I was born and raised in Czechoslovakia controlled by the Russian government. My family and I crossed into Germany, my mother’s homeland, as refugees. Shortly thereafter, my family applied to immigrate to Canada. I was 14 years old when we arrived in Calgary, Alta. with only a small suitcase each that held all our worldly possessions. Learning English was our next challenge, which we overcame by attending school. My parents found jobs almost immediately, and life became somewhat normal. Money was tight but we all loved living in Canada for the wide-open spaces, mountains, and forests.
In 2001 while traveling for our business, my spouse and I drove through the Creston Valley. We fell in love with the mountains, fruit orchards, and the beautiful scenery. We knew right away that this is the place where we wanted to retire. Within a year, we bought a property and placed our successful business up for sale and started our transition to Creston.
It is from my 51-year working life that I acquired the knowledge which will be an asset to the community, while I will be performing my duties as councillor for the Town of Creston.
During my 15 years of service as a department store manager, I was responsible for scheduling, delegating, and procurement and consistent monitoring of products to prevent the loss of profit for the company. In this position, my duties also required the supervision of 31 staff members.
I have had 17 years experience of being an owner and manager of a successful wholesale jewelry manufacturing company. This required skills such as accounting, marketing, designing, and pricing of a large line of Canadian-made jewelry, with Canadian diamonds and Yukon gold, which were sold all across Canada. Further, for 12 years, I was the co-owner of a home renovation business.
My reason for running as a candidate for councillor for the Town of Creston is that I care deeply about our community. I desire a much better future for all of us, our children, and grandchildren. I desire to have a community that is affordable for all regardless of age or circumstance. I truly believe that it is possible to have such a united community. I believe it has to start at the top with namely the mayor and councillors.