are in the aftermath of the Pleistocene glacia- tions, so that there has indeed been long- term natural warming, observations during recorded history suggest that we are in a period of relative stability. It is regrettable that Ms. Bryan felt obliged to promote an alarmist party line instead of doing her scientific homework. Disaster deadlines have come and gone, repeatedly: when will journalists like her wisen up? ––Brian Pratt, Saskatoon Writer's response: My conclusions were not based on this single voyage but on readings of many experts in many different fields. I suggest reading Our Ice Is Vanishing: A History of Inuit, Newcomers and Climate Change, the book by Shelley Wright that was launched aboard the Akademik Sergey Vavilov. –Liz Bryan Correction: e waterfall in the photograph on pages 36-37 (Summer 2015) was incor- rectly identified as Gullfoss. e correct name is Skogafoss, also in Iceland. W Write us: Speaker's Corner, Westworld Saskatchewan, 200 Albert Street N., Regina, SK S4R 5E2; email: caa.admin@caask.ca. Letters may be edited for clarity and brevity. Moving Along Dr. Bill Elliott (right) and Bill Graham at CAA National; (l-r) Fred Titanich, Minister Nancy Heppner and Barry Martin.

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