John Fortoloczky has been appointed as Hope’s new chief administrative officer.
He will take over the position in early February from Earl Rowe, who volunteered himself for the job two years ago on an interim basis and was tasked from the beginning to set the stage for his eventual replacement.
“We are very fortunate to have found a person of this calibre to continue the extraordinary work of Earl Rowe during his time as our town manager,” said Mayor Susan Johnston.
Fortoloczky is moving to Hope from Brandon, Manitoba and has an extensive background in leadership and management experience.
As chief of staff at the Canadian Forces Base Shilo, he fulfills all responsibilities normally associated with the CAO role in addition to his military chain of command duties.
Fortoloczky has been posted overseas with NATO in the past, and served as base administrative and operations officer. He also played a key role in having Shilo take part in the national Communities in Bloom program.
“It’s now time for me to move on and hand over to a guy who understands how to use Facebook and Twitter,” said Rowe.
“I’ve really enjoyed the last two years. For me, it was a remarkable challenge to move from managing a very large organization to a very small one.”
Rowe is looking forward to spending more time with family, birding, hiking and playing bridge. He also plans to pursue local volunteer opportunities in the future.