There is a change in administration at the Village of Big Valley as council accepted the retirement of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Elaine Macdonald and appointed Colleen Mayne as its new CAO during the regular Thursday, September 14 council meeting.
The Mail reported in May 2022 that Ms. Macdonald had been appointed as Big Valley’s new CAO after five years in the same role in the Village of Rockyford.
“It has been a great pleasure working with and for Big Valley,” Ms. Macdonald said. “I have met some terrific people and look forward to spending time with them on a personal rather than work level. The ladies that formed the team with me to keep the Village operating are amazing, and I thank them both from the bottom of my heart for being so willing to step up whenever needed.”
She adds she looks forward to spending more time with her children and grandchildren, and getting to do some travelling.
Although council accepted her retirement, Ms. Macdonald will be staying on at the village until the end of September. This will allow time for Ms. Mayne, who officially began working with the village on Tuesday, September 5, to transition into the role.
Ms. Mayne has over 20 years of municipal experience, and has worked in the capacity of CAO for both the Village of Champion and Lougheed. She has also worked for the towns of Turner Valley and Rocky Mountain House as the municipal finance officer.
The position as Big Valley’s new CAO will give Ms. Mayne a central location to family across Alberta, and she also appreciates small town living having grown up on a cattle and grain farm near Lougheed and Hardisty.
Ms. Mayne shares she is “looking forward to getting to know village residents” and welcomes residents to stop by the village office to meet them.

Village of Rockyford council and administration are looking at ways to stop ongoing vandalism of the washrooms at the Lions Campground and are awaiting quotes to install security cameras on the facility’s exterior.
Over the summer months the Lions Campground washrooms have been targeted by graffiti vandalism, and during the regular Thursday, September 14 council meeting it was discussed ways to resolve this issue.
“We have had a run of graffiti on the walls, so council discussed how to deter or catch the culprit,” explains Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Lori Miller.
She notes she will be looking to get quotes on camera equipment, which will be installed on the exterior of the building. This will help capture images of anyone accessing the building, and when, to help deter misconduct and misbehaviour.
“We have found cameras to be very effective on other municipal buildings,” she adds.
Over the summer the Rockyford Lions Campground hosted some 200 members of Cubs and Scouts Canada for the Cub-o-Rama in June, and was also filled with visitors for the Bull-O-Rama and Rockyford Pro Rodeo weekends in June and July.