The opportunity for was hard for Mike Dubreuil and his family to pass up.
After five years as the City of Flin Flon’s recreation manager, Dubreuil has accepted the position of director of community services with the municipality of Gibbons, Alberta.
“I was contacted by [Gibbons] with a very good opportunity that makes a lot of sense,” said Dubreuil. “It makes sense for not only myself, but for my family as a whole.”
Dubreuil has spent the past five years working on projects such as the Flin Flon Skatepark, the heat reclaim systems at the Whitney Forum and the Flin Flon Aqua Centre, the new roof and HVAC system at the Flin Flon Community Hall and now a feasibility study for Flin Flon Aqua Centre upgrades.
“There were a lot of big projects that we have…taken care of, so to speak,” said Dubreuil, behind his desk for the final days. “It’s been a very fast five years and it doesn’t seem like I have been in this position for five years, but it has been a busy five years.”
As director of community services in Gibbons, Dubreuil will continue to dabble in the parks and recreation field, but also focus on social services and the unique programming that comes along with it.
Through funding from the Alberta government, he will be able to participate in programs that offer skill development and resources to better connect the community and its employers.
But it wasn’t just about the job.
“It came down to the schooling [and] athletic opportunities for my son, the employment and schooling opportunities for my wife, and for the opportunity for [myself] to go work in this smaller, growing community that is basically a bedroom community of Edmonton,” Dubreuil said.
Dubreuil and wife Carrie are no strangers to Edmonton, as they spent a few years living in the city.
While he says he’ll miss the fishing, close proximately to his family and spending time on the lake, Dubreuil is excited by the different opportunities Alberta has to offer.
“When my wife and I used to live there…we used to love going to Jasper,” he said. “There are just different opportunities in Alberta than there are here.”
Perhaps most of all, Mike says he’ll miss the people he’s worked with over the past five years.
Dubreuil’s final day with the City of Flin Flon will be Friday, July 24.
