Volunteer Week 2023: Terri-Lynn Beavereye

Volunteers are the very foundation of the parks and recreation industry, and April 16 - 22, 2023 is National Volunteer Week. This year's theme is "Volunteering Weaves Us Together," and we'd like to highlight the achievements of a volunteer that has worked for decades to connect people to recreation in Saskatchewan's north: Terri-Lynn Beavereye.

Terri-Lynn Beavereye
Photo courtesy of the Northern Sport, Culture and Recreation District.
Originally from the St. Louis area Terri-Lynn Beavereye (nee Regnier) has been living, working and volunteering in Stony Rapids and Black Lake for the past 33 years. She originally moved to the Black Lake Denesuline First Nation, in the boreal forest of Northern Saskatchewan, as an educator at Father Porte Memorial Denesuline School. She is the Executive Director for Black Lake Ventures working on economic development for Black Lake Denesuline First Nation. Terri-Lynn is a proud Northerner. She is passionate about Northern communities and loves creating and supporting opportunities for Northern children and youth to participate and showcase their talent to the province.  

In 1996, Terri-Lynn began volunteering with the Athabasca Regional Recreation Association. She then got involved with the Northern Recreation Co-ordinating Committee (NRCC) in 1998. NRCC later evolved into the Northern Sport, Culture and Recreation District (NSCRD). During this time, she was active provincially as Mission Staff for 11 Saskatchewan Games with Zone 9, which later became Team North. Terri-Lynn retired from NSCRD Board of Directors and Chairperson duties in 2022. 

Terri-Lynn enjoys volunteering with community events and programs for interaction and socialization with community members. Some of Terri-Lynn’s volunteer highlights include:  
  • Being on the host organizing committee for the 2001 Northern Saskatchewan Games and Cultural Festival hosted in Stony Rapids and Black Lake. 
  • Working to ensure that northern youth were able to get from Black Lake to the Prince Albert Grand Council Fine Arts Festival in the years when flying was the only travel option.    
  • Initiating cookouts with the Stony Rapids Winter Carnival, feeding community members and visitors with traditional foods.  This has continued for several years and has been adopted by other communities.  
When Terri-Lynn moved to the north, she began volunteering because there was a need for community volunteers. Now, she is an inspiration for a new generation of volunteers in her community and region!