Gratitude is hard-won and very much earned by the various farms and farmers across the southwest.

That's why the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) was proud to host their annual Farmers Appreciation Night last Friday.

The event, which took place at the Living Sky Casino Event Centre, saw a large turnout of local faces, farmers, and officials. They were treated to an evening of food, friends and entertainment, courtesy of the SCCC.

Karla Wiens, CEO of the SCCC, attended the event herself and had a great time speaking with supporting the guests of honour. 

"Really, it's just an opportunity for the ag industry to celebrate and honour the primary producers and the women and men of agriculture in any way, shape or fashion," said Wiens.

Also in attendance were local levels of government for both the City of Swift and the Province of Saskatchewan. Attending on behalf of Swift Current city council was City Councillor Pat Friesen. For the province, two big names came out to shake hands with their constituents, Member of Parliament Jeremy Patzer and Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley. For the ag sector, David Marrit, the Minister of Agriculture himself, was in attendance.

"We also were very fortunate that Saskatchewan Roughrider Jorgan Hus was in attendance to do meet and greets," added Wiens. "He's a fantastic class act all the way that people loved visiting with."

This was the first year SCCC brought in a comedian. The choice proved to be a smashing success, as Kelly Taylor brought in a massive crop of laughter throughout his set. 

"Who was absolutely hilarious," praised Wiens. "He's a comedian from Saskatoon who has a uniquely Saskatchewan sense of humour that had people's cheeks hurting by the end of the evening."

After Taylor finished bringing uproars of laughter, they moved on to auctioning off donated goods. The auction was an effort to raise money for STARS Air Ambulance, which saw the southwest ag community sparing no small amount of charitable spirit.

"Quite frankly, when I told them about the generosity of southwest Saskatchewan and the ag community here, they were astounded."

Together, attendees managed to bring in just over $14,000 for STARS. The air ambulance service is something that farmers can uniquely appreciate, as they know all too well the dangers injury can present when out in the field, far from help.