After 9 years volunteering with the Southern Emergency Response Committee, (SERC) member Darin Driedger has stepped into a leadership role with the group.

Effective April 1st, Driedger was appointed as the new emergency coordinator, taking over from Chris Kalansky, who stepped down from the position after recently being promoted to deputy chief for the Winkler Police Service.

For the interim, however, Kalansky has agreed to stay on as the deputy coordinator to help during the transition.

Looking forward, Driedger says there are always things they can work to improve on, but otherwise, he wants to continue and build off the excellent job Kalansky has done with the group.

"I think we have a really good group dynamic right now, and we're certainly exploring other ways we can grow, whether it be community outreach or training with other stakeholders in the community," said Driedger. "But otherwise, I just want to continue to build off of what Chris has done here, I think he's done an excellent job, and we just want to continue with that moving forward."

Earlier this month, SERC received the 2018 Manitoba Community Emergency Preparedness Award at the municipal officials seminar in Brandon.

Driedger says it's great to get recognition form the province, and it's a testament to the amount of work Kalansky has done for the group, especially over the last number of years.

"I think it's good too for the community," Driedger added. "It shows the community what we've all been doing...I hope it generates some discussion with people in the community. We remind people as a community that we have a plan, but we also want to make sure people understand that they should have a plan too."

Related article: Emergency Response Committee Wins Award