The Swan Valley Consumers’ Co-op (SVCC) has found the perfect candidate to fill the General Manager role, since former GM Colin Peters resigned after accepting another position. New GM Joshua Brecht grew up and spent most of his life living in the Prairies, thus making the Swan Valley a perfect fit for him and his family.
“I’m originally from central Saskatchewan and have spent most of my life across the Prairies, primarily in Saskatchewan and Alberta,” said Brecht. “I attended the University of Saskatchewan before moving to Calgary, where I spent about 10 years working in the building materials industry. From there, my family and I moved back to Saskatchewan, where I joined the co-op system and spent the last several years serving local co-ops and communities.
“Family is a huge part of my life. I have a wonderful and supportive wife, who is an Indigenous artist, and we have three children ranging in age from 19 to 11. They mean the world to me, and one of the things that drew us to Swan Valley was that it felt like a place where our family could put down roots and become part of the community.”
Brecht grew up around the co-op way of life. He is more than familiar with the cooperative system and how it works, which led him to become a part of it.
“In a way, co-op has always been part of my life; I grew up around it,” said Brecht. “From being a kid and running around many different co-ops that my aunt was a general manager in, to my dad working as both a bakery manager and later a lumber manager, to how my grandparents were long-time Co-op members, and going to the co-op was a daily staple. So even before I worked in the system myself, I understood that co-op was more than just a business.
“My first formal role with co-op was in 2021, when I joined Riverbend Co-op as a Home and Agro Location Manager. That role brought me back into the Co-op system and really confirmed for me that this was where I wanted to build the next stage of my career.
“While I was working at Riverbend Co-op, I had the opportunity to join Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) and saw a chance to serve the co-op system in a broader way,” said Brecht. “Moving to FCL allowed me to support multiple local co-ops across Western Canada, learn from different markets, and help teams work through operational, financial, and strategic challenges.
“I grew a lot during my time with FCL and I’m very grateful for that experience. At the same time, there is something special about living in the community you serve directly. That is a big part of why I’m so excited to join Swan Valley Co-op. I get to bring that broader CRS experience back into a local co-op setting, where the work is directly connected to members, employees, and the community every day.”
Brecht enjoys the connection between co-ops and the communities they serve. Co-ops not only provide goods and services to the community, but also build the community up in so many different ways.
“What I enjoy most is the community purpose behind the work,” said Brecht. “Before joining co-op, I worked in the independent building materials industry. I loved the business, the competition, and the people, but co-op changed how I thought about the work. In the co-op system, when the business does well, the benefit stays closer to home. It goes back to members, employees, local projects, community groups, recreation facilities, schools, and the places where families live their everyday lives.
“One moment that really stayed with me was taking my kids to the local pool in Outlook for the first time. As we walked in, there was a sign on the waterslide that said it had been supplied by Riverbend Co-op. My son looked at me and asked, ‘Is that your work, Dad?’ I told him, ‘Yeah, bud, we supplied the materials for that.’ Then my daughter yelled, ‘My dad builds waterslides!’ and ran straight for the pool. That moment has always stuck with me. It was a simple reminder that in co-op, the work we do shows up in real ways in the communities we serve. It is not just sales, operations, or financial results. It is helping build places where families live, gather, and make memories.
“That’s what I love about co-op,” said Brecht. “It is a business model that can compete, but it also has a purpose that is bigger than the business itself.”
Brecht is eager to be a part of the SVCC and loves the setting of the community as well. SVCC has built a reputation of being one of the flag stores in Manitoba, so this experience will be a very enriching one all around for Brecht.
“The opportunity itself was very exciting, but the Valley made a strong impression on us right away,” said Brecht. “The area is beautiful, with the forests, lakes, rivers, and the natural landscape. When I brought my family up while I was exploring the position, we really fell in love with the area.
“Beyond the scenery, there was a feeling here that mattered to us. The community felt welcoming, grounded, and real. It felt like a place where we could belong, not just a place where I would work. That was important to me and to my family.
“My first impression is that the team is incredible. I have only been in the role a few days, but every team member I have met has been warm, welcoming, and supportive. I already feel very fortunate to be joining this group.
The facilities across Swan Valley Co-op are also impressive,” said Brecht. “You can see the pride the team has in what has been built and how it has been maintained. It is also clear that this Co-op has invested deeply in the communities it serves.
“The community has been fantastic as well. I’ve already had people come up and introduce themselves, and I really appreciate that. I know I have a lot to learn about the Valley, the Co-op, the team, and the members, so every conversation helps me understand a little more.
“I officially started on Monday (Aug. 31),” said Brecht. “What I’m looking forward to most is getting back to living and participating directly in the community I serve. I’m excited to support the team, learn the business deeply, build relationships with members and community partners, and help Swan Valley Co-op continue creating value for the people and communities we serve.
“There is a lot to learn, and I’m coming in with a lot of respect for the team already here. My focus early on is to listen, learn, build trust, and understand the best way to support the organization moving forward.”

The Pas has been home to quite a few spectacular murals and now another one has taken up residence on a local community organization’s building. The Pas Friendship Centre has a new look with a mural done by a local artist.
“We wanted to do something like this on the building for years,” said The Pas Friendship Centre Executive Director Rhoda Beardy. “There’s been nothing Indigenous on The Pas Friendship Centre Building. I felt we had to be more visible in the community.
“I used to work as the Cultural Assistant here at The Pas Friendship Centre and was doing that since 1999, before becoming the Executive Director. Through those years, I felt there was a sense of spirituality at The Pas Friendship Centre that did not grab enough of the community’s attention. I wanted something to do that.

The Swan Valley is made up of some incredibly dedicated people who are passionate about the community they live in and have a desire to make it better for others. One very dedicated and long-standing volunteer in the community is Neil Brown. Brown became very involved with the Swan Valley Historical Museum over 40 years ago and has been helping out with it ever since.
“I started volunteering with the Swan Valley Historical Museum back in the 1980s,” said Brown. “There were a bunch of guys who wanted to get a steam engine running. There wasn’t an operating one at the museum at that time, so a bunch of us got together and with the community’s help, we got a steam engine. We worked together to recondition it, so it could be operated.
“That took about four or five years to do. There was a lot of work to do to raise the money for the steam engine and then it took about two years to restore it. We don’t run it anymore, partly because we don’t have a licensed operator to run it. We need a couple of licensed operators to help us out with that.
“I’ve always enjoyed the total history of the Swan Valley,” said Brown. “The Valley goes back a long way, and I like to learn about and see the people. I’m also very interested in the old tractors and threshing machines. I grew up with a lot of those in my time.”
Over the years, Brown has been involved in volunteering on different projects for the museum. He has watched the museum grow and change, but the interest is still strong in preserving the history of the area.
“During the time I’ve been involved with the museum, we put up a workshop, received a donation to help build the Gulash Building, and did a lot of maintenance,” said Brown. “We had to deal with the roofs and shingles on a lot of these buildings over the years, and that has been an ongoing project. We tried doing a building every year, but it all takes time and fundraising.
“I’ve also been working on the train. That keeps me busy. I’ve helped build the track and some of the cars. I’m always trying to maintain what we have there and see if there are ways we can make it better. There was a lot of manual labour that went into building the track for the train. The train cars have a steel frame and the riding car has a cushion to sit on. The locomotive is all metal. We have two of them; one is battery-operated, and the other is a gas motor.
“The museum board is now working on the train station,” said Brown. “That is a good thing for the museum, for it shows that we are still going on. The board has been working hard and things are looking really good, and I’m sure happy about that.
“We have other people interested in keeping the tractors running and other things as well. It’s a good group of people that come forward to help out.”
Brown knows a lot of fundraising has to take place to keep the Swan Valley Historical Museum going. He said the efforts for raising funds were always strong and continue on today, as new members create new ideas to keep things alive.
“Over the years, the museum applied for grants and hosted two suppers during the year,” said Brown. “We received a lot of donations as well, to help keep things going. The museum has grown over time. I give a lot of credit to the people who started it and kept it going for all that time.
“The Harvest Festival Day has been going, I think, since the entire time that the museum has been operating,” said Brown. “It was an event that brought people to the museum and had things for people to do. Before the hall was built, I believe there was no supper, but rather like a picnic set up.
“Especially in the last few years, we have been seeing big crowds come out for the Harvest Festival Day. Everyone comes out to enjoy the old-time activities like the bread baking, horse carriage rides, train rides and so much more.
“Mistletoe Magic has been a successful event that some of the newer board members came up with for the museum,” said Brown. “I was still president of the museum board at that time, and it was a new group of people who came on board and brought forward the idea. It has been very good and it’s been one of the highlights for the museum. That event sure got the attention of the community.”
Brown’s dedication to the Swan Valley Historical Museum led him to be the president of the board for a period of time. He credits all the work done to the many volunteers and board members who helped put it all together and make it happen.
“I was president of the museum board for about 12 to 14 years,” said Brown. “I was there quite a bit of the time, so the board asked me to be president. I had a good board to work with all the time I was president.
“I’m glad to see that has continued on, now that I’ve taken a back seat. I’m still pretty active with the museum and help out when I can. Overall, I’m very happy with how things are going.”