BOYLE – With two months to go before Alberta’s municipal elections, the candidates are starting to come forward, at least in the Village of Boyle, which now has three incumbents in the race — including first-term councillor Barb Smith.
With little experience in municipal government heading into her first term in 2017, Smith hit the ground running and was nominated to be deputy mayor by fellow councillors. The stay-at-home mother of three school-aged children with a background in business administration and human resources has also worked in the banking and accounting fields. Not only that, she’s a big booster of the community, which keeps her quite busy, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I really enjoy my job. It’s challenging, but rewarding to see your hard work make a difference. I love sharing how great our community is and being able to do that on a bigger scale is gratifying,” she said in an e-mail interview last week.
“I have been fortunate to work with a lot of great groups and people across our region who do some pretty fantastic things. One of my passions is helping the underserved in our area gain the tools to be successful. By using my position on various local and regional boards such as Community Futures, FCSS, Northern Lights Library System, Boyle Public Library, Boyle Youth Centre, Boyle Fitness Centre, Boyle Betterment Committee et cetera, I have brought greater attention to those people here in the community and have advocated and received additional programs and services for our locals.”
Smith knew the learning curve was going to be steep, but now that representing the village has become a normal part of her daily life, she relishes the opportunity to contribute, and gets a lot out of personally.
“I knew it would be challenging and a lot of work but I wasn’t expecting the overwhelming sense of pride seeing the successes of not only council but the groups I have the privilege of working with achieve. There are so many unsung heroes in this community,” she said, noting the staggering amount of work and dedication local volunteers put in to make the community a better place is amazing to see.
“Their love for Boyle and the contribution they make to daily life here is so inspiring. It made me want to work even harder for this amazing community.”
She also tipped her hat to fellow councillors, saying she enjoyed working with the current group and feels they served the community well.
“Fortunately, I have been able to work with many great people who share the same vision and passion for elevating Boyle to success,” Smith said.
“To me a councillor is someone who keeps showing up, even if you aren’t getting paid — someone who sees a need or a struggle and doesn’t walk away, but pitches in and is willing to put in the time and effort; someone who puts the residents they serve first and keeps their best interests in mind when making decisions. In short, a do-something councillor. That’s what I strive to be every day.”
As for her second term, if she has the votes on her side at the end of the day Oct. 18, Smith said she wants to secure grants and provincial funding to replace aging infrastructure and would like to see a schedule for the repair of streets and sidewalks presented. Improving access to high-speed Internet and adding to the village’s medical community with a third doctor and more nurses is also a priority, as well as additional mental health supports for first responders.
