The Decision Makers: Councillor Darren Pudlo (Part 2)

While many town councillors come from a business background, whether that’s owning their own small business or running a larger operation, Pudlo’s background in education gives him a very different perspective on the impact of council decisions. This is particularly true since he works in the elementary school, which gives him insight into the needs of young families.

Since being elected to Council, Pudlo has made sure that his students - three different years of them now - understand what his role is, and gives them a chance to make their voice heard. He uses the example of the bike trail which opened last year when talking about his students’ contributions. He asked them to go try it out and come back to him and tell him what they thought, and that feedback went directly to the rest of the town council.

"I think it's such an important part of why we're such a strong council,” he says, “because this allows me to hear our future. It gives me a chance to hear what these kids are thinking and go 'you know what? That's an idea. That's something I hadn't thought about.”

HIs experience with the future of Neepawa - its children - informs everything Pudlo does on Council. One of the things he looks at, particularly in his role as chair of the Recreation and Economic Development Committee, is how to get visitors to Neepawa or temporary workers in Neepawa to make the jump to becoming residents themselves. A lot of those pieces are already in place, Pudlo thinks, mentioning at the number and variety of new businesses there are in Neepawa over the past few years, the investment in healthcare, and the increasing variety of recreational opportunities.

The future of the town is full of limitless possibilities, he thinks, and he would know. He gets to work with the future every day.