The city of Steinbach has hired its first ever Director of Economic Development.

Anna Mondor has taken on this role as part of a five-year pilot program developed in a partnership between the City of Steinbach, Steinbach Chamber and a stakeholder group made up of 26 private business owners. A governing committee has been formed, with representation from the private stakeholder group and Chamber to oversee the development, function, progress and success of the project.

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"Steinbach has tremendous growth potential," says Mondor. "There is significant room for our local industry to grow and expand."

According to Mondor, Steinbach currently has a very low vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent. She says this shows a strong demand for housing development in the region.

"Along with developing an Investment Attraction Strategy, our city needs a good tourism plan to help attract thousands of new visitors every year," she adds. "We have a lot of work ahead of us and with our knowledgeable stakeholder team, I believe only the sky is a limit."

Meanwhile, Chamber President Christine Beaumont says there has been much anticipation from community stakeholders and business members regarding this position becoming a reality.

"We are pleased to partner with the City of Steinbach for this program and thrilled to have Anna on board to further develop economic growth and stability in our community," says Beaumont. "Building strong relationships with both business and government organizations will facilitate a strong growth trajectory, and Anna has a great track record in building relationships like these."

Beaumont says at this stage they are focused on collecting data as Mondor gets to know the community and connects with key stakeholders. "Moving forward, we are visioning for the future and putting an economic strategy in place to provide sustainable economic growth for the City of Steinbach.

Having already met Mondor, Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk says he really appreciates her energy and enthusiasm.

"I think she's going to do a great job for the Chamber and bringing in new businesses and help existing businesses expand," says Funk. "She's very knowledgeable and well trained and well educated. I'm really excited to be working with her."

Funk notes quite a few councillors campaigned on the Economic Development Officer platform.

"I myself always maintained that it was up to Council and Mayor to create an environment for good development and I still maintain that," adds Funk. "And I do believe that many of her ideas she has will be very good and they will definitely help attract businesses to our community."