Ray Orb stepping down as president of SARM

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) will lose its long-time president this week as Ray Orb steps down.

Orb has been on the board of the association since 2004 and served as its president since 2015.

“I believe now it’s the time for me to start slowing and to think about retirement,” said Orb, though he also said he didn’t know what that might look like.

“I’ve got a family, I’ve got a wife that’s sat behind me for a long time and we have children and we have grandchildren too,” he said.

Orb didn’t want to say he was sorry to step down, because he thought it was his time.

“Everyone is only popular for so long, and I think that’s the stage I’m at now,” he said.

READ MORE:

• Lake Diefenbaker announcement elicits different responses
• Education, crop insurance, ‘Queen of Canada’ discussed at SARM convention
• Leaders in Sask. agriculture remember MLA Lyle Stewart

Orb announced earlier this year that he wouldn’t be running again for the position of reeve in the RM of Cupar.

In his years running and helping to run SARM, Orb said the thing that sticks out for him is the work it did on education tax on farmland. He said it was a big issue in rural Saskatchewan.

“There was so much disparity between one school district and another that SARM felt that this should be looked at. I think it really held back rural Saskatchewan, to the point where many people couldn’t afford to continue to pay their taxes,” explained Orb.

He said SARM worked with others and talked to the provincial government, and after the government changed in 2007 the issue started being looked at seriously and it was eventually changed. Orb said farmers are saving a lot of money as a result.

Bill Huber, the organization’s vice president, will take over as acting president until SARM chooses a new leader.

“I have big boots to fill. I’ve got a leader that’s leaving us and he’s done an excellent job over the years and I’ve worked very closely with him,” said Huber.

He said he and Orb have worked together for a number of years with SARM, and have been neighbours and friends for most of their lives.

Huber said there’s lots of work ahead of SARM – continuing to take care of their members, working on keeping of infrastructure like the 1,400 bridges in the province, and lobbying other levels of government.

“It’s always tough when we get to Ottawa, we don’t have a lot of wins, but we’ve got to keep knocking on their door and fighting to support our members in this province and work closely with our provincial counterparts here,” said Huber.