For her work encouraging development within Wheatland County and beyond, Wheatland County Reeve Amber Link has been recognized as one of three leaders in Alberta by Invest Alberta.
Link was profiled by Invest Alberta on International Women’s Day last week.
Invest Alberta Corporation works with investors throughout the globe with an aim to attract and retain investment in the province.
“I felt honoured to be profiled by Invest Alberta. There was a focus on female leaders because the profile was published on International Women's Day and so it was a real honour. I know a lot of very progressive strong female leaders in Alberta and in the economic development and investment arena, and so to be asked to contribute, to be profiled with definitely an honour,” she said.
About being recognized, Link said that working at Wheatland County is a team effort.
“I was proud to be able to show the work that team Wheatland has done to get us to where we are today,” she said.
“I was a little uncomfortable because I don't like to be singled out for recognition, but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to focus attention on Wheatland County, so it's kind of mixed feelings,” she said.
Now in her second term with Wheatland County council, Link explains why she got involved in municipal politics.
“When I first ran in 2017, it was simply a willingness to serve my community. I love where I live. I've always loved Wheatland County in this area and I wanted to do my part to maintain Wheatland County for future generations,” said Link.
“Prior to running again for this current term in 2021, I did spend some time just really thinking about my why. ‘Why did I want to run again and serve Wheatland County for another four years?’ It actually draws on some of what was profiled in the story with Invest Alberta, and it's that I feel like we have built a firm foundation for Wheatland County,” she said.
Link continued. “When I say firm foundation I am referencing that idea of cultivating an environment that's conducive to investment, attraction and job creation. And while we’ve built that foundation, I felt like there was still a lot of work to do. I wanted to run again so that I could actually build on that foundation that team Wheatland has created and then see some of that significant investment be committed into Wheatland County,” she said.
The reeve says she’s been trying to do just that by meeting with investors and focusing on all of the positives and the strengths the county has in order to draw investment in.
“My hope would be that that would help diversify the economy, which will actually contribute to the sustainability of Wheatland County, and it might sound counter-intuitive, but also by doing so, that actually creates sustainability in our agriculture sector as well, which of course is foundational to Wheatland County,” she said.
A link to the Invest Alberta profile on Reeve Link can be found here
https://investalberta.ca/the-leaders-driving-albertas-economic-transformation/
Thu, Apr 25, 4:30 PM
