The Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie is wishing his former Chief Administrative Officer well, noting she has been a pillar of the community for a long time.

Kam Blight says he has enjoyed his time working with Nettie Neudorf, who recently stepped away to be a consultant in municipal finance. Neudorf announced her retirement last November but stayed on to help out while the RM looked for the right person.

"We were truly blessed in the fact that Nettie was willing to stay on in the contract position until we found that right person and that just speaks to the type of person that Nettie is," says Blight. "She's not just thinking of herself. She's putting the municipality's best interests at the forefront, and she's done that for the past number of years. She's done wonders for our municipality and it's certainly an absolute pleasure to be working alongside her."

Blight says there are a number of CAO vacancies throughout the province making the position a competitive one. Blight and his council would not settle for just anyone. After a long search, Kyle Hamilton, the former Director of Public Works and Utilities, was appointed to the position.

"With all the economic development, and the growth that we're experiencing here, right now, in the RM of Portage, and in our region, we felt by bringing Kyle on, he was fully aware of everything that's going on in our municipality, fully aware of our relationship with the city of Portage Prairie," says Blight. "He has the respect of his colleagues, his peers, and the respect of our council. We thought it was just a perfect fit for the RM of Portage. We just needed to make sure that it was the right fit for him, as well."

Hamilton was unanimously voted in by council on June 12th.

Kyle and Nettie