What: The Economic Advisory Committee’s (EDAC) role is to advise and make recommendations regarding economic development and diversification to Council from a private sector perspective. The EDAC is a County initiative to drive economic diversity in the Beaver County region, including the rural and urban municipalities. The strength of the county is the cooperation/cohesion between the urban and rural population and their respective strengths.
Why: The County has historically been successful with oil & gas, and agriculture as its tax assessment base. Commercial & Industrial development has been a smaller portion of the total tax assessed value in the County. With changes to the economy, industry, public engagement and climate the county needs to adapt as illustrated by, the Assessment Model Review in 2020.
A diversified tax base strengthens a municipality and provides residents the confidence that its elected officials have the current and future state of the County in mind. A diverse tax base across multiple industries brings more job opportunities, increases local population and improves services to the area.
The County has made some investments in this direction with the Claystone Waste facility, land development (Equity Industrial/Viking business Parks) and servicing to desirable land locations within the county.
How: The EDAC meets regularly to discuss matters related to economic development and diversification. The Committee provides advice to council pertaining to the impacts of County policies, programs or services that could impact economic development.
Who: The board was advertised in local media and was selected by Council after a review of all applicants. The current board is comprised of two members of Council (with an alternate), and no more than five members of the public. The public members-at-large were selected as subject matter experts (SME’s) within their respective fields and networks. These strong professionals bring experienced perspectives from their fields of manufacturing, agriculture, construction, small business and tourism.
Committee Bios
Darrell is the Vice-President of Programs and Business Development at Edmonton Unlimited, where he focuses on delivering programming to support early and growth-stage companies that plan to scale. He has over two decades of experience facilitating the commercialization of new technologies and managing innovation-based businesses. He has led more than 200 closed commercial deals pertaining to energy distribution, communication technologies, new plant varieties, clean technology, and animal health.
Darrell is a co-founder and the Chair of the Board of Delta Genomics, a co-founder of Alpha Phenomics, and owns an innovative company in the HVAC space with his wife, Karen.
Darrell is a Professional Agrologist and studied agricultural sciences and economics. He was raised on a feedlot, ranch, and dairy in Beaver County.
A Professional Biologist, graduating from the University of Saskatchewan, Corey has significant experience in the environmental and utility sectors including water and wastewater treatment, distribution, collection, and solid waste management. His experience hails from both the private consulting market as well as through public administration with municipal public works.
As a Professional Engineer with over 25 years of consulting and design experience in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Jeenu is ecstatic to be exposed to new and exciting challenges every day. She is a fourth-generation engineer (on her father’s side) and some would say engineering is in her DNA. Jeenu is a graduate of the coveted Aerospace Engineering Program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University).
Jeenu currently serves as the President/CEO of Stamped Engineering Corporation, a multidisciplinary engineering consulting firm that she founded in 2016. The corporation supports the following industries: Oil and Gas, Industrial, Commercial, Cannabis, Forensic Engineering, Product and Technology Patent design. Over the decades, Jeenu's portfolio includes extensive experience in design, manufacturing, inspections, and providing dependable outcomes for facilities and refineries. Operating a multidisciplinary firm involves being exposed to new challenges every day and supporting clients with reliable solutions.
A champion of new technologies, Jeenu believes in collaborating, innovating, and leveraging expertise to produce results that are of social, technical, and economic value. She cofounded Arc Pure Energy in order to bring The Arc Sequence to market. Which will be a game changer for climate change, zero target emissions and clean energy. Most recently she has joined the Beaver County Economic Development Advisory Committee, and looks forward to being part of a team that will make a positive impact for the community. Jeenu is passionate about individuals coming together to inspire and create magic, whether it be playing sports, volunteering or promoting a business venture that results in growth for a community.
Reeve Smook studied broadcast journalism at Mount Royal College in Calgary in the mid 80s. From there he went on to a radio career in Rosetown, Swift Current and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. In 1993, Kevin returned to Alberta where he took over management of a local insurance agency, and in 1999, opened Home-Time Realty.
Councillor Williams graduated from the Construction Engineering Technology program at NAIT. His career spanned 40 years in the Construction industry working across Canada and the USA. The last 25 years in Management Positions including 12 years as President of a large specialty contracting company.
Administration
Beaver County CAO Kay Spiess holds both a Business Administration (finance) degree and certification as a local government manager. She has over 10 years of experience working with rural municipalities, including the position of Chief Administrative Officer, as well as leadership roles in organizational restructuring, strategic planning, intermunicipal cooperation, budget and financial analysis, and project management.
Rob has over 18 years of experience working in financial institutions serving commercial and small business clients, across multiple industries including retail, professional services, construction, oil & gas, and manufacturing. This gave him a unique look inside to the day-to-day operations of multiple industries and an understanding of the nuances of businesses. This experience led him to dip his toe into the economic development space and its opportunities. Working with various municipalities for over 3 years, Rob has been involved in many endeavors including major business attraction programming, small & micro business assistance program development & implementation, land use planning, infrastructure and engineering discussions, and securing new and relocating businesses within the municipalities.
Rob has also spent time running his own small business and completing his CPA as part of furthering his education and personal growth goals. He looks forward to working for the County to help diversify the economy, grow the population, and improve the quality of life of residents.