Next stop … Barrhead, Alberta.
Here I am in Barrhead ready to continue my journalistic journey working for community newspapers across the province. I am originally from Toronto, Ontario but have spent the last two and a half years working for the local newspaper in High Level, Alberta.
I truly enjoyed my time in northern Alberta but some of you may be wondering why I chose to leave. I just wanted to be closer to “civilization.” For those of you that don’t know, High Level is the halfway point from Edmonton to Yellowknife. The closest city was Grande Prairie, five hours away, and the closest Tim Horton’s was three hours away. It was time for a change and time to enjoy some of the amenities that I had while growing up in Toronto.
It has been a busy few weeks for me as I worked my last day in High Level on June 18 and started here on June 25, 2014. After completing my last day of work, I spent a few days packing and cleaning my apartment and then on Sunday, June 22, 2014 I made my first trip to Barrhead. I asked two friends to travel south with me so I could bring all of my belongings to my new apartment. We left High Level at 8:00 a.m., arrived at 2:30 p.m., unloaded a full trailer of personal affects by 3:30 p.m. and were on the road back to High Level 15 minutes later. We arrived in High Level at 10:30 that night completely exhausted but the first part of my move was complete. I spent Monday completing any final tasks before moving south and then drove out of High Level for the last time on Tuesday.
I left High Level at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 24, 2014 and arrived in Barrhead at 5:15 p.m. Now, it is safe to say that I am not used to driving for long periods of time so Tuesday was a difficult day. After arriving in town I headed to the Leader office where Kelly Brooks, my new colleague, reminded me that there was a Town Council meeting starting in ten minutes. She thought it would be a good idea for me to attend so 15 minutes after arriving in town I was at my first Council meeting. Mayor St. Pierre and the rest of Council were very inviting and it was a very nice way to start my time in Barrhead.
After the meeting, Kelly and I grabbed a quick bite so I could pepper her with questions about the job, the town, and the people before heading to my new home. I spent most of the night unpacking boxes and then started my first official day on Wednesday.
It has been a whirlwind five days in town but I am very excited to be here and to start the next chapter as a reporter for the Leader. I still have so many questions and the job is still very new to me but I would like to thank Carol Farnalls for giving me this opportunity, Kelly Brooks for showing me the ropes and answering my never-ending barrage of questions, and all of the other ladies in the office for being so welcoming.
I knew a long time ago that I wanted to be in this business and it wasn’t because of the money or the fame. I love telling people’s stories and I love covering the pulse of a community so I am looking forward to telling all of your stories and quickly becoming part of your community.
I look forward to meeting and speaking with all of you over the next few weeks.
