A little over two months in and the Town of Ponoka’s new economic development officer is starting to settle into a steady routine.
Stephen Novak was hired in July after working at the Rural Alberta Business Centre in Grande Cache. He saw the job opening in Ponoka and put in an application. Novak applied to other openings in Alberta but knew the Ponoka hiring staff were serious about his application when they asked him to come in person for an interview.
A week later Novak was offered the position and he jumped at the opportunity. He feels this type of work is always exciting. “I like the opportunity to be in there at the grass roots,” he said.
Travelling is something the Antigonish, N.S. native is used to. Some years after graduating from his hometown university, St. Francis Xavier University, Novak found his way to the Hamlet of Kugluktuk, Nunavut as the economic development officer for some years.
He has also worked in Saskatchewan but is pleased to call Ponoka home and is eager to work with residents. Novak recently helped host the second business café along with the Economic Development Board (EDB). Hearing from residents and business owners will help Novak plan for the future.
“That has a huge impact as far as moving forward with economic development,” says Novak.
There has been a slight learning curve for Novak who is learning new skills with advertising and tourism promotion but he looks forward to the challenge.
“It keeps you interested. It keeps you motivated when you’re learning new things,” he explained.
He says the EDB is looking at new plans and tweaking old ideas to make them better. Novak feels there is a strong desire to see change and growth within Ponoka. Grande Cache is a town with similar issues to Ponoka such as seeing residential growth and a strong downtown core. “But the difference I see is in the attitude of the people, the stakeholders.”
“The river valley going through town is such an opportunity for green space, public space close to downtown,” added Novak.
He is looking forward to working closely with stakeholders and planning for the town’s future.
