Our Governace Team and Service Area

BVWASTE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR:  Dene Cooper, Reeve - MD of Bighorn

I was born in northern Alberta in the 40's and educated at Alberta Universities in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Jean and I moved our family of four to Exshaw in 1977. Here we built our house on the banks of the Bow River, established our home and set down permanent roots as we raised our two boys. We are proud grandparents of four, anticipating a new arrival this July.
 
Recently, I retired from a 33 year teaching career that encompassed all grades. If university was my library, then my classroom was my laboratory. Mostly, I taught biological sciences, but assignments included guidance teacher, system level science coordinator and Principal. I was also a member of the Alberta Teacher's Association Central Negotiating Committee.
 
Raised in rural - some would say remote - Alberta meant that nature was always a short walk away. Activities like hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, skiing and camping were simply a way of life. Moving to Exshaw afforded our family the very things we most enjoyed.
 
In 1985, following a major expansion at the Graymont and Lafarge plants, I was a founding member in what is now known as the Bighorn Corridor Environment Committee. None of the founders foresaw the vital a role BCEC would occupy two decades later.
 
In 2003, I was privileged to coauthor Exshaw: Heart of the Valley. Published in 2005, the 712 page local history book was extremely well received selling 1000 copies in its first printing. Essentially, neighbours wrote letters to the other neighbours only to discover that the whole of our stories was greater than the sum of its parts.
 
In 2004, I ran for municipal office as Councillor for the Municipal District of Bighorn. It has been very rewarding to serve the electorate, this last year as Reeve of Bighorn.

DIRECTOR:  Chip Olver, Councillor - Town Of Banff

Chip has a Bachelor of Science Degree from McMaster University in  Hamilton, Ontario
And has been a Banff resident since 1977 sitting on Town of Council since 1994. She is a member of the board of directors for Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley and Green Communities Canada.
She and husband Jim are the parents of three children. Chip is co-author of the Canadian Bestseller, 'A Taste of the Canadian Rockies" and in 1983 climbed Dhampus Peak (6011 m, 19,987 ft) in the Himalayas of Nepal.

Current Appointments: Assessment Review Board, Banff Community Plan Steering Committee; Banff Housing Corporation; Bow Valley Waste Management Commission; Member of the following Federation of Canadian Municipalities  committees: Environmental Issues and Sustainable Community Development, Rural Forum and Municipal Infrastructure and Transportation.

DIRECTOR: Brian Standish, Town of Banff

Brian was lucky enough to have been born and raised in Banff and he's very proud of his family's long and rich tradition in Banff. Brian is confident that tradition will continue through his three children, Victoria, Andrew, and Ian. After graduating from the University of Calgary with a Geography degree Brian travelled and worked in Toronto and England before returning to the Bow Valley for the Winter Olympics in 1988. Since his return he has worked for Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and his current employer Brewster Travel Canada.

Current Appointments: Municipal Planning Commisssion, Bow Valley Regional Transportation Steering Committee.

DIRECTOR:  Paul Ryan, Councillor - MD of Bighorn

Moving to the Bow Valley in 1983 Paul left Canmore for Exshaw in 1995 and continues to work locally as an independent contractor in the construction industry. Enjoying his second term as a Councillor, Paul represents Exshaw, Ward 1 and the MD of Bighorn in a number of capacities. He is serving his fourth year as a Director of the Bow Valley Waste Management Commission and was recently appointed as a Director of the Calgary Regional Airshed Zone. Paul sits as Chairman of the Bow Corridor Community Environment Committee; it's Trucking Sub-committee and the MD's Historical Resources Committee, and is a member of the MD's Municipal Excellence Committee and it Subdivision Appeal Board. As past Reeve he also represented the MD on the Calgary Regional Partnership Executive Committee.

Outside his commitment to Municipal Government, Paul is also an elected Director of the Conservative Party of Canada's Wild Rose Constituency. Since the early 1990's he has been an elected Director of the Bow Valley's 50 year old Kananaskis Gun and Archery Club. In 1995, Paul became a Federally Certified Instructor of the Canadian Restricted Firearms Course and the Canadian Non Restricted Firearms Safety Course. In 1996 the Alberta Federation of Shooting Sports certified him as a Range Safety Officer Instructor and in 1999 the Canadian Firearms Registry appointed Paul as an Approved Firearms Verifier for the Registrar.

DIRECTOR: Ed Russel, Town of Canmore

DIRECTOR: Hans Helder, Town of Canmore

There is no place that I would rather be than right here in Canmore with the opportunity and responsibility to serve the people of this community. When my wife Carla and I bought our first home here in 1998, we knew this would eventually be our full time, forever home. It took work, planning and a bit longer than expected to get here full time, but both of us are delighted to be here. Our son Matthew, who lives in Edmonton, takes every opportunity he can to visit and share this wonderful place with us. I feel excited, privileged and humbled by the responsibility that the Town's voters have given me to sit on Town Council.

My background includes a degree in Sociology from the U of C and a graduate degree in Criminology from the U of T. My career, prior to taking early retirement in Oct. 2009, included academic research at the U of T; 16 years with the government of Alberta, reaching the level of Assistant Deputy Minister; and 14 years with a global Information Technology services company reaching the level of Vice President. I spent 35 years researching, designing, delivering, managing, and contracting public services at all levels of government across Canada. My experience also includes negotiation of complex inter-jurisdictional agreements; multi-year business contracts; and business partnering agreements. I have distilled this background into guiding principles which I call my 3Rs…Responsive. Respectful. Responsible. These are what I will use to guide my work on Council. I plan on leaving my election website, Helder4Canmore.com, up for the next 3 years. That way you can check up on me and hold me to account.

When not working on Council matters, I plan to continue enjoying with Carla what this wonderful community offers…hiking, biking, running, golfing, skiing, snowshoeing, wildlife, a pristine environment, millions of acres of protected parkland in our backyard, a vibrant arts scene, and an incredibly diverse and inclusive community.

 

 

Dave holds an Honours Diploma in Business Administration from SAIT. Initially, he focussed on human resource development; however, the past 23 years have been dedicated to consulting and employment roles involving project development in waste management and recycling. He was one of the founding members of the Recycling Council of Alberta.

In his role of Regional Waste Minimization Specialist for Alberta Environment, he is responsible for developing programs with high potential for waste diversion and in recent years has worked extensively in the Construction, Renovation, and Demolition sector as well as the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional sector.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: Darcy Edison

Working from the ground up I have been in the waste and recycling industry since 1997. First as the guy loading bags in the back of a truck and then with my own trucks, starting my own company and eventually managing two landfills in Ontario. After moving to Manitoba I started and managed a regionally owned material resource recovery facility while serving as Vice-President of the Manitoba Association of Regional Recyclers. In May of 2007 I started managing the Francis Cooke Class III Regional Landfill and became Chief Administrative Officer for the Commission in July, 2008.  Since being with Bow Valley Waste I have, with the help of others, created a facility that diverts as much waste as possible into a variety of categories of recyclable products for resale and reuse making the Francis Cooke a true recovery center. I feel pride every time something that in the past was considered waste leaves the landfill as a recycled product with a new use added to its lifecycle. I look forward to continuing to work with the Board to keep the Commission's operations as a yardstick others can use to measure their recycling successes and to make the Commission a key waste and recycling information source in the Valley. My door is always open and I am available to answer your questions or listen to your ideas, just give me a call or drop me an email.

MEMBER MUNICIPALITIES

Town of Banff

Banff, an international tourism destination, is located in Banff National Park within the Canadian Rocky Mountains of south-western Alberta. It is located 135 kilometres (85 miles) west of the city of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway.  Banff Recycling and Waste & Garbage.

Town of Canmore

Located in Canadian Rocky Mountains east of Banff National Park, Canmore is 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of the city of Calgary.  Canmore Recycling.

Municipal District of Bighorn No. 8

Municipal District of Bighorn is in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in south-western Alberta between the city of Calgary and Banff National Park. The MD of Bighorn includes five hamlets of Benchlands, Dead Man's Flats, Exshaw, Harvie Heights and Lac Des Arcs. The summer villages of Ghost Lake and Waiparous are also located within the MD of Bighorn's boundaries.

OUR SERVICE AREA:

                Detailed Location Map

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