Ponoka town council has hired Doug Wright as the interim CAO until a permanent town manager can be recruited.
The decision was made Tuesday, Nov. 3 during a special meeting when Wright met with council. The contract with Wright, and his company Delstan Innovations Group, is for three days a week until the end of January, 2016.
Initially, Wright had set the contract to expire at the end of December, but a request from councillors to extend that date was approved. When Wright is not in town, Dave McPhee, director of operations and property services, will be the acting CAO.
Mayor Rick Bonnett told councillors that the contract with Wright is on a par with what most contractors would sign up for an interim CAO position. He added that he had worked with Wright to find an agreement that works for both sides.
“Delstan Innovations Group is an independent consulting service that provides interim senior management to organizations,” said Bonnett in a press release. “We know that Doug Wright will bring extensive experience and strong leadership to the town, as we being our search for a new CAO.”
The press release also provides some historical background of Wright, who is a graduate of Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College in Kingston, Ont. and the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College in Toronto, Ont. He served for 33 years in the Canadian Forces in military engineering operations overseas and in Canada. He has been awarded the Canadian Peacekeeping Medal, Canadian Service Medal with NATO bar and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. His last posting in the military was as Garrison Commander, Edmonton.