For the first time in its five-year history, the Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan (IBAS) has named co-recipients of the prestigious #BrokersCare Bursary.

Presented in partnership with Wawanesa Insurance, this award was established to recognize graduating grade 12 students who exemplify outstanding dedication to empowering their communities. In 2024, the independent selection committee chose to recognize two honourees: Lanea Lafontaine of Regina and Lilly Church, who resides on a farm outside Annaheim. Each has received a $5,000 cash award.

“Community is foundational to everything we do at IBAS and is at the heart of what it means to be an insurance broker in Saskatchewan,” says IBAS President & CEO Derek Lothian. “Since its inception in 2020, this bursary program has provided $31,000 to support young leaders in the cities and towns our members call home, and I couldn’t be more pleased with this year’s decision to celebrate the outstanding contributions of both these special individuals.”

Lanea Lafontaine is the sister of Telia Lafontaine, who received the same bursary in 2023. But Lanea’s community involvement stands out in its own right. She actively serves as a mentor for inner-city youth, volunteers her musical talents performing for and teaching senior citizens, is a member of the RCMP National Youth Advisory Board, is a first aid attendee with St. John’s Ambulance, was president of her local JustServe club, and has lent her time to dozens of local and national organizations, including Wild Outside Canada, Soup After Dark, the Regina Food Bank, Bishop’s Storehouse, the Comeback Society, REACH Regina, and Circles of Reconciliation.

Lafontaine is attending the University of Regina this fall, where she is beginning her post-secondary journey to become a licensed physician in the province.

Church, meanwhile, is the first recipient of the #BrokersCare Bursary to hail from rural Saskatchewan. Throughout high school, she channeled her passion for mental health into initiatives and causes that reduced the stigma and provided meaningful resources to those who needed it. Church helped champion the HEADSTRONG initiative, leading a series of wildly successful fundraisers and kick-starting the school’s inaugural K – 12 ‘mental health day,’ which featured Saskatchewan Roughrider alumni Dan Clark as guest speaker.

These experiences have inspired Church to pursue a career as a teacher specializing in middle-years education. She is also attending the University of Regina this fall.

“It isn’t by accident that community and collaboration are two of our core values at Wawanesa Insurance,” adds Randy Dhillon, the company’s vice president for the central region. “As a mutual insurer, we exist primarily to serve our members and support their communities. That’s why this bursary program is such a wonderful fit for our organization — and why we are so proud to be the founding partner of IBAS’s broader #BrokersCare initiative. Together, we are strengthening Saskatchewan.”

For more information about #BrokersCare and the #BrokersCare Community Fund, please click here.

A special thank you to our Presenting Partner for making this program possible: