OUTLOOK - As this special series that looks at the people who work in Outlook has shown, perspectives on the community differ based on a number of things.
It might be where staff members originally come from.
It might be the experiences that they've had in the time that they've spent working in town.
It might be the people that they've shared those experiences with.
Having written this series of articles for two years now, this reporter can say without question that those perspectives are unique and they all help tell the story of this town.
But in talking to staff members who have called Outlook home all of their life, you tend to hear a few different things based solely on the number of years in which people have stuck around the riverside community.
Wendy Ball is one of those tried and true Outlookers. As the town's accounts and utility clerk in the main office, she can sometimes find herself juggling responsibilities. But it's the kind of position that she welcomes, finding her work to be interesting based on her findings.
"I actually play a couple of roles in the office," explained Wendy, sitting down with The Outlook. "I'm the accounts payable clerk, so I pay all the bills that the town has, so anything that's purchased comes across my desk. I'm also the utility clerk, so I deal with everything related to water and sewer, garbage and recycling. I'm the one who issues the water bills every month to everybody and deals with any problems that arise in that area. I find that part really interesting because I really like the water aspect of my job. It keeps my day really full!"
Ball may have only three years on the job, but she dove right in and has found her passion in parts of the community that may not get a lot of attention from everyday citizens.
"I started with the job in March of 2021, and this is what I started doing when I began with the town," she said, touching on her duties with accounts and utilities. "Another thing that I'm really passionate about is the cemetery. I'm a part of the committee, and one of my first projects when I started with the town was to have the cemetery mapped. We update it every year and it seems to be going well. I plan for the future to eventually make it so that when you view the map on the website, you're able to view the grave that you're looking for. It's a big job and it'll take me some time, but that's my long-term goal for that project."
As has been learned from writing this series for a couple of years, the word 'typical' doesn't really apply to the inner workings of the Town of Outlook, whether it's out on the streets or in the neighborhoods or even right in the main office. Wendy says staff just have a way of dealing with things as they come and making sure that people inquiring about things leave satisfied.
"It's definitely not typical," she said with a laugh. "Some days are, when there are days when I know I have to get things done. But we all answer the phone, we all help people at the front, and things come up during the day that we don't expect, but we deal with it as it comes. I really enjoy interacting with the public. Growing up here, I know quite a few people in town. The girls in the office all call me the local historian because if they need to know something that's happened in the past, I can usually fill in the blanks, and that definitely helps."
While there can be challenges in her daily work, Ball says there really isn't anything that can't be matched with the collective efforts of those in the office. The office environment has a way of bringing out teamwork in everyone to make sure that things can be taken care of.
"There definitely are challenges, but nothing that I really view as a major challenge because there's always a solution to whatever comes across your desk," she said. "It's just working together with the team and finding that solution. I try not to let problems bother me because I know that we'll figure it out and get it looked after so that it benefits everybody."
It's working with the people in the office that makes going to work easy for Wendy, with everyone managing to come together and gel well in order for things to get done. Friendships and relationships made help serve as one of the proverbial benefits of working for the town.
"The team of people that we work with, for sure," she said. "We work with some really great people and everybody in all the departments seem to work really well together. With us kind of being the hub of all the calls and requests, we're really good at relaying things to each department and making sure that things get looked after because we're the first point of contact for everybody. We have to be sure that we're being thorough to make sure that requests are getting looked after for people in town."
The people of Outlook might not be blind to much of what goes on in the office or out on the job, with this article series helping to spotlight things that citizens may not see every day, but Ball says one of the things that perhaps may need some more attention is the work that's done with the cemetery. She's proud of the work that's being carried out there, and also enjoys looking up historical info for those who may be curious.
"I wouldn't necessarily say 'blind', but there are things we do that people might not know that we do," she said. "The cemetery, for example; I don't think people may know that it's the town that looks after it and that we're the place that you come when you want to purchase a plot. We also get quite a few requests in the office for historical information with people trying to fill in the blanks on family trees and things of that nature, and those fall on my desk. I enjoy looking for people through our historical books and records to try and find the information they're looking for, and I take great pride in being able to help families fill in blanks from all over the world."
Since starting her career, Wendy's eyes were opened to the sheer amount of work that's done just in the office. She remembers coming to the town hall building often as a child as her father Rick Pederson was a longstanding employee in the community.
"It has, for sure," she said. "As a citizen before I started working for the town, I didn't realize the amount of things that are dealt with in the office. Pretty much everything is. Growing up in town, my dad was the superintendent for 40 years, so I did make quite a few visits to the office as a child to come and see the administrator at the time, who was Lawrence Zarubiak. He was always my favorite person to come and visit, get a candy, walk over to the Kinsmen Park, that sort of thing. I have very special memories of this office and building, and I wanted to be a part of it."
Aside from the people, it's the businesses and the offerings that help Outlook stand out in Wendy's view. As a growing community, she believes that the town will have more services and programs as the years go by. It's things like this that made Wendy and her husband Randy want to raise their kids in the riverside community.
"I think our community's a great place to be," she said. "We stand out because we have some really great programming, great businesses in town, and we have a lot to offer newcomers to Canada. I left after I graduated high school here, but I knew that Outlook would always hold a very special place in my heart. I think we're a very blossoming community that's growing all the time, and we have a lot to offer in that aspect. I love it, and that's why we moved back to raise our kids here."
Wendy believes that everyone working together for the betterment of Outlook will help lead the town into the future.
"We appreciate everybody's support in our community," she said. "If we all work together, we can continue to make our town the best place that it can be."
