New directors are on the job

In searching for a new director of community services, the Town of Ponoka did not need to look far.

Wes Amendt is a long-time resident of Ponoka and brings to the position a wealth of knowledge and experience in community recreation. He claims to have been involved with recreation in Ponoka “in one way, shape or form” for his entire life, and has held a number of recreation-related positions in recent years. He most recently served as the executive director for Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) in Ponoka.

Amendt acknowledges he has a considerable amount of catching up to do as a result of the position being vacant for a number of months, but is prepared to undertake the challenges that lie ahead of him in his new role.

“I hope to co-ordinate and liaise with all the community groups and organizations and see how this role can help those organizations meet their goals,” said Amendt. “I’ll be working fairly closely with the economic development committee and co-ordinator here for the town, and finding out how recreation ties into economic development to promote the town and build a really positive place to live.”

Amendt spent the first few days in his new role adjusting to his new surroundings and getting to know local facility managers. He aims to promote recreation within Ponoka in a manner that contributes to the town’s image of being the ideal place to raise a family.

“It all ties in with how Ponoka is viewed as a community; as a place to live, grow and raise your families. We’ll look at where we’re at, and where we want to be in the future,” he said.

Filling Amendt’s former role as executive director for FCSS in Ponoka is Shannon Boyce-Campbell.

Boyce-Campbell arrives at FCSS from Red Deer County, where she worked in community facilitation and social planning for three years. She has an extensive background in the areas of literacy, adult education and child welfare.

While she is still familiarizing herself with her new surroundings, Boyce-Campbell is excited to be taking on her new role, and wants to work with the community to find out where improvement is needed.

“There’s lots of good staff in place, and lots of things going on in the community,” she said. “I look forward to becoming familiar with the community and its residents and figuring out where the needs are. We’ll identify gaps that exist and then figure out how to address them.”