Picking up the pieces, jigsaw puzzle competition honours Richer resident

A jigsaw puzzle competition wasn’t Sonya Wery’s first thought when she and her family sought a way to honour her brother and fund a bursary in his name.

Brent Wery died Jan. 8, 2023. The long-time firefighter, RM of Ste Anne councillor and community volunteer had made an impression on his home community of Richer.

Seeking to honour his legacy, the local community club renamed a bursary in honour of him, inviting the family to come up with ways to help fund it.

That would have been a puzzle, but for Brent’s mother who had the solution.

“My mom had the idea of doing a puzzle competition, which I had to admit back then I had never heard of puzzle competitions,” Sonya said. “I had no idea that was a thing.”

A quick trip to YouTube and she was up to date on what’s become a popular activity.

The rest they say is history as on Nov. 8, the family hosted their third annual fundraising jigsaw puzzle competition at the Richer Young at Hearts Hall.

“We actually had to turn away two teams because we were at capacity,” Sonya said, explaining they had 15 teams participating in the event.

They raised about $2,750 from entry fees, raffle tickets and donations.

Teams competed against the clock and each other to assemble 1,000-piece puzzles.

The winning team included Winnipeg and Brandon competitors. Rebecca Waddell, Kristy Williams, Chantal Johnson and Dawn Allen finished their task in one hour and seven minutes.

At the one hour and 12-minute mark, second place included Danielle Greniere, Madelaine Greniere, Celeste Greniere and Natalie Hudon.

Third place was a team called the Puzzling Sisters. They’ve attended every competition and finished in one hour and 18 minutes. The team included Julie Smith, Suzanne Bouchard, Joanne Klaassen and Rachelle Friesen.

Sonya admitted Brent would have been the last person to sit down and do a puzzle.

“He was too busy,” she said with a laugh. “That guy was always on the go. I could not imagine my brother sitting longer than five minutes doing something.”

But she added that he would appreciate that this event funds a local bursary.

“I think he’d be incredibly proud,” she said. “Education was always something that our parents had put a lot of importance on and really encouraged us to not stop after high school,” she said. “I know that’s something he really promoted with his own children and something he held a lot of value on as well.”

“I think he’d be incredibly proud to help youth in our community pursue their dreams of post-secondary education,” she added.

While raising money is the goal, Sonya said they’re happy to create an atmosphere of fun and togetherness along the way.

The bursary fund can be supported at any time of year by getting in touch with the Richer Community Club.

“We’re just looking forward to bringing more competitions and creating that community atmosphere and bringing that to Richer,” she said.