Every year, staff and councillors from the City of Humboldt attend the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Convention to share information and gather insights related to civic government. The year was no different in terms of their attendance, but the spotlight was on our city a bit more than in previous years. During the 2019 conference, held February 3-6 in Saskatoon, the city of Humboldt was invited to make a presentation to the delegates reflecting on the events of 2018. Delegates wanted to learn specifically about the experiences of the city in the wake of the Humboldt Bronco's tragedy. City Manager Joe Day explains that SUMA had requested a presentation, so Day and Mayor Rob Muench obliged. In a presentation and subsequent Q and A session, moderated by Yorkton's mayor Bob Maloney, Muench and Day outlined the importance that first responders from Tisdale, Nipawin, Zenon Park, and other communities played. 

Day explains, "One of our key messages was that we weren't at the site of the accident; we were 170 km away. We didn't deal with the first responders or anything along those lines. We really dealt more with the media fallout from the event." Many of the audience questions revolved around the nature of the supports required both immediately following the event and later on an ongoing basis. 

Day continues to dispell misconceptions about the role that city officials or local responders were able to play at the time of the event. Much of the media focus on Humboldt has led to the notion that the work was borne by Humboldt alone. Day emphasizes, "I think it's important to the citizens of Humboldt that the mayor and myself are communicating what our role at the city really was. Sometimes people misunderstand that it was our firefighters and our police that responded to the accident scene. Here in Humboldt, although the media has focused on us, our role has a lot more to do with the mental health of our community."

At the conclusion of the presentation, attendees commended the city for its strength and resolve in the face of an unprecedented disaster. Day is humble but appreciative of those sentiments. 

I'm sometimes apprehensive to congratulate myself and the council and staff. But anybody from the city that's in the realm of city employees did a wonderful job, as did the volunteers and everybody else. It's ok once in a while to hear others from the outside say you did a good job. I really do think the community has pulled together to get through that weekend and the weeks and months since."