Town of Drumheller Honored
DRUMHELLER- On November 4, 2009, The Town of Drumheller was honored with three (3 awards) at the at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s (AUMA) annual general Meeting. The Town picked up the following awards
- 2009 Dedicated Chief Administrative Officer Award
- AUMA’s Award of Excellence
- 2009 Distinguished Service Award
CAO Ray Romanetz was the winner of the 2009 Dedicated Chief Administrative Officer Award. This award recognizes long-term excellence and dedication to municipal government and chief administrative management.
Mr. Romanetz began with the (then) City of Drumheller in 1974 as the City Engineer, Planning Officer and Safety Codes Officer and later accepted the position of CAO. He has been described as a forward looking, pro-active and competitive CAO who works hard to achieve goals. Ray has shown exemplary performance in long term strategic planning, financial management, council relations, project planning and implementation and community relations.
Ray has been involved in numerous projects and activities with the Town and surrounding area. He oversaw the creation, servicing and grading of major residential and industrial subdivision development in Drumheller. He also was instrumental in attracting major commercial developments to locate in Drumheller. He sits on the Executive Committee of the Red Deer River Municipal Users Groups, and has managed the Regional Water Supply agreements with Kneehill Water Commission for the provision of a safe water source to rural communities. He oversaw the administration of the amalgamation process between the Valley governments and integrated the operations for the two municipalities which allowed the former city and newly formed town to implement capital strategies for the benefit of all residents.
Councilor Karen Ann Bertamini picked up the two awards at the annual meeting. The first award was the AUMA’s 2009 Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized the dedication of Elected Officials of Urban Municipalities who have served twenty (20) or more years on Municipal Council. The second award that Ms. Bertamini won was the Award of Excellence. This award recognizes outstanding Civic Leadership by present and past Municipal Elected Officials.
Karen Ann Bertamini is a native Drumhellerite and has always been interested in the growth and prosperity of the community. Karen has been on Drumheller Town Council for 7 terms. (Over 21 years) The past six years she has been a driving force in her belief that “everyone deserves safe, affordable and appropriate housing.” She has served on the Provincial Task Force for the Affordable Housing and Social Infrastructure in the AUMA. She has also provides leadership in the provincial context as she is involved in the Building Communities Committee, AUMA Board of Directors, Environment and Sustainability Committee, and the Community Infrastructure Standing Committee. Locally Karen has had an active role in the Drumheller Housing Administration, Canadian Badlands Ltd, Drumheller Public Library and numerous community organizations and events in Drumheller.
Mayor Bryce Nimmo said, “Too often very valued employees and elected officials are taken for granted. Both Karen and Ray have provided many years of dedicated service, unbelievable knowledge and leadership for our community. We as a council and as a town are very fortunate to have these two outstanding individuals in our organization.”
The awards presentations took place on Wednesday November 4th during the AUMA’s Annual General Meeting in Calgary.
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For more information contact
Ray Telford
Economic Development and Tourism Officer
Direct Line: 403-823-1320
rtelford@dinosaurvalley.com
