The board of the Northern Health Region will have a new local representative. Dianne Russell was one of three new appointments to the regional health authority's board, according to a provincial announcement May 29.
Russell joins The Pas' Linda Markus and Kelly Bindle of Thompson as new NHR appointments by the province.
Russell is the past-president and current co-vice president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce and has been involved with several northern economic development groups and committees, including the provincial government's Look North Task Force. Perhaps best known within Flin Flon as the general manager and senior sales consultant for Arctic Radio stations including 102.9 CFAR, Russell has also been a part of local groups such as the Flin Flon Arts Council and Trout Festival committee.
Bindle is the former Progressive Conservative MLA for Thompson, serving the community from 2016-2019. Bindle lost the seat to NDP candidate Danielle Adams last fall by 901 votes.
Markus is a former teacher in Thompson who moved back to her hometown of The Pas in 2013. Since last June, Markus has been a member of the province's Commission on Kindergarten to Grade 12 Education. Markus is currently the vice-chair of the governing council for University College of the North.
Cal Huntley will remain chair of the NHR board - he and Russell will be Flin Flon's representatives on the board. Angela Enright of Snow Lake and Mary Head from Opaskwayak Cree Nation were also reappointed to the region's board.
Enright, a former PC candidate in the 2016 provincial election, is a Snow Lake-based former economic development officer and formerly a member of the community's town council. Head was the manager responsible for natural resources for OCN. Both Enright and Head were first appointed to the NHR board in 2017.
Several members of the board will remain in their seats - vice-chair Carrie Atkinson, who serves as a town councillor in The Pas; Wabowden hotel owner and operator June Chu; The Pas-based accountant and local chamber of commerce board member Elaine Kobelka; Christopher Matechuk, a city councillor from Thompson and Lynn Lake's Anne Kenny Thompson, a district conservation and climate clerk, will remain with the board.
The board previously had one vacant seat, formerly belonging to Judy Kolada. The former long-time Thompson city councillor and board member died April 18 after a long battle with cancer. Former board member John Marnock, a former chief administrative officer with the Town of The Pas, was not reappointed to the board.
Another northern based appointee, Dawn Daudrich from Churchill, was named to the board of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WHRA). Health care services in Churchill are provided by the WRHA. Daudrich is a business manager and co-owner of a lodge in Churchill and the wife of former federal Conservative candidate Wally Daudrich.
