The southeast is home to many leaders. Some of these leaders do their work in the public spotlight and others achieve great things without much public recognition. This past week we lost two leaders who have contributed greatly to our community and our region.

Peter Dyck, the long-time editor of The Carillon, was someone who got the community talking. He not only told the stories that were in the news, he challenged us to think about issues and perspectives. Being the editor of a paper that covers many relatively small communities must carry quite a burden. Often the people you are writing about and expressing opinions on are friends, associates and neighbors.

It requires both fairness and a personal assurance that what you are doing is important to take on such a task and to do it for so many years. In my interactions with Peter I always found him to be fair and open to challenges. If we disagreed on a certain opinion piece we could always discuss it respectfully and I always gained insight from those conversations.

I had the benefit of knowing Peter for 25 years so my strongest memories of him are not simply from the newspaper business. I knew him first as a proud father of his two daughters and also as the loving husband of his wife Aida. As the years went along he would often proudly tell me about the professional successes of Lisa and Leilani in their legal careers. We would also chat about how his wife was one of the first Filipinos to come to Steinbach and how wonderful it was that many more now call it home. He was a great friend to the Filipino community. Most recently, I will remember him as a very proud grandfather.

Peter’s sudden death this past week was a great shock to many and I extend, on behalf of residents of the Steinbach Constituency, condolences to his family, co-workers and many friends.

Also this week we mourned the sudden loss of Steinbach 55 Plus President Pat Porter. Pat was a driving force behind making our seniors centre the envy of the province. The facility and the programming help keep our seniors connected within the community and ensure that they are active participants throughout the region. The Centre in many ways has become a meeting place for the community as it hosts numerous events.

My wife and I always appreciated Pat’s friendly demeanor. She was passionate about the Steinbach 55 Plus and the centre and helped ensure that it was both a financial and an operational success. Her contributions to the quality of life of residents of the region will not be forgotten and I extend my condolences to her family and friends.

Fittingly, just this last month, both Peter Dyck and Pat Porter were honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of their service to Manitoba and Canada. They will both be greatly missed, but their contributions will live on.