The Rural Municipality of Morris has a new chief administration officer.
In November, Larry Driedger retired after 12 years in the administrative office, and Wes Unrau took over the responsibilities.
Unrau has focused his career efforts on public administration. Born in Winkler, he grew up in Steinbach and spent his high school years in Gimli. His career path to public service started in 2008 at West St. Paul as an administration assistant.
Manitou made gave him his first start as a CAO in 2010. In 2015, the community merged with the R.M. of Pembina, and he became the CAO there.
“Larry Driedger always spoke highly of the RM of Morris. He said it was a nice municipality to work for,” Unrau shared. “It was always in the back of my mind as a place I would like to work. When Larry announced his retirement, it was the right fit and the right time.”
The R.M. is an agricultural, commercial, and industrial community with a population of 3,047 as of 2016. It includes the communities of Aubigny, Kane, Lowe Farm, McTavish, Riverside, Rosenort, Sewell and Sperling.
“I had no clue I wanted to be an administrator until I did in,” Unrau reflected. “I’ve worked in banks and customer service for Manitoba Liquor Commission. When I first got the job in the West St. Paul job, I didn’t really understand that the position had a lot to do with politics, but after about 10 minutes there, my mindset changed.”
The CAO of an RM has to have knowledge of all the undertakings needed to keep the municipality running.
“I know more about lagoons and water plants than I ever thought I would,” he said. “Everything from human resources to information technology I have to know.”
The 51-year-old lives with his two kids and partner in Altona and commutes to the RM office in Morris.
“My partner works in Altona. I prefer to do the driving in the winter rather than having her drive to work each day,“ he said.
Since taking over the position, Unrau has discovered the R.M. of Morris comes with plenty of exciting challenges to tackle.
“This is a very busy R.M. There is a lot happening and I am working at coming up to speed.”
Unrau says his management style is team oriented.
“I remember a story my father told me from when he worked at the Winkler hospital. There was a specific job that was dirty and needed to be done once a year. My father would work alongside people doing the job. Never ask someone to do something you won’t do yourself.
“The staff here are absolutely amazing,” he added. “If I have a question, someone here has the answer or knows where to go get the answers. I look forward to the challenges of this position and hope to be here for many years.”
