Melfort's own Logan Ferland visits with local kids at Melfort A&W as part of Rider Reading Program (Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW staff)

By Ben Tompkins

Hometown visit

Rider Reading Program wraps up northeastern swing

Mar 24, 2023 | 5:00 PM

The Saskatchewan Roughriders recently had a handful of their players tour around the province, as a part of their Rider Reading Program.

Included in their Saskatchewan-wide journey were a couple of stops in the northeast, as in the past few weeks, they stopped in Nipawin, Tisdale, Humboldt, and most recently Melfort.

Melfort’s own Logan Ferland was back in his hometown on Thursday (Mar. 24), as he spent most of the day at Brunswick Elementary School, before heading to the local A&W for a couple of hours.

(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW staff)

“It’s really rewarding, just how they look up to you, how inspired they are to even see you there, and just knowing that they have the same possibility of doing exactly what I did, that’s why I really enjoyed it,” Ferland told northeastNOW.

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“I ended up going to each class up to grade four, and it was nice going into separate classes because it’s a more personal experience. I get to really spend time with those kids and build a relationship with them, and they get a chance to maybe be more comfortable in that environment.”

The Rider Reading Program is a foundation community initiative that encourages students to read together and at the same time, provides them with an opportunity to meet one of their favourite players.

(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW staff)

Through building an association between their brand and daily reading, the aim is to have kids enjoy and maintain positive feelings toward reading.

“I basically I tell them, reading is something I use every day, it’s something they’re going to use every day growing up. Whether they’re a carpenter or a football player in my circumstance, or whether they’re a teacher or maybe they’re just learning how to drive, they’re always going to be using it. It’s something that’s extremely important because of those reasons,” Ferland explained.

“It’s something you use every day, no matter what career you end up being in, and a lot of them are really loving learning how to read, I can tell the schools are doing a great job inspiring the kids to continue to do that,” added Ferland. “I remember when I was little, I hated to read and it took me a little while to learn the importance of it, and now I read every day. So hopefully, I can continue to inspire the kids to do the same thing.”

In partnership with A&W, the foundation visited A&W franchises throughout the province to engage with the community as well as provide a Rider Reading presentation to one of their local schools.

Jorgan Hus was in Humboldt on Mar. 14, Mitch Picton was in Tisdale on Mar. 16, and Ferland was in Kindersley on Mar. 13 and Nipawin on Mar. 16.

“Coming back and seeing myself being in those kids’ shoes, you can really show the kids that it is possible if you fight for your dream. I think it just gives them hope, gives them some inspiration and gives them that wow factor that a rider is from this small town,” Ferland added.

“It’s pretty amazing just being able to sit with the fans and discuss things that were on their mind, maybe talk about what’s going on with the riders, and what’s going on my personal life and just get to know them on a personal level.”

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