Reaching Out To New People

Until October 16th, I will be taking some time every Monday to tell you a bit about myself. I’ll be sharing something that has both prepared me for Council and which makes me different than many other candidates.

Today, I want to talk about my history.

On Council, we need people who have been here for a long time. They bring a feel for the history of this town. But we also need a voice to represent our newest residents. Attracting and retaining quality people is essential for the long term economic and social health of our community. I hope to be the voice on Council that understands their perspective.

I have only been in Grande Prairie for six years. I know what it is to be a new person in town.

Like many, I had a plan to move to Grande Prairie just long enough to advance my career. I was going to put in my time, then get out of here. It only took Naomi (my wife) and I about six months to decide on a change of plans. We love this place. We want to be here for the long haul. We now have two boys who we are excited to watch grow up in Grande Prairie.

The first thing we grew to love was Muskoseepi Park. I love having a park at the heart of our city. I love the events and activities which are available in it. And I love its ability to get people connecting with one another. This is why I picked a picture of Muskoseepi Park to represent my campaign.

Most of all, I love the opportunities Grande Prairie offers. Most of us came here for economic opportunity. But this community offers so much more. There are opportunities for fun and for learning. There are opportunities to help shape this community for the better. And there are opportunities to meet many wonderful and generous people.

One opportunity I received was the freedom to develop disc golf. When I got here, not many people had heard about it. I knew that had to change. Within three days of moving here, I was scouting course locations. I eventually made some great friends who were excited to build something new. The City was willing to partner with us. And the community got behind us. Today, we have two courses and a thriving club. Along the way, I have learned a lot while getting to make my community better. It has been quite the journey! I don’t think this could happen so quickly in most places. It made me want to put down roots here.

Grande Prairie always has a lot of other new people in town. For the sake of our economy and social wellbeing, we need many of them to stay for the long haul. We need them to invest their energies and finances into helping build Grande Prairie. And we need them to stick around to help build stable communities.

We also want high quality people to move here. That means that we need to be an attractive city for them to consider.

I know what it is like to be contemplating a relocation to Grande Prairie. I know what it is like to unpack a moving truck in an unfamiliar city. And I know what it is like to try to integrate yourself into this community. I think this is an important perspective for Council to have.

I hope you will vote for me on October 16th. I would love to be able to work hard to make Grande Prairie more attractive and welcoming to new people.