All the best to you in 2026.

I wish each of you a fine festive season and a happy and healthy new year. It has been an eventful year for me and my family. A few weeks ago on November 21, 2025, I lost the love of my life, my wife Lezley, to a courageous battle with cancer. And in the previous twelve months, I also lost my mother-in-law Janie Worel and brother-in-law Ralph Worel.

I do take solace in having enjoyed many things in 2025 with Lez. We celebrated our son Alec and Mimi's wedding in Mexico. Lez was thrilled to have Aaron, Stephanie, Alec, Mimi, Kiki and I together for the celebration. We also visited the Netherlands one more time (many of you may recall that the Netherlands was Lez's adopted homeland; she sometimes seemed to be more Dutch than even myself). And we were able to take in several music festivals across the prairies. We also got a chance to see my brother, my sister, and their spouses together in Regina.

I promise to get back to our typical Christmas poem next year.

I also promise to see as many of you in person as possible next year. Lezley did not want a formal service. Instead, I hope to organize several informal celebrations of her life in Edmonton, Regina, and The Netherlands. We'll raise a glass of wine, listen to a classic rock and roll anthem and share a hug thinking about her.

As per her wishes, Lez's ashes will be spread on Old Baldy (Bald Butte) in the Cypress Hills of south-west Saskatchewan so she can enjoy the view of her beloved prairies forever.