RDCK welcomes newest Board members - Aimee Watson elected Board Chair for a fifth term

Nelson, BC:  The newest Directors of the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) were sworn in at their inaugural meeting today. The first item on the meeting agenda was the election of the RDCK Board Chair. Aimee Watson, Director of Electoral Area D, was elected by the Board as Chair, while Diana Lockwood, Mayor of the Village of Salmo and RDCK Director, was elected Vice Chair. Both Chair and Vice Chair are one-year terms.

Pictured Back Row L-R: Jessica Lunn, Garry Jackman, Keith Page, Aidan McLaren-Caux, Diana Lockwood, Aimee Watson, Arnold DeBoon, Cheryl Graham, Leonard Casley & Hans Cunningham. Front Row L-R: Maria McFaddin, Roger Tierney, Kelly Vandenberghe, Teresa Weatherhead, Suzan Hewat, Walter Popoff & Colin Ferguson.

Missing – Tom Newell, Andy Davidoff & Henny Hanegraaf

This will mark Chair Watson’s fifth term as Board Chair.

“I am really inspired to be working with such a diverse team, communities and building community capacity, which brings me a lot of passion,” said RDCK Board Chair Aimee Watson. “Being on executive for the past four years and with such a big turnover at the table, I definitely wanted to see a continuum on the relationships we have built.”

Vice Chair Lockwood joins the executive for her first term and is eager to find a balance between the needs of rural areas and municipal areas.

“I believe that we needed to have a municipal lens sitting at that executive level,” said RDCK Vice Chair Diana Lockwood. “We have had rural areas represented at the executive level for the last three years and I think I can bring a little bit more to the table.”

Of the 20 RDCK Board Directors, 11 are new, including five who were elected in October’s general local election.

Electoral Area A – Garry Jackman (Acclaimed - Incumbent)
Electoral Area B – Roger Tierney (Elected)
Electoral Area C – Kelly Vandenberghe (Elected)
Electoral Area D – Aimee Watson (Acclaimed - Incumbent)
Electoral Area E – Cheryl Graham (Elected)
Electoral Area F – Tom Newell (Acclaimed - Incumbent)
Electoral Area G – Hans Cunningham (Elected – Incumbent)
Electoral Area H – Walter Popoff (Acclaimed - Incumbent)
Electoral Area I – Andy Davidoff (Acclaimed - Incumbent)
Electoral Area J – Henny Hanegraaf (Elected)
Electoral Area K – Teresa Weatherhead (Acclaimed)

Directors appointed by RDCK member municipalities to the Board include:

City of Castlegar – Mayor Maria McFaddin
Town of Creston – Mayor Arnold DeBoon
Village of Kaslo – Mayor Suzan Hewat (Incumbent)
Village of Nakusp – Councillor Aidan McLaren-Caux
City of Nelson – Councillor Keith Page
Village of New Denver – Mayor Leonard Casley
Village of Salmo – Mayor Diana Lockwood (Incumbent)
Village of Silverton – Mayor Colin Ferguson
Village of Slocan – Mayor Jessica Lunn (Incumbent) 

Board meetings are open to the public and are held on the third Thursday of each month (Board Schedule) at 9:00 am in the Regional District Board Room, 202 Lakeside Drive, Nelson, BC, unless otherwise specified. Residents can join the meeting in person or virtually. Agendas and minutes are made available on the RDCK website.

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The content on this page was last updated November 17 2022 at 6:24 AM