Background
I was born and raised in Transcona. My wife Laura and I both graduated from Transcona Collegiate and raised our family of three wonderful daughters in our fine community. We are blessed with six grandchildren: one recently graduated from Murdock MacKay Collegiate, heading to university and two others attend Transcona schools. Three grandkids live outside of Winnipeg with a couple just starting their education journeys.
A lifetime of commitment to education
I am a career educator, starting my teaching career in Cranberry Portage for Frontier School Division. We moved back to Winnipeg where I taught a year in the Winnipeg School Division before moving into Transcona Springfield School Division (prior to becoming River East Transcona School Division). I enjoyed 35 years as a teacher and principal followed by being elected to serve two terms as a Ward 1 trustee in River East Transcona. This included 2 years as vice chair and 1 year as chair of the RETSD board of trustees as well as a director for Region 5 on Manitoba School Boards Association.
Change in resident
In 2022 I did not run for the school board as Laura and I moved to our cottage in Ontario. We lived there for three years until we recently moved back into Transcona. My passion for education and pride in Transcona has led me back to once again put my name forward to serve as your trustee in River East Transcona.
Community focused: A lifetime of giving back
My personal life experiences have always been proudly focused on community, service and finding meaningful ways to give back. Over the years, I have coached numerous school and community sports teams, which naturally led to deep involvement with our local community clubs as a convener, coaching development mentor and President of the local ringette association.
In 2012, I was incredibly proud to be part of the dedicated group that resurrected junior hockey in our neighborhood. I served as the President of the Transcona Railer Express for 10 years and continue to support the team today as Past President on the board of directors. I am especially proud that our organization works tirelessly to foster the core values of education, volunteerism and community service. To date, we have supported post-secondary learning and future careers by awarding over $150,000 in student scholarships.
Beyond hockey, I stand with our players volunteering at the Transcona Food Bank, assisting the local Legion with their annual Remembrance Day event, supporting minor hockey teams and helping out at various community club events. We also reach out to early years schools to volunteer reading to students during I Love to Read month. I find immense personal value in helping others, and I strive every day to instill those exact same values in our children and youth —working together to make our community better.
Jerry Sodomlak for RETSD school trustee 