As we welcome Jasmin Brar to her new role as our City of Winnipeg Councillor in the Waverly West ward, we also say goodbye to Janice Lukes, who served in this role for the past eight years. There have been several articles summarizing Janice’s many notable achievements during her 12 years of service on City council, but I’d like to focus on all the great things she’s done for our community.
Janice became our representative in the fall of 2018, after the establishment of the Waverley West ward – the largest in the city. However, her connection to our community centre was established much earlier. I first met Janice in about 2003, not long after I became President of the community centre, and she had become the first coordinator and project manager of the Winnipeg Trails Association. I was interested in establishing an interpretive trail on our site, and she provided lots of advice over several years to help us get things underway.
We reconnected in the fall of 2018 when she took over as City Councillor in the ward, and chatted about her plans for both Waverley West and Whyte Ridge. One of her initial tasks had been to canvass residents and businesses to help her understand the priorities, and they included raising awareness about community safety, including break-ins and vandalism; addressing street repairs and traffic issues; and upgrading some of the open spaces in the community, such as sports fields and pathways.
I think she’s accomplished all of these goals over the past eight years. Statistically, Waverley West is now one of the safest areas in the city. The roads, signage, pathways and lighting in our community have all been upgraded. And at the community centre, she’s helped us with funding for numerous building renovations and upgrades, including meeting rooms, new flooring and painting in the skate change area, upgrades to the canteen and kitchen areas, upgrades to the outdoor rink lights and rebuilding of one of the rinks, an accessible fitness structure, the splash pad; an off-leash dog park, and the expansion of the tall grass prairie area along with planting of native trees. I’ve probably missed a few things, but it’s been a lot of really beneficial improvements.
But beyond these tangible results, our community has benefitted from her active involvement and participation in our events, typically outside of usual office hours. She was always there to provide information and advice at our annual general meetings, and always responded to calls and emails. I don’t think I’ve ever attended a summer or winter carnival, or any community event that Janice hasn’t attended, typically having fun and making sure she was up-to-speed on local issues. It was the same on social media – I often saw her responding to questions from the members of the various community groups. I believe her early involvement in a community-based non-profit organization had helped shape her approach and advocacy for communities.
I’m sure you’ll hear it from many others, Janice, but on behalf on our community, thanks so much for all you’ve done for us. We’re sad to see you go, my friend, but wish you much happiness in this next phase of your life.
By Nick Barnes
Community member and past WRCC president