A veteran of the Morden Police Service is stepping up to assume the role of police chief.
Sean Aune marked the 25th anniversary of joining the police department here by officially signing the contract Monday to succeed Brad Neduzak as chief.
“I haven’t been nervous in 25 years,” Aune said afterwards. “When you do this job, you see a lot of things and not much gets to you anymore, but actually it’s been a lot of emotions.”
From starting with the department as a rookie, Aune climbed up the ladder to become a sergeant and then inspector about four years ago. He shared that making the decision to take the next step came after some careful consideration.
“I discussed it with my family, and it really came down to I should be grateful for this opportunity that I get to do what I love in the community that I love.”
Aune acknowledged it was also somewhat bittersweet as he has had a long history with Neduzak, who stepped down this fall after 40 years of service including 25 as chief.
“I talked to Brad today … I have some big shoes to fill. I hope that I meet his level of excellence, and what he expected, I hope I meet that,” said Aune.
He noted he was thankful for the members and how hard they work and even especially with the specialty units, and he also recognized the strong support of the City of Morden and the police board.
“I’m just excited to put the effort into it now and see where we can take it,” said Aune.
“I was already part of working with the police board and with their vision. The city and the police board both have the same vision as I do for the police service,” he said. “I love this community. I’m enjoying this new role with whatever it brings, and just to carry on with it and meet those expectations will be the hardest part.”
“Sean’s resumé is top marks. The presentation he gave to us was bar none [the best], just the experience that he’s had all the way through the ranks,” said police board vice chairperson Colin Harbinson on the decision to promote Aune. “We feel he has both the experience, the knowledge and the drive, the desire, to continue to serve the community in this capacity.
“We just think he is a super candidate for the position,” added Harbinson, who also commented on his personality in terms of being personable and also so well established and known and respected in the community.
Harbinson added they see Aune fitting very well with the vision of the police board to have a police service that is seen in a positive way in the community and in the schools.
“We wanted more community involvement from the service so that people realize when they see a police car, it’s a good thing. It means that we’re secure. We’re being checked on … having the police presence is a good thing, a positive thing.
“There has to be a presence [in the community],” he said.
