Released on January 12, 2017
The 2017 Saskatchewanderer is a small-town guy with five years of world travelling experience, who is ready to share Saskatchewan stories. Andrew Hiltz is from Coronach, Saskatchewan, and brings with him a background in marketing and a passion to explore.
Hiltz has spent the last five years visiting Europe, Australia, and North and South America. Along the way he has documented his travels through photography, videography and journaling. He focused on trying new things, meeting fascinating people, and updating his social media along the way so that “mom knew where I was."
Hiltz takes pride in the experience he gained from working with local businesses, such as Richardson Pioneer, which equipped him with a better understanding of Saskatchewan agriculture, and SaskPower where he learned about the operations of a coal-fired power station. Being the Saskatchewanderer has been a goal of his for a long time.
“Friends and family have been encouraging me to apply for this job since day one,” Hiltz said. “This was the first year that the stars aligned and I truly felt ready to take on the challenge.”
“In addition to an incredible sense of humour, Andrew brings impressive skills to the role of 2017 Saskatchewanderer and will be a terrific ambassador for the province,” Minister responsible for Tourism Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison said. “The year ahead will provide him a chance to share new discoveries about this great province, its friendly citizens and communities, and the entrepreneurial and job opportunities in Saskatchewan.”
“This program is now in its seventh year,” Minister responsible for Parks, Culture and Sport Ken Cheveldayoff said. “All of our past Wanderers have brought something special to the program and encouraged growth on the social media following; Andrew will be no exception. I look forward to following Andrew this year and discovering all there is to see and do in Saskatchewan.”
CAA Saskatchewan has been a proud sponsor of the Saskatchewanderer program since it began in 2011.
“As Saskatchewan’s automobile association of choice, we are pleased to be the official sponsor of the 2017 Saskatchewanderer,” CAA Saskatchewan President and CEO Fred Titanich said. “This year, CAA Saskatchewan is celebrating a century of service to our valued members. We’re very excited to have Andrew Hiltz, the new Saskatchewanderer, celebrate with us. Watch for Andrew at our monthly Celebrate 100 Years parties taking place at our 12 CAA stores and also at Regina Battery Depot. He’ll also join us at several of our community events.”
DirectWest has come onboard this year as the official search partner.
“As a digital marketing services company, DirectWest is delighted to be the Saskatchewanderer’s official search partner,” Vice-President of Marketing Colin Savage said. “We are eager to support Andrew as he uses mysask411.com, the Mysask411 Mobile App and the SaskTel Phonebook to find local information and businesses across our wonderful province. We are equally excited to witness how our partnership will grow awareness of Saskatchewan businesses and support people to find and discover local information – however, wherever and whenever they need it.”
Planning the next year of travels for Hiltz is underway. If you have a story idea that you’d like to share with him, connect with him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/skwanderer, Twitter @SkWanderer or Instagram @saskatchewanderer. To keep up with the latest blogs, follow him on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/skwandererofficial or visit the website at www.saskatchewanderer.ca.
Hiltz will be employed as the Saskatchewanderer until December 2017.
The Saskatchewanderer program is supported by Tourism Saskatchewan, the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy, and Parks, Culture and Sport. The program’s mandate is to promote the many ways that Saskatchewan is an amazing place to live, work and play.
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For more information, contact:
Brooke Lochbaum
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3506
Email: brooke.lochbaum@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-550-5927