The Lloydminster and Area Brain Injury Society’s (LABIS) new director of operations has high hopes for the organization as she settles into her new role.
Maxine Lebo, the new director of operations for LABIS, who started the position in October 2025, says it’s been great learning on the job.
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“It’s been good. It’s been a huge learning curve, definitely,” she said. “I’m learning a lot and I’m learning a bunch of new stuff that makes me feel more confident in the role.”
Only a few months into the role, Lebo hopes to help those that utilize the organization’s programming daily.
“We’re working towards getting a transportation sponsor. That’s going to be one of my big initiatives,” said Lebo. “All of our participants are on really fixed incomes and something that we can’t provide to them is free transportation.
“They have to pay every day to get to and from the facility. I think it’s about $8 each ride, so about $16 a day. If they’re coming to program twice a week, three times a week let’s say, that gets quite pricey.”
She hopes to secure a sponsor for someone else to take on that cost, alleviating financial pressure from those coming into the LABIS facility.
This year also marks a major milestone for the non-profit.
“So, it’s our 40th year anniversary,” said Lebo.
LABIS will be gearing up for some exciting events to commemorate the anniversary.
“We have an open house in June at the LABIS facility,” she said. “October is the month we officially became an organization, that’s when we’re going to have a bit of a Halloween-themed birthday dance.
“We usually have our normal fundraisers but we wanted to incorporate a couple more things just to really hit home that it’s our 40th anniversary.”
LABIS’ yearly fundraisers will still go on, in addition to some new ideas.
“We have our silent auctions. We have one in April and one in November,” said Lebo. “We also have our charity golf tournament in June, our bones tournament in August and our softball tournament in September.”
She says many of the fundraisers LABIS hosts have been running for years, noting the fun people have at events such as the Bones tournament.
“We want to keep those rolling and then maybe just incorporate some new things as well,” she said.
So far, Lebo’s experience at LABIS has been positive, putting on her first fundraiser, a silent auction.
“We had our first fundraiser in November, and that’s when all of us first rolled on,” she said.
She explained while it was a stressful experience, it also gave her valuable insight into organizing future fundraisers.
“We were all just dipping our toes in,” said Lebo. “For the April one, we know exactly what to do.”
She says her past working experiences have helped prepare her for her current role.
“I’m very much a people person. I really like getting out there and talking to people and getting to know people,” she said. “I really want to get to know the Lloydminster community more.”
PROGRAMMING
LABIS offers a variety of programming, helping those who have an acquired brain injury.
“We offer recreational, social and educational programming,” said Lebo. “It’s all free. We have programming every day of the week, whether it be in our LABIS facility or outside the facility.
“Monday, Wednesdays and Thursdays we have a program called Pathways to Empowerment, it runs from 10 a.m. until about 3:30 p.m.”
Activities hosted by LABIS are aimed at supporting those with acquired brain injuries in a variety of ways.
“Members of the community with acquired brain injuries come into the office and spend time with us, do activities with us that stimulate their brain function and get them in a social and recreational environment,” she said.
“On Tuesdays, we have our walking track programs. Our program director meets our participants at the Servus Sports Centre and we do some walking around the track.”
Lebo says even just a simple conversation can have a big impact.
“We have good conversation and it’s mostly just that physical stimulation to go along with talking. It gets your motor and your brain skills working,” she said.
LABIS also offers outreach programming on Fridays and Tuesdays.
“If you aren’t somebody that wants to come in house to our LABIS programming, we can come to you,” said Lebo. “We can go out in the community with you or we can stay at your home or in your safe space. We’re able to spend time with you and do things with you that would need extra support doing.”
The message she has for those suffering from an acquired brain injury was one of togetherness.
“We’re here to help you not feel alone. You’re not in this alone; we’re all in this together,” Lebo stated.
NEXT STEPS
Looking to the future, Lebo wants to bring new ideas to the table.
“I’m really excited for what LABIS has coming. With me being so new, I want to bring in my fresh ideas, new fundraising and initiatives,” she said.
Organized as ever, Lebo works to plan the fundraisers they’ll be putting on.
“I’m hoping that within the next couple months, even within the next year, I have some groundwork laid out for the coming years,” she said. “I can plan doing more fundraisers.”
GETTING INVOLVED
Being a non-profit, LABIS is always in need of donations to support their organization.
“LABIS is always looking for donations. You can come into the office and give us a donation through cheque or anything like that or you can become a sponsor,” said Lebo. “We have sponsorship for all our fundraisers as well as campaign sponsors.
“If you are a business or an individual that wants to give back to LABIS, just give us a call at 306-825-7212.”
They are also seeking additional volunteers to help out.
“Anybody can volunteer and we have a volunteer package that we can provide to you,” she said. “We do need a clean vulnerable criminal record check, that’s the only requirement.
“We only have three staff and we really rely on our volunteers to help us out with fundraising and everything.”
You can find everything LABIS related on LABIS.ca or email them with any questions at LA***@*****el.net.
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