As a community consultant for the public development organization, Ronovsky would normally find himself putting on many miles as he travelled from community to community throughout the south west portion of the province.
But in the days of COVID-19, that travel has been all but impossible. And that’s made things just a touch different when it comes to how things work not only for someone in his position, but for the entire SWDCRS.
“It definitely it is,” said Ronovsky, who joined the organization in the first week of August. “A large portion of the job would be actually doing face-to-face meeting with community members and going on the road and doing workshops in person. So to take the job on and not actually be able to physically meet with people is a little bit difficult. But it’s just something we have to get used to.”
Ronovsky joins the SWDRCS after most recently working as the director of parks and recreation for the town of Fox Creek, Alta., and had previously served as the recreation director for the town of Eatonia, located two hours northwest of Swift Current.
A graduate of the University of Lethbridge with a kinesiology major, he aims to bring a lifetime of experience in sports and recreation to the job, including a host of work with volunteer organizations over the years.
That means hitting the ground running in what has turned out to be a surprisingly busy time.
“A lot of it will be meeting with committees, and right now we’re doing that through e-mails or virtually,” Ronovsky explained. “We tell them a lot about the resources available and the funding opportunities, so, for instance, it could be anything from a museum looking for grant opportunities or some of the programs that run over the summer that are funded by grant opportunities. Then we do a lot on the structure of the board, such as board development and running an effective meeting, that sort of thing.”
He’ll be working alongside fellow SWDRCS community consultant Elizabeth Heatcoat, who is based out of Leader.
For more on the South West District for Recreation, Culture and Sport and the many programs they have to offer, be sure to visit their website at www.gosouthwest.ca.
