The Shilo Symposium generated a charged-up energy for more than 230 attendees and vendors who gathered to share information about resources for military members, families and veterans on Oct. 15.

 

The Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) assembled a vast array of community partners, employers, veterans services, government organizations and educators to showcase their services for the military and defence community, CFB Shilo Base Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Jack Nguyen said.

 

“With everyone coming out together, it creates great efficiencies, and it generates a lot of buzz. We get a lot of foot traffic through our military community … they get to see a lot more resources they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see otherwise,” he said.

 

Event Organizer Christine Helgason, employment counsellor and community development manager at the MFRC, said 59 vendors registered for the event, with some travelling from as far away as Ottawa for the networking opportunity.

 

She said one key indicator of the event’s success was the one-on-one interaction with attendees.

 

“Having targeted folks available in one place so they can get answers to all of their questions, sometimes questions they didn’t even know they had, has been amazing.”

 

A new highlight of the information convention was the Red River College mobile classroom and virtual reality activities attendees could try. Numerous displays and demonstrations were held throughout the six-hour event.

Lieutenant-Colonel Paddy Knox, commander of 1 Royal Regiment Canadian Horse Artillery, said the unit brought drone-related equipment to showcase, including a simulator.

 

“It’s where we’re … trying to lead forward. So we have various different systems. We have some that we’re making ourselves, some that are issued to us, but are allowing us to train new things,” he said.

 

“The symposiums are exposing the community to the military, and also the military to the community, giving some options to our people. For us, we want to show off things that we think invigorate or motivate people to want to try what we do and become more involved with us.

 

Knox said the symposium gives people a sense of what is available to people transitioning out of the military and to others who are new and moving in. He added the Base is a large employer in the Brandon area and the symposium creates an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the happenings in Westman.

 

He said it’s a good way to integrate deeper in the community and to integrate families as well.

 

“ It also shows off what we do too. It’s a two-way thing. It’s not just about showing people to the Army. It’s also the Army showing off what we’re doing … “

 

“I think, from an Army perspective, participants can meet some great soldiers doing all sorts of things, and they can talk to them. They get a better sense of our people and how awesome our people are.”

From a wider community-based perspective, he said, the symposium is an excellent way to gain exposure to a military-civilian hybrid.

 

Whether it’s police, paramedics, banking, education or community services, all these different things are here. It’s a great place for us to share, understand and build common value.

“It’s a great way to see the other side of what’s going on and look behind the curtain of opportunities, both in the military and after the military too,” LCol Knox said.

The Base Commander of CFB Shilo said he wants to share the showcase opportunity with as many people as possible.

 

“We encourage businesses to come out. We encourage participants to come out and take advantage of this great opportunity here on the Base,” LCol Jack Nguyen said.

 

Event organizer Helgason said the event’s pillars – career management, health and wellness, and veteran supports, come to life when participants come in and get the information they need.

“That is absolutely why we do this every year, and why we will continue supporting the community this way.”