Drumheller administration and Town council officially welcomed Victoria Chan as the Town’s new Corporate Services director during the regular Monday, October 16 council meeting.
While Ms. Chan will be responsible for the Town’s finances and budget preparations, the role also encompasses other responsibilities, including recreation and community services.
“I’m so delighted and feel very privileged. The team and staff at the Town office are professionals and dedicated,” she tells the Mail.
Ms. Chan is a Chartered Professional Accountant and also holds a Master of Law degree, and has extensive experience at multiple government levels, from federal and provincial, to territorial, First Nations, and municipal. Prior to accepting the position in Drumheller, Ms. Chan served as the Corporate Services director of Woodlands County, located northwest of Edmonton in north-central Alberta.
“It is a challenge to work in a relatively medium-sized municipality that serves half a million tourists a year,” she says. “It is similar to all those other resort and tourist towns across Canada--how you can maintain the service level, how you can continue to attract tourists, but then in the meantime also address the infrastructure deficit. It is a challenge, and I’m definitely looking forward to that challenge.”
She adds that with the position focusing also on Community Services and Recreation, she will not only be focused on the numbers-driven side of the municipal landscape, but will also focus on the “soft, human side of it.”
While her career has been focused on finances and accounting, Ms. Chan says the move to Drumheller will fulfill another, personal niche with her love of dinosaurs, and she is looking forward to being closer to family and friends in Calgary.
