[Duchess, AB] – The family-run photography studio RyKie Images & Events was named 2016 Rural Business of the Year during the recent Brooks & District Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
 
“It’s indeed an honour to receive this award,” noted Ryan Kiedrowski, Owner of RyKie Images & Events. “We’ve worked hard to serve the City of Brooks, County of Newell and beyond for several years. An accolade like this confirms that our dream can become a reality.”
 
Every year, the Chamber hands out awards to the top businesses in the area. This year, there were 50 businesses represented in 11 categories. RyKie Images & Events is the first photography studio to win such an award from the Chamber.
 
“Now more than ever, events like the Chamber Awards are crucial,” Kiedrowski said. “Alberta is in the worst economic crisis in memory, but local business is still thriving. That’s such a positive sign.” In fact, 2015 yielded the best financial year to date for the company.
 
RyKie Images & Events has been operating in the County of Newell since 2008. The Duchess-based studio plans to enhance client services even further with a couple key partnerships including work with a major website developer and teaching at a post-secondary centre.

Rolli, the flash-fiction genius, is back with another thrilling tale. If you are unfamiliar with this sensational storyteller from Saskatchewan, you had better GET familiar with him!
Your intellect will thank you.
​The Sea-Wave is his sixth book and follows events of what happens after an elderly (and emotionally damaged) man abducts a severely-disabled girl. The 12-year-old is bound to a wheelchair, and guides the reader through this story via her Memorandum Book - a diary that explores not only the events she is enduring, but life in general from her perspective.
This novel is an incredible exploration of society's views and biases toward people with disabilities. There's even a nod to the infamous and ground-breaking 1993 Robert Latimer 'compassionate homicide' case that made national and international headlines globally. It also continues to be debated widely across Rolli's Saskatchewan homeland where the Latimer family resides.
Employing flash fiction to tell such a tale is shocking and jarring - just as it should be. Each page makes the reader stand up and take notice, and this is why Rolli is so good at what he does. He is not a guy writing about something from another person's perspective, he IS that person. These ARE the thoughts of a depressive kid stuck in a wheelchair.
And this is not just a one-off thing, Rolli's work (be it through his other fiction, poetry, kids books or stuff that was in The Walrus) features such unique and colourful personalities. He convinces the reader in a very short course that he IS the person; not just the voice or conduit. Character development is something some authors need pages if not the entire book to sell the reader on. With Rolli, the fully-cooked character is immediately there without wasting your time.
That being said, Rolli does have a unique style that is plain unforgettable. Once you complete one of his books, there's a sense of dread and longing because it's over. Booo!!!!
Look for Rolli's work wherever fine books are sold, or head on over to his website and explore his wonderful writings and artwork.
Impress your friends when you host an intellectual party - fill your bookshelf with Rolli!