The Town of Outlook鈥檚 newest Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Kevin Trew of Carrot River, has been getting himself quite familiar with the area for a few years now and sees much potential in the riverside community.
Trew started his new position just recently, but with an abundance of administration experience under his belt, he can already feel the town is perhaps on a growth curve that could tilt upwards in the coming years.
鈥淚 started on the 6th of April, so I鈥檓 fresh off the boat here!鈥� said Kevin, on the phone with this reporter.聽 鈥淢y wife and I came to Outlook a couple of weekends ago, and we spent quite a bit of time driving around town and driving around the area.聽 I look at Outlook and I鈥檓 just excited about being here.聽 There seems to be a lot of business and opportunity.聽 What really jumps out to me and my wife is all the different development here.聽 This just seems to be a place with a lot happening.聽 I think that鈥檚 a big testament, especially during this pandemic because people aren鈥檛 out nearly as much.聽 It was just very evident that there鈥檚 a lot of positive growth and development.聽 Since I鈥檝e been here, I hear all sorts of positive things about the future here.聽 Lots of opportunity, and lots of growth happening, and people are feeling positive about Outlook.鈥�
With his work history, Trew says the positives of his job include getting to feel like an intricate part of the community in which he serves, helping to facilitate things and contribute to the inner workings of the town to hopefully foster economic growth.
鈥淚鈥檝e worked as a town administrator for nine years for the Town of Carrot River, and I鈥檝e worked with First Nations, with eight years as an administrator for First Nations,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淲hile that isn鈥檛 the same as a CAO of a town or village, it鈥檚 very similar, so a lot of skills that I learned I feel I can bring to the table as a CAO.聽 I very much approach our taxpayer, our utility payer and a person on the street as a customer, so that鈥檚 just something that鈥檚 universal across different kinds of government.聽 The biggest thing I鈥檝e found, as a reward, is the knowledge that I鈥檓 doing something to help my fellow community member.聽 I鈥檝e been very fortunate to have started my first CAO job in the community I grew up in.聽 I was brought up in a very community-minded family, and sometimes it was community first, sometimes first before family.聽 That鈥檚 just in my blood, my brain.聽 I鈥檓 so excited to now be calling Outlook my community.聽 My favorite part of my job is always helping the community in the best way that I can.鈥�
The flip side of that coin spotlights the challenges of the administrator job, including making yourself so visible in a public role that it can be impossible at times to keep one鈥檚 professional and personal lives separate.
鈥淭he biggest challenges that I would suggest, generically speaking as a CAO, and there are two sides to every coin, are being involved in the community and being out there and kind of exposing myself, so to speak,鈥� said Trew.聽 鈥淵ou鈥檙e always opening yourself up to feedback that isn鈥檛 always the greatest, and isn鈥檛 always well-timed, for lack of a better word.聽 One of the things is that I鈥檓 very outgoing when it comes to talking to people, 鈥楬ey, I鈥檓 Kevin Trew, I鈥檓 the CAO for Outlook鈥�, and I鈥檝e said it to a few people already.聽 Sometimes, that opens myself up to opportunities when I鈥檓 with family and not in 鈥榳ork mode鈥� to have some feedback that isn鈥檛 always appropriate.聽 That鈥檚 probably my least favorite thing, my family has had to be put second at times.聽 That鈥檚 my least favorite part.鈥�
Outlook being very much an agriculture-centered community, Kevin is familiar with that world, having been raised on a farm.聽 He also took a break from the administrative field to work a grain and mixed cattle farm for roughly 15 years.聽 In agriculture and irrigation, Outlook definitely stands out, but Trew says the people working in town, as well as behind the scenes for the Town are doing a great job in trying to make the community stand out on its own.
鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously very premature to share too much opinion on this, but I鈥檝e done a lot of research on Outlook over the last couple of years,鈥� Kevin said.聽 鈥淢y wife had decided that we were going to look for a job for herself and myself in a community that鈥檚 closer to Saskatoon.聽 Carrot River鈥檚 three hours away from Saskatoon, and my daughters are in university in Saskatoon, so we鈥檇 been looking for a situation that was better for us.聽 I鈥檇 actually been paying attention to things in Outlook for a couple of years, and it鈥檚 always been on my radar.聽 I just see, having started here, a really good and cohesive staff that are very capable.聽 They鈥檝e not only held it together, but very capably and very professionally moved forward and have done a great job for the town of Outlook.聽 I鈥檝e been very impressed by the staff.聽 You read things online and you just don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e getting yourself into, and this is only my sixth day, but you can tell that there鈥檚 such a positive outlook.聽 Don鈥檛 mind the metaphor!鈥�
Trew sees extraordinary potential in the services and amenities that Outlook offers people, and what it may be able to offer in the future seems virtually limitless.
鈥淎s a community, I鈥檝e found that there鈥檚 just so much potential here,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淚 see all sorts of opportunities for growth, economic development, and the recreational opportunities are just phenomenal.聽 Once we get through this pandemic and things open up a little bit better, I鈥檓 really excited about all the things offered.聽 I toured the Rec Plex and I was just blown away by all the things that can be done there.聽 Our staff is actually working on MORE things to do there.聽 It鈥檚 a recreational complex like no other, and that鈥檚 just phenomenal.鈥�
Trew鈥檚 friendly, outgoing demeanor and community-driven mind aside, it鈥檚 impossible to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room, specifically from a job standpoint.聽 The Town of Outlook has had a growing handful of candidates take up the role of Chief Administrative Officer in just the last few years.聽 All seemed capable of doing the job, but one by one they either had their employment terminated or they had decided to leave the role by their own choosing and for their own undisclosed reasons.
Trew makes for the sixth administrator to take up the role in recent years, this time hired by the new mayor and council that was elected last November.聽 He says all he can do is commit himself to the community and hope that, in return, Outlook will commit itself to him.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a really good question, and I actually expected it,鈥� he said, when asked if he had staying power.聽 鈥淥ne of the things I鈥檇 have to say is that I鈥檓 a commitment person.聽 I stick with things until they鈥檙e just not there anymore.聽 I鈥檝e had different jobs, but my commitment level was high to each of them.聽 My wife and I plan to relocate here and to have a home in Outlook.聽 I can鈥檛 make any guarantees on what will happen from Council鈥檚 perspective or the community鈥檚 perspective, but I have a contract for three years, and I have approximately 15 years until I retire.聽 My plan is that I鈥檇 love to spend the next 15 years in one community, and I hope it鈥檚 Outlook.鈥�
Kevin recognizes that Outlook is closer to Saskatoon than other communities, which plays into what some people are looking for in a new community to call home, but he also sees that it can be something of a double-edged sword to be so close to the city.聽 It will be about finding that balance in the future as the town grows and prospers and reminding people everywhere of what Outlook鈥檚 鈥榠dentity鈥� will be that manages to stand apart from everywhere else.聽 What will be key, Kevin noted, is that business owners and residents know what Outlook is as a community before it starts brandishing itself for significant growth and development.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to get involved in this in the near future as I鈥檝e been totally involved in being a community champion, such as in Carrot River,鈥� said Trew.聽 鈥淚 have a lot of experience with branding, tourism and development where the first thing is identifying champions of the community.聽 It鈥檚 perhaps a little too premature for me to make commentary on where we鈥檙e going to go with that, but I鈥檝e heard enough from staff and Council that that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e excited about and how I鈥檓 bringing a sense of that here.聽 What I鈥檓 looking for and what I think is possible is that we鈥檙e going to find community champions who have stories to tell and have businesses to promote as a tourist destination.聽 I just see so much potential with the river here, and I see an opportunity here that is going to set Outlook apart.聽 Nice size population, all sorts of different businesses.聽 Outlook has a lot on the go regarding development, and I鈥檝e been told there鈥檚 going to be retention and attraction of new businesses.聽 It鈥檚 exciting times here.聽 We鈥檙e only an hour from Saskatoon, and I know that can be double-edged and that can be our own undoing at times, but I see that we have an identity, above all.聽 My goal is to encapsulate that, that identity and start selling that identity.聽 But, we do need to know who we are before we sell ourselves.鈥�
