Khristin Wagner
Khristin Wagner might be a new person at Community Recreation, but she fits right in.
Just ask Matt Hamilton, Com Rec Manager.
Ms. Wagner was hired as the Com Rec Coordinator in mid-August.
She is on a 13 month contract while the longtime coordinator, Ashley Clement is on maternity leave.
Alex Enns, who starts work on September 12, will a Com Rec Coordinator with Ms. Wagner.
“She will fit in well with our team,” Mr. Hamilton said during a telephone interview. “Khristin brings some new and exciting ideas to Com Rec.”
With a background in health care, Ms. Wagner had been working for the past 13 years in a local care home.
“Before that I worked as a camp counsellor for the Manitoba Developmental Centre in Portage la Prairie,” she said during an interview in The Voxair office on August 29.
“I had my education at Red River College where I specialized in geriatrics. I always had a passion for working with elderly people and people with disabilities. Now, I’m expanding into the community sector.”
Ms. Wagner, who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but raised in Alberta before moving to Manitoba when she was older, noted that the pandemic was difficult for everyone.
“There have been a lot of changes with restrictions and it was restrictive when it came to recreation programs,” she said.
“When this job came along, it was really exciting for me to work with the community and with the military and to do a lot of different things. I’m still learning my responsibilities.”
She pointed out that those tasks include looking after the children’s camp in the summer, organizing the Jolly Jamboree, the Halloween Howl, the Fall Fair, and the springtime Outdoor Adventure.
“I’ve done events before but not to this scale,” Ms. Wagner, whose partner, Mark, is an EOD tech at 17 Wing, acknowledged.
“I love it. It’s such a great team. Everybody has been really accepting and so nice.
“Matt Hamilton is a fantastic person. He wants to hear all kinds of different ideas. We bounce ideas off each other.”
She also wants to start a monthly social evening event for CAF members and their spouses.
“They can come out and enjoy the evening and just experience Winnipeg,” Ms. Wagner said.
“I know a lot of people come here on course and get posted. What I’m learning is that other bases don’t get the opportunity to be in a city like Winnipeg.
“So when they come to Winnipeg they don’t really know anything past Portage Avenue. This will be an opportunity to get them out and learn about the city, and socialize with other people and having fun.”
Ms. Wagner mentioned that she’s already planned a couple of outings for interested members-- an evening at Assiniboine Downs for horseracing in September, and a brewery tour of Winnipeg sometime in October.
“I can certainly set up any type of outing for people who want to do something new in Winnipeg,” she said.