Connecting Your Community

Jeff Cove - Manager The Watch (Audio)

I am currently the Manager of The Watch.
I was a police officer for nearly 29 years in Lethbridge, from 1985 to 2014.  I held 11 different jobs through four ranks during my tenure, retiring as an Inspector in 2014.  After retiring I worked as a safety coordinator for a local custom home builder, I was the Regional Manager for the Commissionaires for a year and a half providing security services for a number of clients in Southern Alberta, and I was an instructor at a local private vocational school a curriculum I had developed for them for Security Professional and as a provincially certified Basic Security Training and Private Investigator Training instructor. 
I started with The Watch as a volunteer in the first training class in April of 2019.  I saw it as an opportunity to give back to a community that had been so generous to my family and I in a way that I was familiar with.  My family was into volunteering, especially my wife who is a past president of the Lethbridge and District YWCA and the Lethbridge and District Boys and Girls Club.  She had volunteered at our daughter’s schools in addition to that, and now it was my turn.  Besides, I was mostly retired so I had time to give back. We have two grown daughters who live with their husbands and children in Lethbridge.  One of our daughters is a nurse and one is an emergency dispatcher in the Lethbridge Public Safety Communications Centre.  We have four grand children, a boy and three girls, ages 9, 7, 5 and 2.   
The Watch Manager’s job became vacant when our initial manager left in September last year,  and we had an acting Manager who was doing a great job but was set to start training as a Community Peace Officer in the spring.  I was asked to apply for the Manager’s position last December, which was the furthest thing from my mind as I was very content being a volunteer and being mostly retired at that time.  However there was a need in the community and I saw it as an opportunity to ensure there was something good being done in the community to address an large problem, and it was an opportunity to develop The Watch into a positive social partner to help solve that problem, so I applied.  Here I am eight months later…not retired and enjoying the work.

Jeff Cove - Manager The Watch (Video)

I am currently the Manager of The Watch.
I was a police officer for nearly 29 years in Lethbridge, from 1985 to 2014.  I held 11 different jobs through four ranks during my tenure, retiring as an Inspector in 2014.  After retiring I worked as a safety coordinator for a local custom home builder, I was the Regional Manager for the Commissionaires for a year and a half providing security services for a number of clients in Southern Alberta, and I was an instructor at a local private vocational school a curriculum I had developed for them for Security Professional and as a provincially certified Basic Security Training and Private Investigator Training instructor. 
I started with The Watch as a volunteer in the first training class in April of 2019.  I saw it as an opportunity to give back to a community that had been so generous to my family and I in a way that I was familiar with.  My family was into volunteering, especially my wife who is a past president of the Lethbridge and District YWCA and the Lethbridge and District Boys and Girls Club.  She had volunteered at our daughter’s schools in addition to that, and now it was my turn.  Besides, I was mostly retired so I had time to give back. We have two grown daughters who live with their husbands and children in Lethbridge.  One of our daughters is a nurse and one is an emergency dispatcher in the Lethbridge Public Safety Communications Centre.  We have four grand children, a boy and three girls, ages 9, 7, 5 and 2.   
The Watch Manager’s job became vacant when our initial manager left in September last year,  and we had an acting Manager who was doing a great job but was set to start training as a Community Peace Officer in the spring.  I was asked to apply for the Manager’s position last December, which was the furthest thing from my mind as I was very content being a volunteer and being mostly retired at that time.  However there was a need in the community and I saw it as an opportunity to ensure there was something good being done in the community to address an large problem, and it was an opportunity to develop The Watch into a positive social partner to help solve that problem, so I applied.  Here I am eight months later…not retired and enjoying the work.

Jen Visser - Executive Director Big Brothers Big Sisters (Audio)

My name is Jen Visser and I’m the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge and District. I’ve been part of this organization for 10 years and have seen first hand the lasting impact that volunteer based mentoring has on our community. I moved to Lethbridge in 2002 to pursue my university education and choose to stay in Lethbridge post graduation. I’m married to my husband Jordan and together we have an 8 year old son, Aiden. 

Jen Visser - Executive Director Big Brothers Big Sisters (Video)

My name is Jen Visser and I’m the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge and District. I’ve been part of this organization for 10 years and have seen first hand the lasting impact that volunteer based mentoring has on our community. I moved to Lethbridge in 2002 to pursue my university education and choose to stay in Lethbridge post graduation. I’m married to my husband Jordan and together we have an 8 year old son, Aiden. 

Bill Ginther - Executive Director Lethbridge Soup Kitchen (Audio)

My name is Bill Ginther, currently the Executive Director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen, my third un-retirement job.
The reason for accepting this position at this stage of my life is solely because of my passion for the poor (our homeless neighbours) and a deep desire to do whatever I can to restore and enhance their dignity, by way of providing a safe/comfortable/non judgemental environment for people to enjoy a hot/nutritious meal 3x a day 7 days a week without the need to qualify.
I’m also passionate about providing meaningful activity for homeless people and am currently working with a group of people of like mind trying to establish a Community Drop In Centre in Lethbridge.
I’m blessed to be surrounded by a great staff, a large core of amazing volunteers and a highly supportive board of directors.

Bill Ginther - Executive Director Lethbridge Soup Kitchen (Video)

My name is Bill Ginther, currently the Executive Director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen, my third un-retirement job.
The reason for accepting this position at this stage of my life is solely because of my passion for the poor (our homeless neighbours) and a deep desire to do whatever I can to restore and enhance their dignity, by way of providing a safe/comfortable/non judgemental environment for people to enjoy a hot/nutritious meal 3x a day 7 days a week without the need to qualify.
I’m also passionate about providing meaningful activity for homeless people and am currently working with a group of people of like mind trying to establish a Community Drop In Centre in Lethbridge.
I’m blessed to be surrounded by a great staff, a large core of amazing volunteers and a highly supportive board of directors.

Sarah Heringer - Suicide Awareness (Audio)

My name is Sarah Heringer. I am the mother of two wonderful children- a son, 12, and a daughter, 10. I am here because I lost my partner to suicide July 30th. My intentions are to raise awareness about the disconnect for services available, to acknowledge the divide for men to speak about mental health, and to stress the importance that we freely discuss mental health and addiction to our youth to remove the stigma.

Sarah Heringer - Suicide Awareness (Video)

My name is Sarah Heringer. I am the mother of two wonderful children- a son, 12, and a daughter, 10. I am here because I lost my partner to suicide July 30th. My intentions are to raise awareness about the disconnect for services available, to acknowledge the divide for men to speak about mental health, and to stress the importance that we freely discuss mental health and addiction to our youth to remove the stigma.