Town of Vegreville council has nominated one of its own for the AB Munis Award of Excellence.
The award is presented to past and present elected officials to recognize outstanding civic leadership.
Taneen Rudyk has spent the past 14 years serving as a municipal councillor in the Town of Vegreville, she was the NDP candidate for MLA in the Fort-Saskatchewan Vegreville constituency in the 2023 provincial election, and she has held various roles with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities board. She was President of FCM for 2022-2023.
She was asked to look back on her time on Vegreville council and what stands out as moments of real pride. She says “I think we’ve really matured in terms of what we can offer. We’ve done some, maybe more boring things like in terms of policy and procedure but those are the things that really make a big difference. Big infrastructure projects and I think even just the announcement today (June 10th) of having our first purchaser in our industrial park that was part of some long advocacy that started with the closure of the Immigration Centre. We’ve worked really hard to culture relationships between our business community and our individuals that make this community home. We couldn’t do that if we didn’t have good communication and really proud.”
Rudyk points out that it is very exciting to be nominated for this award, she appreciates the recognition and the honour of her colleagues, and it is very humbling. She says “Well it is very nice, a little bit embarrassing, it felt a little bit like a wake as I am sitting there and getting all these nice words but I appreciate it. I take it seriously and really love my community and it’s been important to be able to build our opportunity and share our strengths. I can see the difference from when I was first elected (to council) in 2010 to the current day. We’ve really come far and I’m really happy to be part of that process.”
The nomination deadline for the AB Munis Award of Excellence is Friday, June 14th. According to Town of Vegreville, Rudyk’s continuous advocacy for Vegreville residents and rural municipalities undoubtedly positions her as a clear front runner for this award.
