Rockyford Mayor Darcy Burke has been given the Alberta Municipalities Distinguished Service Award.
Burke, was nominated by his council for the award, which recognizes his long service to the community. The purpose of this award is to recognize elected officials in Alberta urban municipalities who have served 20 years or more in an Alberta municipality.
“I am very honoured to have it. I am very proud of it and have enjoyed 24 years of being an elected official,” Burke told the Mail.
Burke was first elected to Rockford Village Council in 1998. In 2003, he became mayor, succeeding Mayor Dave Schadlich.
“Being a part of the community is a big thing,” he said. “Being an elected official in a small community, you are definitely not in it for the money. You do this because you want to put forward some ideas, you want to work with community partners and residents that live here. I think that at the end of the day the people who step forward in these small communities and put their names out there are the movers and the shakers and know how to make things happen. For me, that is the greatest reward is working with like-minded people and progressing the community.”
One project during his tenure that he is proud of is the formation of the Wheatland Regional Corporation. This is a partnership with the County of Wheatland and communities in the area that delivers potable water to its residents.
“The Wheatland Regional Corporation is one of the tallest feathers in my cap, and the proudest moment to bring regional water to the eastern end of the county .”
“When you build a project that size, something I have never been involved with before. To build a municipally controlled corporation from the ground up, and be successful doing it.”

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