TTHEK'EHDELI/JEAN MARIE RIVER
A lot of blood, sweat and tears are what go into hosting Dehcho First Nations' annual assembly, according to one organizer.

Aggie Hardisty, who was in charge of the kitchen, flips baked potatoes in preparation for the supper on June 25 at Dehcho First Nations' annual assembly in Jean Marie River. Approximately 12 workers and 19 volunteers worked behind the scenes to keep the assembly running smoothly. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

While leaders and delegates met in Jean Marie River's arbor from June 24 to 26, a small army of staff and volunteers were working behind the scenes to ensure the assembly ran smoothly. It costs approximately $110,000 to run the assembly, said Alison de Pelham, Dehcho First Nations' (DFN) acting executive director.

That amount is divided into a $50,000 contract for the host community and approximately $60,000 for DFN's costs including travel, organizing the delegates, honorariums and the binder each delegate receives. The cost doesn't include staff time, said de Pelham.

It takes three solid weeks of work for DFN's staff to prepare for the assembly. A week of that is spent on copying and organizing the papers for the delegates' binders, which included 31 topic tabs this year. It's a monumental effort for three days of meetings, she said.

"They put in a lot of energy during the day," de Pelham said about the staff.

In Jean Marie River, work began even earlier.

"May 1, we really hit the ground running," said Ria Letcher, who was hired by the community as their assembly co-ordinator.

"It's been two months of work."

Tasks that had to be completed included making tent poles and barbecue pits, improving the cooking facility, preparing the assembly grounds and tidying up the community. The toilets were a critical component, said Letcher.

She designed a gravity-fed system that Noel Hardisty, a local resident, built. The result received a lot of complements during the assembly.

The community wants to promote the arbor grounds and use them for more events, Letcher said.

During the three days of the assembly, approximately 12 staff and 19 volunteers kept the meeting functioning by looking after everything from cooking to feeding the fire to delivering water.

"Everyone is pretty busy," she said.

The days are long, but the staff are divided into shifts, said Letcher.

"I keep reminding them, it's only for three days."

Aggie Hardisty was in charge of running the kitchen that turned out three tasty meals a day as well as snacks for the delegates and other visitors to the assembly. Hardisty reserved praise for 19 students from Corpus Christie College in Vancouver who volunteered during the assembly.

"The students make everything so much easier," she said.

All of the hard work that everyone was putting in was worth it, said Letcher.

"It's going great. It's one of the better assemblies we've seen put together," she said.