Connecting Your Community

I am currently the Manager of The Watch.

I was a police officer for nearly 29 years in Lethbridge, from 1985 to 2014.  I held 11 different jobs through four ranks during my tenure, retiring as an Inspector in 2014.  After retiring I worked as a safety coordinator for a local custom home builder, I was the Regional Manager for the Commissionaires for a year and a half providing security services for a number of clients in Southern Alberta, and I was an instructor at a local private vocational school a curriculum I had developed for them for Security Professional and as a provincially certified Basic Security Training and Private Investigator Training instructor. 

I started with The Watch as a volunteer in the first training class in April of 2019.  I saw it as an opportunity to give back to a community that had been so generous to my family and I in a way that I was familiar with.  My family was into volunteering, especially my wife who is a past president of the Lethbridge and District YWCA and the Lethbridge and District Boys and Girls Club.  She had volunteered at our daughter’s schools in addition to that, and now it was my turn.  Besides, I was mostly retired so I had time to give back. We have two grown daughters who live with their husbands and children in Lethbridge.  One of our daughters is a nurse and one is an emergency dispatcher in the Lethbridge Public Safety Communications Centre.  We have four grand children, a boy and three girls, ages 9, 7, 5 and 2.   

The Watch Manager’s job became vacant when our initial manager left in September last year,  and we had an acting Manager who was doing a great job but was set to start training as a Community Peace Officer in the spring.  I was asked to apply for the Manager’s position last December, which was the furthest thing from my mind as I was very content being a volunteer and being mostly retired at that time.  However there was a need in the community and I saw it as an opportunity to ensure there was something good being done in the community to address an large problem, and it was an opportunity to develop The Watch into a positive social partner to help solve that problem, so I applied.  Here I am eight months later…not retired and enjoying the work.

I am currently the Manager of The Watch.

I was a police officer for nearly 29 years in Lethbridge, from 1985 to 2014.  I held 11 different jobs through four ranks during my tenure, retiring as an Inspector in 2014.  After retiring I worked as a safety coordinator for a local custom home builder, I was the Regional Manager for the Commissionaires for a year and a half providing security services for a number of clients in Southern Alberta, and I was an instructor at a local private vocational school a curriculum I had developed for them for Security Professional and as a provincially certified Basic Security Training and Private Investigator Training instructor. 

I started with The Watch as a volunteer in the first training class in April of 2019.  I saw it as an opportunity to give back to a community that had been so generous to my family and I in a way that I was familiar with.  My family was into volunteering, especially my wife who is a past president of the Lethbridge and District YWCA and the Lethbridge and District Boys and Girls Club.  She had volunteered at our daughter’s schools in addition to that, and now it was my turn.  Besides, I was mostly retired so I had time to give back. We have two grown daughters who live with their husbands and children in Lethbridge.  One of our daughters is a nurse and one is an emergency dispatcher in the Lethbridge Public Safety Communications Centre.  We have four grand children, a boy and three girls, ages 9, 7, 5 and 2.   

The Watch Manager’s job became vacant when our initial manager left in September last year,  and we had an acting Manager who was doing a great job but was set to start training as a Community Peace Officer in the spring.  I was asked to apply for the Manager’s position last December, which was the furthest thing from my mind as I was very content being a volunteer and being mostly retired at that time.  However there was a need in the community and I saw it as an opportunity to ensure there was something good being done in the community to address an large problem, and it was an opportunity to develop The Watch into a positive social partner to help solve that problem, so I applied.  Here I am eight months later…not retired and enjoying the work.

My name is Jen Visser and I’m the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge and District. I’ve been part of this organization for 10 years and have seen first hand the lasting impact that volunteer based mentoring has on our community. I moved to Lethbridge in 2002 to pursue my university education and choose to stay in Lethbridge post graduation. I’m married to my husband Jordan and together we have an 8 year old son, Aiden. 

My name is Jen Visser and I’m the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge and District. I’ve been part of this organization for 10 years and have seen first hand the lasting impact that volunteer based mentoring has on our community. I moved to Lethbridge in 2002 to pursue my university education and choose to stay in Lethbridge post graduation. I’m married to my husband Jordan and together we have an 8 year old son, Aiden. 

My name is Sarah Heringer. I am the mother of two wonderful children- a son, 12, and a daughter, 10. I am here because I lost my partner to suicide July 30th. My intentions are to raise awareness about the disconnect for services available, to acknowledge the divide for men to speak about mental health, and to stress the importance that we freely discuss mental health and addiction to our youth to remove the stigma.

My name is Sarah Heringer. I am the mother of two wonderful children- a son, 12, and a daughter, 10. I am here because I lost my partner to suicide July 30th. My intentions are to raise awareness about the disconnect for services available, to acknowledge the divide for men to speak about mental health, and to stress the importance that we freely discuss mental health and addiction to our youth to remove the stigma.

Bullying – what are some possible solutions?

This podcast highlights incidents of bullying along with researched solutions. After review of various solutions, we also tap into the Anti-bullying bylaw brought forward in Chestermere, AB. While looking for solutions through a restorative lens. We understand countless children and youth are experiencing this social issue and this is not fair. Our hope is to come together to continue to raise awareness while reviewing solutions.

Bullying doesn’t just happen for this cohort. Adults within the workplace and also in public settings are also experiencing the same. Statistics are showing an increase of this behavior being tolerated with very little being done.

We thank the local community organizations and volunteers assisting those who have or are experiencing bullying. We look forward to continued community conversations around this issue. We believe the Community of Lethbridge can come together through positive conversation and engagement  to do our best to eliminate this distasteful issue while lifting one another up.

If you have other alternative options that we did not cover, we invite your ideas. This is an issue that has taken the lives of many who have experienced bullying to a level they felt their lives were not worth living anymore. Enough is enough. 

Bullying – what are some possible solutions?

This podcast highlights incidents of bullying along with researched solutions. After review of various solutions, we also tap into the Anti-bullying bylaw brought forward in Chestermere, AB. While looking for solutions through a restorative lens. We understand countless children and youth are experiencing this social issue and this is not fair. Our hope is to come together to continue to raise awareness while reviewing solutions.

Bullying doesn’t just happen for this cohort. Adults within the workplace and also in public settings are also experiencing the same. Statistics are showing an increase of this behavior being tolerated with very little being done.

We thank the local community organizations and volunteers assisting those who have or are experiencing bullying. We look forward to continued community conversations around this issue. We believe the Community of Lethbridge can come together through positive conversation and engagement  to do our best to eliminate this distasteful issue while lifting one another up.

If you have other alternative options that we did not cover, we invite your ideas. This is an issue that has taken the lives of many who have experienced bullying to a level they felt their lives were not worth living anymore. Enough is enough.