June 25, 2024 – Message to the Membership
Posted on June 25, 2024 in Message to the Membership
Aaaahh Summer! Welcome back you old friend. Where have you been? Usually we get a good glimpse of things to come in spring, but this year you were almost non-existent. Ah well, better late than never.
The last week of June is THE best time of the year, in my humble opinion. Indeed, the entirety of summer awaits. Spring work projects are but a distant memory, or fervently wrapping up. School is out, kids’ extracurriculars are virtually non-existent, the crops are in, and it’s time to chill-ax. Even though there is plenty to do, we do take the time to catch our collective breath over these summer months.
But first, we’ve got a very big day ahead of us. This is the day we unveil our Star for the 2024 Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series, presented by KPMG!
There are a couple of exciting things to take note of in this regard. Aside from the Star, which I’ll get to shortly, we’re very pleased to announce our five-year partnership with KPMG for the Presenting Sponsor status for our Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series. We couldn’t be more happy to have KPMG take on this vital role, as it’s critical in ensuring that we have the financial wherewithal to put on a show of any kind, never mind the best business event in Saskatchewan (or so I’ve been told).
This year marks our 10th version of our Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series, and we wanted to deliver it with a bang. And boy did we ever! We cast our net out and in the process, landed one of the biggest catches in the county, never mind the province!
To build intrigue, we’ve had a brilliant build up to the big announcement late last week and over the weekend through some social media posts created by our own Brayden Caron, and if you’ll indulge me, I’ll reveal the Cadbury Secret to them all.
The first post, which had a bunch of upper case C’s and B’s, sometimes in proper order, sometimes randomly inserted, is a hint to our national broadcaster, the CBC, upon which our star spent several years on one of their most successful shows ever.
The second post had a picture of Tom Cruise, who starred in a movie called Risky Business. Coincidentally, our Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series presented by KPMG star also starred in a TV series of the same name.
The third post had a line art of a canoe. Well, our star has been a major shareholder in, and a former CEO of, an investment company known as Canoe Financial.
And the fourth and final post, was perhaps the most telling. It was a still shot from HBO’s House of the Dragon. And with that, you can likely start connecting the dots, as our 2024 Star has indeed spent some time in a dragon house, aka a Dragons’ Den, as a former Dragon himself.
Therefore, without further adieu, the 2024 Star of the NSBA’s Popcorn and Entrepreneurship Series, presented by KPMG is non other than (insert drum roll for dramatic effect)… Saskatchewan’s own, W. Brett Wilson. TA DAAAAA (Cymbal crash!!)
Regular attendees may recall in 2019 when Brett made an appearance with some opening remarks as part of Kay Nasser’s P and E program. Little did he (or we for that matter), know that in time we would have the gumption and ability to pull off telling Brett’s story five years later.
This is no small undertaking, and many thanks go out to one of my former Board Chairs, Bryan McCrea of 3twenty Solutions, who has partnered with Brett since the latter’s early days on the Dragons’ Den, upon which Bryan and his business partner Evan Willoughby pitched their business idea and in the process, earned a longtime business partner in Brett Wilson.
Thanks as well to Rachel Mielke of Hillberg and Berk fame, another of Wilson’s longtime Dragons’ Den partnerships, who agreed to split the cost of the Star sponsorship for this year’s event.
But back to the no small undertaking part. Brett is a busy guy and he lives in Calgary. But perhaps the most challenging aspect is, despite his fairly public persona and well-known opinions, deep down he’s actually a very private individual.
It’s our sincere hope that you will see a side of Brett that you did not see, or even know about… that is until now!
So here’s your fair warning to get your tickets early, as we will undoubtedly sell out, like we always do. And if our annual Golf Classic (which sold out in the first day of ticket sales) was any indication, NSBA Special Event tickets are a hot item.
We sincerely hope to see you there, and if not, perhaps sooner on the beaches, waterways, fairways and/or parks of our beautiful province this summer.
Until next time, be safe, be smart, be considerate, be well, but most of all, be kind (and use your sun screen!).
Keith Moen
Executive Director
NSBA – Saskatoon’s Business Association
