Alberta Game Warden 30^th Anniversary Conference

By Jason Hanson – Fish and Wildlife officer and Past President AGWA

On March 22, 2003 the Alberta Game Warden Association celebrated its 30^th Year Anniversary. It was a time to reflect upon what we have done as a group of dedicated officers to encourage camaraderie amongst members and to promote safer working conditions throughout the province. 30 years previous to “March 22,” 2003, about 50 Fish and Wildlife officers met in an Edmonton Hotel where they voted on the establishment of an association that would hopefully cast far into the future and (maybe once or twice) make things better for the average field officer.

Interestingly enough, the association has always been about the working “field” officer. Managers are allowed to belong only as “associate” members and retain no voting status so that little influence can effect the direction of the association. Now retired, first President Bob Adams confided to me that once the association was established, his first duty as “president” was to walk over to his boss (a manager) and ask him to leave the room . . . an association for the working “field” officer. I can’t imagine that everything was the same between Bob and his boss from that day forward, but I respect the resolve to stand for your principles and to abide the wishes of the membership.

Officers celebrated their anniversary by incorporating the weekend into one that would benefit them with educational workshops. Officers learned specific skills such as how to measure fish filets to determine the overall size a fish would have been whole. They also were treated to seminars put on by Constitutional Lawyers Rob Normey and Stan Rutwind; and a presentation by Paul Moreau on how to present good witness testimony in court. The President of the Alberta Professional Outfitters Society (APOS) Ryk Visscher teamed up with the Executive Director of the Hunting For Tomorrow Foundation, Kelly Semple and gave very informative presentations on the past, present and what appears to be very bright futures for both of their organizations. A former Fish and Wildlife officer and old friend of the Association returned to offer up his expertise on interpreting the “language used” by violators or suspected violators designed to enable officers to better determine the truthfulness of any statements made. Chief Crown Prosecutor Debra Drissell shared her knowledge with officers about arrest and detention of persons suspected of committing wildlife crimes, and the limitations placed upon officers in accordance with the Alberta Wildlife Act. All seminars and workshops were highly applicable to officers in the field today. So much so that wildlife officers from other jurisdictions (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories) and Federal Jurisdictions (Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of Fisheries and Oceans) attended to benefit from the experts that the AGWA called upon for their presentations.

Although the theme of the conference was all business; after hours focused more on the social aspects of the of the event. After Friday wound up its workshops and business meetings, Stony Plain Fish and Wildlife officer, Al Boechler, treated the crowd with in house musical Entertainment put on by his own family band “Beginner’s Luck”. Silent auctions, raffles, comedic Entertainment and recognition awards rounded off each evening. On the first night, Beginner’s Luck brought out the children in droves who danced to the oldies. Silent auctions and raffles were extremely successful with many thanks going to all of the businesses mentioned at the end of this article; and to all of the officers who worked hard to support their association by patroning those businesses.

Following more educational seminars and business meetings, Saturday evening came and then was the time for the association to recognize its members for many of their outstanding achievements. The time had come to honour the AGWA Officer of the Year; to honour the Editor of the Alberta Game Warden Magazine in celebration of its 15^th year in production; and the time had come to honour two of our members for feats of Valor.

The evening was “Mastered” by David England who kept the events flowing and entertained the crowd of officers, their spouses and families, and the many invited guests such as: the current Minister of Infrastructure, and Fish and Wildlife’s former Minister, the Honourable Ty Lund. The present Deputy Minister of the Alberta Solicitor General’s Department, and Fish and Wildlife’s former Deputy Minister and past Association President, J.R. Nichols. Fish and Wildlife’s Assistant Deputy Minister, Ken Ambrock. The President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, Dan Maclennen; and the President of the Alberta Outfitters Society Ryk Visscher. The President of the W.I.S.E. Foundation Robert Gruzecky, and his Worship the Mayor of Swan Hills and former Fish and Wildlife officer and Association member, Gary Pollock. Best selling author, former Director of Enforcement within Fish and Wildlife and first Association President Robert Adams; and the Executive Director of the Hunting For Tomorrow Foundation Kelly Semple.

And although the Honourable Gary Mar, Minister of Health and Wellness, nor Leroy Fjordbotten, retired, (both former Ministers having the Fish and Wildlife Division within their portfolio) could not attend the function, both responded to the invitation to attend extremely favorably and expressed their disappointment with their inability to attend.

The evening began with a few words from Robert Adams, befitting those of a well written (and spoken) author, and first President of the Association. His words were encouraging to all and urged officers to continue in their mission of protecting and conserving the fisheries and wildlife resources they hold so deer. The evening moved along thereafter and Richard Servetnyk was called to accept his award for being chosen as the 2002 Alberta Game Warden Association Officer of the Year.

As nominator, Trevor Miller of Cold Lake was asked to come forward and state the reasons why he put forward the name of Richard Servetnyk for the Officer of the Year Award. Trevor explained that the award was established to honour Fish and Wildlife officers who are worthy of special recognition for their outstanding achievements. Although various criteria may be considered deeming one deserving of such an award, this year’s award set out to not only acknowledge this officers outstanding personal contributions but further recognize his demonstrated commitment to outstanding performance and achievements over the length of his career. 

“For the second consecutive year in a row we find ourselves calling upon an officer whose talents are currently committed to the Special Investigation Section of this Division. It is tough to single out any one member from within this dedicated core of officers, as I’m sure all are deserving of recognition. However, this years choice recognizes an ‘old war-horse’ in the group, a mentor for both present and past Fish and Wildlife officers, a leader whose supportive style of coaching is something we all can learn from. His unceasing efforts towards creating a greater awareness of illegal commercial wildlife and fisheries impacts on the resource, and his dedication to working with crown prosecutors on these matters to ensure they remain to be viewed and dealt with seriously by our judicial system, reflects on his professionalism. This officer’s level of personal commitment to resource conservation is seldom matched and his achievements and efforts shall long serve to protect the Fish and Wildlife Resources of this Province. It is with great honour and sincerity that I submit this nomination in favour of Rick Servetnyk.”

“Rick has set the bar at a level few field officers have achieved. His unparalleled passion to achieve uncommon results on a seemingly regular basis exemplifies his motivation and pride in this profession. Some of his contributions include:

·        Developing and implementing several major enforcement projects including the Lesser Slave Lake Enforcement Plan. Anyone ever involved in such a process understands the time commitments and complexities of the various issues involved in implementing such an operation. It’s a strategy so well envisioned and crafted that it remains in place today, nearly a decade later, and acts as a vital link in the recovery and sustainability of Lesser Slave Lake and its highly sought after walleye fishery. 

·        In the late 80’s Rick was seconded into Edmonton to research, review and assist in preparing the District Enforcement Enhancement Program (D.E.E.P.). This initiative was aimed at staffing every one man Fish and Wildlife District in the Province with a second officer; providing for improved levels of officer safety and public service.

·        As part of his duties in Special Investigations Rick maintains responsibility as provincial co-ordinator for the Surveillance Team. His loyalty to Special Investigations and his passion to make things just a little better has fostered the growth and acceptance of this beneficial aspect of the Fish and Wildlife Division, not to mention the Department of Sustainable Resource Development as well.” 

“During this past fall I had the opportunity to participate in the preparation of a special investigations take down operation and to observe Rick in action on a daily basis. I noted that much of Rick’s day was spent counseling other officers, or giving advice on major issues facing the department. When preparing this nomination I spoke to yet another Officer that had contacted Rick for assistance on a weekend (when he was in to catch up on his workload). Rick was gracious enough to set aside his work and prepared a search warrant to ensure the file was well on its way to a successful conclusion. Rick always finds the time to listen, mentor and provide much needed assistance, even though much of his day is taken up with more serious issues; although if your the one talking with him you’d never guess it.  He takes the time, every time to lend you his ear and to provide his advice in a tactful manner, never offensive or overbearing and always encouraging. Officer Servetnyk epitomizes what being a mentor is all about. His genuine concern for the protection of the Fish and Wildlife Resource and loyalty to the Division is something that should be celebrated. This award provides the opportunity to recognize this dedication; it provides all officers the opportunity to applaud a job well done.”

Rick accepted the award, but made it clear to all those in attendance that he accepted the award on behalf of the officers with whom he worked. Officers who provided information to the Special Investigations Section; officers that assist in “take downs”; officers who have helped him, in essence, do his job to the level that he does. And the level to which Rick does his job is one that every officer should aspire to.

The evening went on and Pat Dunford came forward to present an award for significant contribution to the Association. As rendered by Pat, the AGWA honoured the countless hours of dedicated work (much of it volunteered) contributed by the Alberta Game Warden Magazines current Editor, Daniel Boyco. Daniel has edited the magazine now for about 13 of its 15 years in production. He has been the drive behind the magazines extremely successful history and is in no small part responsible for its having received a number of awards for content and various views.

The highlight of the evening however fell to those who were honoured for valor. The first time the Association had ever bestowed such an award, and to have two worthy recipients honoured during its first year was all too befitting. John Clarke, an officer stationed in Blairmore, accepted his award by proxy as he was unable to attend the event due to family commitments. Christy Pawliuk, a former co-worker of John’s gave the account by which John received this award.

Christy told the crowd that on June 17, 2001 Fish and Wildlife officer John Clarke was out with friends and family enjoying the day at Chinook Lake in the Crowsnest Pass, when he heard cries for help. It was learned later that a young man apparently “believed” he could swim across the high Mountain Lake that mid-June day; only to reach about the halfway mark. The frigid water soon became too much for him to endure and he began to founder. Sarah, a friend of the young man, responded to the cries for help and began to swim out to help her friend; John followed closely behind. Sarah too, soon fatigued and was unable to complete her rescue. On that June day, John not only completed the life-saving rescue of the drowning man; he pulled Sarah safely to shore as well. John’s actions that day showed true heroism – without regard for his own well being, he willingly placed his own life in peril to save the lives of two strangers he met first in the cold waters of Chinook Lake.

The Association Representative for the Prairie Region, Darcy Brown, accepted John’s award on his behalf. Darcy conveyed John’s deep appreciation for having been recognized by the Association for his actions back in June of 2001, and that he sincerely regretted being unable to attend the function.

The next person to be honored for valor was Allan Farrants. Al recently retired from Fish and Wildlife after 30+ years of dedicated service. Dennis Urban, an officer stationed in Stony Plain was asked to share his views as to why he felt Al was a worthy recipient of the AGWA Award for Valor.

Allan Farrants received some much disserved newspaper coverage for a selfless act of heroism in dealing with a sexual offender in the Kinsmen Field House area of Edmonton.

As details of the early morning encounter came to light we learned that late last year a sexual predator had knocked down a young lady while out for her morning jog. The man was in the process of preparing to assault her further, when Al heard her calls for help. Al, who also frequently jogs in the area during the early morning hours, arrived on the scene none too soon. After physically confronting the assailant, the woman was freed without enduring any additional harm beyond the injuries she sustained in her own battle with the offender. The woman was sent to get help while the would-be-rapist was forced to remain on the scene, subdued by the ex-Fish and Wildlife officer, until Edmonton City Police dog patrol arrived. Members of the Edmonton City Police Service then took over the arrest of Robin Stoney, a man who had just been released from prison/remand center for similar actions.

As Dennis so aptly puts it, “The good Lord puts certain people into our lives for varying reasons and puts the right people in the right place at the right time.  Al Farrants was in the right place at the right time and in many peoples’ eyes, he is a Hero.”

Dennis doesn’t only surmise that Al is thought of as a hero by the woman’s friends and family . . . he knows it. It’s because Al was in the right place at the right time, and was able and capable of subduing the offender, that Dennis’ niece Jill is both fortunate and thankful.

Al suffered bruises and a broken finger in the battle, but managed still to keep Stoney at the scene for nearly three-quarters of an hour until help arrived.  

Al accepted the award with humility and emotion; surely knowing that his efforts that day greatly impacted Jill’s life, those of her friends and family, but in no small part his own as well.

With some closing remarks the formal part of the evening came to a close. Officers and guests were then entertained by a local comedic ventriloquist, following which, the remaining, fantastic, raffle and silent auction items were then awarded.

The 30^th Anniversary of the Alberta Game Warden Association came to a close by noon the following day with nothing left to do but the cleanup in the wake of the somewhat exasperating weekend. The gathering, the camaraderie, the educational sessions could not have taken place without the support of many officers working hard to see the event through, but with the support of the Division’s Assistant Deputy Minister Ken Ambrock, and the Director of Enforcement Field Services Deryl Empson the event was a resounding success and on behalf of the AGWA, I thank you.

Donators to the 30^th Anniversary Conference