This September, Jocelyn and I are celebrating ten years of operating the Martensville Messenger. Throughout those ten years, we have seen some ups and downs; however, one thing is always consistent and that is the community that supports us.
The Martensville Messenger was founded in 2007 by Christine Lyon, and then operated by Jo Osczevski until 2014. Jocelyn and I found a family while working for Osczevski at the Messenger and when it was announced that the local newspaper would be shutting down, there was a huge sense of loss for us both, because we had found ourselves involved with something that we felt was extremely special.
While working at the Messenger, we ourselves were fortunate to have the opportunity to meet so many members of the community and create lasting bonds with the people that make Martensville such an amazing place to live, work and visit.
With assistance from Joni Ayotte, we decided that we needed to keep the small-town spirit of Martensville alive through the community newspaper and formed a partnership to make that happen.
These days, media is often filled with sorrow, anger, destruction and so much negativity taking place in the world, and while we know that is important to share with our readers, we also feel that it is important to share the things that make Martensville such a unique and wonderful place.
We want to show you the story about children holding a lemonade stand to raise money for charity, or about the perseverance of community members coming together to help bring a new rink to the community. We want to tell you about a trio of high-school students that decided to open a successful ice cream business and about the hard-work and dedication that our community groups such as the Kinsmen/Kinette Club and the Lions Club consistently do to make Martensville a better place. We want to share the positive side of the world with you and highlight the regular people that are doing incredible things right here in our own community.
The past ten years hasn’t always been easy, and like many small businesses, we have had our struggles. We have had to make changes, some that we were excited about and some due to circumstance, but no matter what has happened along the way, we have always felt extremely lucky to be where we are.
The stories we have had shared with us through the years have been inspirational and without a doubt, the people of this community have made us better people. It is all of you that have shown time and time again that when there is negativity, doubt, fear, and loss, all you have to do is look and you will find a helping hand.
Ten years ago, we decided to purchase this newspaper. Many things have changed during that time, but we are still here, and we plan to continue to be here in ten years from now celebrating 20 years of operating the local community newspaper. We both live in this community, and the things that we share with you are things that affect us directly. This is our home, these are the businesses that we support each and every day. These are the events that we are attending alongside with you. These are the charities that we are supporting. This is our home and we are so grateful and honoured to have had the opportunity to operate the Martensville Messenger for the past ten years. Thank you to the City of Martensville. Thank you to the businesses that support us. Thank you to all of the amazing people that have worked with us and contributed to this community newspaper over the years. Thank you to our readers. Just….thank you for letting us continue to do what we love in a community that we love.
Sincerely,
Shanine Sealey and Jocelyn Ottenbreit
