RED DEER COUNTY - Connie Huelsman does double duty for voters.
Huelsman was re-elected on Oct. 16 as both the Division 4 councillor for Red Deer County and the Ward 5 school board trustee for Chinook's Edge School Division.
This will be her second term wearing both hats. She sees the roles as complementing each other.
“I actually believe the two go hand in hand,” she said, noting the education property taxes collected by the municipality for the province are funnelled back to the school board.
Her interest in politics goes back to her childhood roots.
“I grew up in politics in Saskatchewan. My grandfather was heavily involved as a school board trustee and we were a very political family,” she said in an interview. When she moved to Red Deer County near Bowden and Innisfail to farm, she got involved in the community, trying to get to know people.
“I was always encouraged to work hard, just do your very best for people, and to keep connected to community,”
Later, Helen Posti, the long-time mayor of Eckville, was one of the people to inspire and coach her to run.
“She said, ‘You know, you've got lots of life experiences and maybe you should give it a try,'” Huelsman said.
She was first elected as a school board trustee in 2004, but it wasn't her first time running for that position. She had worked for the school board as an executive assistant to the superintendent. She took a leave of absence and ran, and, when she didn't win, decided to run again.
She's remained at her post ever since. Last week she was easily returned to her post, winning 479 votes to challenger Sandra Shippelt's 252.
Huelsman said she likes helping direct parents to where they can address their concerns, and generally enjoys helping people.
“We have to be advocates for people that we serve,” she said.
She finds the role goes hand in hand with her more recent elected position as a councillor.
In 2013 she became councillor after tying with David Hoar, and her name was drawn out of a receptacle to break the tie.
This time, Hoar ran again and Huelsman won, 462 to 395.
She'd been encouraged to run in 2010 for councillor but hadn't jumped in until 2013. Much like her job as a school board trustee, she finds satisfaction in helping people.
“I like working with people, I like the fact that I can help them with issues,” she said.
She also sits on committees and boards as part of her work as both trustee and councillor. Notably, she has served as the Zone 4 chair for the Alberta School Boards Association and as the chair for the Parkland Foundation.
She's passionate about seniors care after many years doing seniors care in her own family.
“I was driven to make a better life for seniors in our community,” she said. In particular, Huelsman has long campaigned on bringing a new seniors care facility - the long awaited new Autumn Glen Lodge - to Innisfail. She said her mother-in-law lived at Autumn Glen 35 years ago “and nothing has changed in that building.”
It's important for seniors to be able to age within their communities, she said.
“They've worked hard and they should have a nice place to enjoy their retirement,” she said.
She noted all of the other municipal councillors who sit on the foundation board that ran for re-election won, something she's encouraged by. She thanked Heather Taylor, an Innisfail councillor who didn't run again, for all her hard work.
Despite Huelsman's busy schedule, she still finds time for her family, her grandchildren and taking strolls in the countryside to relax.
“I manage my time,” she said. A previous job working for the United Farmers of Alberta from home helped her learn how to balance her life, and make sure downtime is still part of her routine.
And, of course, her family is an important part of her managing her elected commitments.
“The support of my family is unbelievable,” she said.
Connie Huelsman
"I was always encouraged to work hard, just do your very best for people, and to keep connected to community,"
