Sponsored Content
At True North, dedicated employees make a big impact

As senior director of game presentation with Winnipeg-based True North Sports + Entertainment, Kyle Balharry wears lots of different hats — writer, director, producer and creator among them.

Game presentation is just one element of a Winnipeg Jets’ gameday experience, and the Jets are just one entity among True North’s larger portfolio of brands and programming. Such diverse operations require the expertise of many professions and talents, in both full-time and casual roles.

Balharry’s game presentation team includes five full-time employees and dozens more casual team members who work together to complement the guests’ in-arena entertainment experience where the hockey game itself is the star.

For the Jets’ 41 regular season home games each season, more than 1,800 casual employees arrive to work at the team’s downtown home arena, Canada Life Centre. They help staff food and beverage kiosks, sell official team merchandise in Jets gear outlets, provide hospitality and security services, and more.

Among them are the scores of casual employees who join forces with Balharry and his full-time crew. Some operate the state-of-the-art audio and visual systems; the promo team hypes the crowd along with mascots Mick E. Moose and Benny; and the in-game hosts, DJs and organist focus on entertaining.

To coordinate everyone’s cues, Balharry stays connected via headset. Five or six people may be talking to him at once, all keen on ensuring the myriad in-arena events and activities unfold as planned.

Is it nerve-racking? Sometimes. Is Balharry proud of their collective impact? Always, he says.

“We have 60 to 70 talented, dedicated individuals who are responsible for everything presented at a home game from the time the doors open till the last person leaves,” he says. “Our strength is the passion of the people who work with us.”

President and chief operating officer John Olfert agrees. “Our organization depends on people who care about what they do,” he says. “Whether they’re interacting with guests, supporting operations, or creating what fans see on the ice and in the building, that commitment shows up every day.”

Dawn Haus, senior vice president of culture and guest experience and chief people officer, says True North’s casual employees come from varied backgrounds. Some have full-time jobs elsewhere, some are retirees and for others it’s their first job, she says.

Casual employment can sometimes even be a path to a full-time opportunity with True North, Haus says. As well as simply being exposed to the opportunities available, there’s an advantage to being familiar with the organization, she adds.

In addition to the high-profile Jets, Truth North’s corporate portfolio includes the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, the multiplex Hockey for All Centre, True North Real Estate Development — currently redeveloping Portage Place — and TN Hospitality, which grew significantly in 2024 when it assumed food and beverage services at Canada Life Centre and the Burton Cummings Theatre.

“There really are just so many types of roles here,” says Haus. In addition to typical business functions, including accounting and legal, each True North entity requires unique knowledge and skill sets ranging from creative to administrative and technical to manual.

She cites the example of the True North Youth Foundation (TNYF), the organization’s charitable arm where fundraising efforts support its mission to make a difference in the lives of underserved youth in Manitoba. One of the TNYF’s three programs, Camp Manitou, employs both high school students and those working or pursuing careers in education to offer meaningful experiences as camp leaders year-round.

“There are a lot of great people who put so much energy and effort into everything that takes place at True North,” says Haus. “People here work their hearts out.”