People are an organization’s greatest asset! Effective recreation community services depends upon good leadership and our small, rural communities value the expertise and passion of municipal recreation professionals. These positions provide leadership and support to facility management, programs and operations, community collaboration and development and much more!
Check out our Spotlight Story featuring one of south east's local professionals from Pilot Butte. Pilot Butte is a community located 18kms from Regina with approximately 2000 residents.
First of all, tell us a bit about your current work and how long you’ve been at it?
I am the Director of Parks & Recreation for the Town of Pilot Butte. I have been in this community for about one and a half years but have worked in recreation for about 12 years.
What drove you to choose your career path?
When my home town was looking for a new recreation director, and I had just happened to have graduated from university with my Kinesiology degree, I decided to apply. I was glad I did when I got the position, and I greatly enjoy the work I do.
How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need?
My degree gave me a broad range of knowledge in exercise and sport training which included some recreation and sport management. Over the years I have developed skills in key areas such as program planning, facility management, budgeting and problem solving.
What kinds of things do you do beyond what most people see?
For every idea or program that sticks, there are several others that do not. There are times when planning and research go into concepts that don’t quite get off the ground, for whatever reason (ie: budget, public interest, lack of instructors, etc). Time management and balancing expectations is key to being successful.
What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing? Do you go out in the field or is your work mostly a desk job?
A great deal of time is spent interacting with the public, planning, scheduling, assisting user groups and researching. A good chunk of my current work is at my desk but there is also many times where I am assisting with programs, overseeing an event, checking conditions of a facility or visiting with user groups. I really enjoy the variety.
What’s the most enjoyable part of the job?
I enjoy starting new programs or events that do not currently exist and watching them come to fruition. Or putting a new twist on something that was already there and growing it further than it had before.
