2019 Saskatchewanderer ready to hit the road

The newest Saskatchewanderer is ready for a year of adventure, and he’s bringing along his trusty dog for company.

Zane Buchanan, who grew up near White City, said he’s excited to be this year’s Saskatchewanderer. The role, which was created in 2011, sends a young tech-savvy person all around the province to highlight and promote Saskatchewan through blog posts, videos, photos and social media. Buchanan told CKOM/CJME’s John Gormley that applying for the job seemed like an obvious choice.

“This is kind of a dream job for anyone,” Buchanan said. “It just seemed kind of like a no-brainer.”

Buchanan said he heard stereotypes and negative impressions about Saskatchewan while he was living in Toronto and Vancouver, which he intends to help disprove on his travels this year.

“My goal is to kind of prove those people wrong,” he said. “My main priority is immersing myself in a lot of diversity.”

He said he intends to spend time in northern and remote communities and First Nations, and get involved in some projects with the LGBTQ community as well, to truly showcase the cultural diversity that can be found in Saskatchewan.

Buchanan said he won’t be alone on his travels this year. He’ll be travelling along with his dog, Stedman. He said he was originally planning on getting a female dog, who would have been named Oprah, but fell in love with a male from the litter instead, so he named him after Oprah Winfrey’s long-time partner Stedman Graham.

“That was the male counterpart of Oprah, and he looks like a Stedman,” Buchanan said with a laugh.

Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Mary Taylor-Ash said Buchanan has exactly what the unique job requires.

“Zane has the right combination of an outgoing personality, creative nature and impressive skills to succeed in the role,” Taylor-Ash said in a statement.

“We look forward to the discoveries and stories that Zane will share across social media.”