Winkler’s Central Station Community Centre welcomed its new executive director last week.
Anita Wiebe has stepped into the role held by the retiring Bev Wiebe.
Anita is certainly no stranger to Central Station. She’s been a familiar face at the centre through her role as Southern Health-Santé Sud’s Healthy Baby coordinator for the past 14 years, providing community support programming for new parents. Prior to that, she had a few roles in the non-profit sector.
“So I’ve done a lot of social services type stuff,” Wiebe says, noting the Healthy Baby program took her to communities throughout the RHA.
“With the Winkler group, we were in the old building with Central Station and then here in the new one now,” she says. “It was a great opportunity to see and to be part of things, to be one of the community partners that got to piggyback on some of the relationships that Central Station has built. For us, that was really important. Central Station is a place where people connect.”
When the role of executive director became available, Wiebe says she did some soul searching to see if it was something she wanted to pursue.
“It was a little overwhelming at first,” she admits. “But I think to be able to have the perspective of having been a community partner and having had experience in other areas—whether it be involvement in the community or with volunteering or pieces like that—there’s all sorts of little pieces that give you skills to go, okay, maybe there is something that I could bring to the position.”
Meeting with Bev and the board of directors left Wiebe feeling it would be a good fit and an exciting new chapter in her career.
Her role, she says, is to continue to ensure Central Station is living up to its mandate to be a welcoming and supportive place for everyone.
“I want to build on the work that’s already been done. Bev and the staff here have done such an incredible job in really building relationships and making Central Station a place where people feel welcomed and valued and like it’s a place that they belong.
“So I want to continue that and to be able to continue to grow programs and services that we’re able to offer the community,” Wiebe says. “I’m excited about the opportunity.”
Bev Wiebe will stay on at Central Station for a few more weeks to aid in the transition.
She served in the role of executive director for seven years, following years of involvement on the Central Station board and as a host at the facility.
“Thank you to the community for being a part of the greater vision and for allowing me to champion the work of all the different agencies in town,” Wiebe says in reflecting on her tenure with the organization. “Thank you for trusting me to lead this extraordinary team.
“We have incredible staff and incredible volunteers. I think often the volunteers aren’t noticed, but without them we really wouldn’t be where we’re at today.
“It’s been a great journey,” she says. “Very challenging but also extremely rewarding.”
