It is somehow appropriate that Debra Gronning played a key role in the demise of the most enduring symbol of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Gone are the gaudy gold jackets donned by SARM directors at every annual convention for decades. They have been replaced by a more subdued brown jacket.
Initially, members of the male-dominated board of directors resisted the idea of changing their highly recognizable attire, until they were presented with an irrefutable argument.
“I put the brown on and stood beside (president) Neal Hardy in his gold and I said, ‘OK you guys, who looks better here?’ ” said Gronning, who was sporting the new brown jacket at SARM’s 2004 midterm convention in Saskatoon last week.
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The jackets are symbolic of a much bigger attitudinal adjustment occurring at SARM, a group that will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2005.
As the first elected female director of the association, Gronning has injected new perspective into what some people viewed as an old boys’ club, said Hardy.
“You’re going to see a lot more (women) running for election. I think it’s just the first step to changing how we do things looking ahead,” he said.
Ironically, Hardy opened the conference with a well-received joke that equated a farmer’s wife to a mad cow. He ended the anecdote by saying he hoped he hadn’t offended any women in attendance.
In an interview the following day, Hardy said he had trepidations about telling the joke but went ahead with it because he didn’t feel it was mean-spirited. He said his speech certainly didn’t represent any vestiges of SARM’s old boys’ club.
“We now have a lot of women on council, 70 percent of the administrators are ladies and there are a bunch of reeves who are ladies,” he pointed out.
Gronning, a director since March 2002, said it hasn’t been difficult or awkward being the only woman on the board of directors.
In fact she welcomes her role as a symbol of SARM’s new progressive and inclusive approach to municipal governance.
However, based on the three director elections that took place in 2004, she wonders how successful she has been at encouraging other women to step forward.
“I was kind of disappointed that no women ran because I thought I set the stage.”
Gronning, a mother of three boys, believes women are strong advocates for their communities because they are used to lobbying on behalf of their children.
She sees herself as a consensus-builder on SARM’s board, somebody who has the ability to disarm men who tend to position themselves for confrontation over certain issues.
“I never have my mind made up. I listen to everybody. I can see all sides.”
And as the group’s unofficial historian, she can provide valuable background on issues before the board. Gronning has read through all the resolutions and minute books since the association was formed in 1905 in order to create a “bathroom reader” yearbook of interesting snippets for SARM’s 100th year celebration.
In March 2005, Gronning plans to run for re-election. Having learned the ropes, she is now on a few committees and feels she can make a more meaningful contribution to the association if she is elected for another two-year term. And she hopes other women will follow her lead.
