The Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an all-candidates forum tonight starting at 6 pm.
The forum will be live streamed, only, and you will be able to watch the stream here.
The forum is intended for the public to learn about the three candidates vying for the seat on the city council and will be live-streamed only.
Questions for the candidates can be submitted to the Chamber ahead of time by emailing director@winklerchamber.com.
Get to know the three candidates: Ryan Hildebrand, Pam Fedack, and Dustin Brown, through their self-provided bios, which can be found below.
Ryan Hildebrand
I was born and raised in Southern Ontario but have had an association with the Winkler area all my life. My grandparents lived in the area and when we would visit in the summer, I fondly remember coming to Winkler to shop and visit relatives here. Out of high school, I moved to Winkler to study at Winkler Bible Institute for two years and then moved here for good almost 24 years ago when I married my wife Vanessa who is from Winkler. We have two children, who attended elementary, and high school in Winkler, and a dog. We enjoy our time hiking, golfing and travelling!
I’ve worked in accounting for 20 years in for-profit business and not for profits including 10 years as the Chief Financial Officer for Eden Health Care Services. This is where I developed my passion for affordable housing having seen firsthand the need in this community and throughout Manitoba. I’ve been involved on the Winkler Affordable Housing Board (now Central Community Homes) as treasurer for almost 10 years now and was involved provincially on the Manitoba Not-for-Profit Housing Board as a director for two board terms. I also worked extensively with various departments in government including Health, Families and housing, addictions and homelessness.
I have a strong commitment to being involved in the community and have served on other boards such as the Winkler & District Health Care board, Winkler & District Chamber of Commerce (including being the president for 3 years) and Central Station to name a few.
For the last 4+ years, I’ve been the Executive Director of the Buhler Active Living Centre which is a seniors (55+) community in downtown Winkler. Together with our partners in the building, we strive to provide a healthy environment with activities and supports that help our seniors thrive in community.
I believe in giving back to the community and believe that I would bring a unique perspective to Council as we work together to meet the current and future needs of our wonderful city!
Pam Fedack
Pam Fedack (nee Waldner) spent her early years on a poultry farm north of Winkler, and later an acreage in the Winkler-Morden corridor, attending Winkler Elementary School from K-8, and then Garden Valley Collegiate.
She grew up working in her parents 'Stop-N-Go' convenience store at the corner of Main and Mountain Ave., before pursuing a career in broadcasting at Winkler's CKMW Radio, where she started on-air evenings and weekends and operating Toronto Blue Jays games in 1996. She moved into news in 2001, and has extensively covered local and regional municipal politics, and provincial news, in addition to community events, sports, and more. She left radio earlier this year to pursue new opportunities.
Pam is the mother of four children, ages 12 - 21, and has been married to Johnathon for 25 years, who has been the Zone Cafeteria manager at Garden Valley Collegiate for the past decade and prior to that, a local chef. They are members of Maranatha Christian Fellowship.
She is an avid volunteer, donating her time doing patient support in the chemotherapy department at Boundary Trails Health Centre, following her mother's death from endometrial cancer in 2021. Pam served as the fundraising chair for the Winkler Figure Skating Club from 2014-18 and also supports other causes including GVSD grad and the Smile Cookie program, among other initiatives her kids are involved in. She's also a former member of the local chapters of both Toastmasters International and TOPS Club.
After years of reporting on municipal events, Pam is ready to go to work for her community to ensure a future built on sustainability, good asset management and planning, and the rural values she grew up with.
Dustin Brown
My name is Dustin Brown
I have been a resident of Winkler my entire life, the last 18 years with my wife Crystal. I graduated from GVC and for the past 20 years have been an employee at Lode King Industries. I am currently on the board of directors for the Winkler Flyers and just last month was elected as the chairperson of the Manitoba Citizens on Patrol Program board. I have been a COPP volunteer in Winkler for 22 years. I enjoy keeping up to date on local news and events.
During my campaign, I have enjoyed speaking to lots of city residents. It’s been nice to hear the many good comments and success stories. However, it’s also eye opening to hear the challenges that some people face.
As a councillor, I think it’s important to be approachable, easy going and willing to listen. Nobody knows our city better than the residents that live here. There’s lots of great ideas around to improve our already great city! We just need to be willing to listen to what people have to say.
I am driven to put in the time and effort that’s required to do a good job as a councillor and ask that you consider voting for me on December 12th.
I would love to hear from you during this campaign period. Feel free to contact me to discuss the issues that are important to you.
Click above at 6 pm to stream the all-candidate forum right here, on Pembina Valley Online.