Indigenous business consultant Bill Adsit is the guest speaker for the annual Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast, Saturday morning. (submitted photo/Bill Adsit)

By Angela Brown

Faith-filled success stories

Indigenous businessman to share story of overcoming adversity at Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast

May 24, 2019 | 2:00 PM

Bill Adsit knows what it takes to overcome adversity.

The Indigenous business consultant has surmounted both personal and career challenges in his life to reach his goals.

Adsit is the guest speaker for the upcoming Battlefords Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast event this year.

As a residential school survivor and a victim of abuse, like many others Adsit struggled with substance abuse as he tried to cope with his demons later as an adult. The member of The Tahltan First Nation in northern B.C. said he eventually overcame his addiction through prayer and perseverance.

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“At the end of the day, (experts) talk about childhood adverse experiences, and I experienced most of them,” he told battlefordsNOW of his challenges. “I prayed at one time, and my life has changed. God has been a great help in my life.”

Adsit will speak about his personal hurdles, as well as his work as the former president and CEO of The Tahltan Nation Development Corporation during the breakfast event.

As part of his efforts in reaching his goals, Adsit managed to turn the struggling corporation around to make it profitable, and help find employment for The Tahltan Nation people.

Adsit said partnering with other professional organizations and agencies helped the corporation succeed, and aided the reserve in sustaining itself, to ensure its members obtained gainful employment and learned career skills at the same time.

“When I took over, they were basically bankrupt. By the time I left nine years later, we had just about full employment in our territory,” he said. “We had about 30 different companies that we set up. Everything changed, and it’s still going strong. It’s the main employer of the Tahltan people. It’s a success story there, that’s for sure.”

The Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast event is being organized by the interdenominational Battlefords Ministerial Association.

St. Paul’s Anglican Church Rev. Trevor Malyon is a member of the association and part of the event organizing committee. He encourages everyone who can to attend.

“It’s honouring our mayors (and) letting them know that there is a church community who support them,” he said. “We’re praying for them to make wise decisions for all the constituents, all the people within the area.”

The event will take place in the upper hall at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in North Battleford, Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Tickets for the Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast will be available at the door or in advance in the community.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW