A new village manager has been hired in Ashcroft with the outgoing chief administrative officer retiring this week, after more than three decades working for the municipality.

Mayor Barbara Roden says Anne Yanciw will take over the job on Sept. 3. She says Yanciw is familiar with small communities, having been the CAO in Valemount and most recently in Smithers.

“She brings a passion for small towns… She’s familiar with small communities such as Ashcroft. She clearly was very knowledgable about the community. She did a lot of research into Ashcroft and what makes us tick, if you will. Easy to talk to, very knowledgable, very friendly,” Roden says.

“Something else that she brings to the table, that all the candidates did actually, is emergency management. In small towns that’s becoming increasingly important, and we’re glad we’re having someone come to the village who has experience in dealing with emergencies and disasters. That’s going to be a big asset and a big assurance to a lot of people.”

Yanciw will replace Michelle Allen as the CAO, who has worked for the village for the past 34 years. Allen had been the chief financial officer for most of her tenure, before becoming village’s the CAO since 2008.

“It’s a huge moment for the village, to find that length of service in local government at any level is incredibly rare. Michelle was actually born in the building that is the village office when it was a hospital. So her career has come full circle in a lot of ways. And I know that I will certainly miss, immensely, her knowledge of the community, of local government.”

Allen’s final day as the CAO will be on Friday. Roden says in the interim before Yanciw starts, senior village staff will handle CAO duties for the month of August.