Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
After serving as the chief administrative officer (CAO) for the Municipality of Jasper since the summer of 2014, Mark Fercho is moving on.
Fercho will start the next chapter of his career as CAO in his hometown, Cranbrook, B.C. on Nov. 2.
"Jasper has been a wonderful experience in my life," Fercho said. "It's an amazing quality of life here."
He said working with a strong management team at the municipality has been a highlight.
"It's a good team, a good place to work," he said.
Fercho said he fell in love with mountain biking when he moved here. He purchased a fat bike a while back and has had many adventures since.
"It's really fun in the winter," he said. "It's nothing to do 25 kilometres after work."
That strength has come in handy. Fercho, who has biked on many trails, said, "I've had lots of run-ins with elk and bears. Some of them were way too close..."
Before moving to Jasper, Fercho worked for about ten years with B.C. Parks. He has been a ranger, an area supervisor, a city manager (for Prince George) and a CAO.
"On the B.C. side of the Rockies, I've been all over those mountains - many hundreds of hours," he said.
"When Jasper came up I saw the posting. I had a career with Parks Canada and I missed it. I could be a CAO in a park - so I could do both things that I loved."
The new position in Cranbrook, he said, turned out to present an appealing combination of factors.
"It's almost as if it was custom-made for me: what they wanted in a CAO, where they want to take the city and build it, and the fact that it's my hometown," he said. "It's a new chapter for me."
Fercho said he feels very fortunate to have been able to work with Jasper’s “iconic” mayor, Richard Ireland.
“He is one of the most intelligent, forward thinking, and community minded gentlemen I have ever worked with,” Fercho said.
And the feeling is mutual.
Mayor Ireland said Fercho has been a real credit to the Municipality of Jasper.
"He's thoughtful and prepared,” Ireland said. “But he's really humble. He avoids publicity. He gives staff accolades. He works from behind the scenes."
Fercho has initiated many projects. Ireland lauded the work Fercho did for the Library and Cultural Centre, and CN Place to ensure they were opened on schedule.
Ireland said Fercho brought knowledge he gained with B.C. Parks, including the "tremendous understanding of mountain pine beetle".
"That was a bonus," Ireland said. "The other side - his personal skills - are also important. We deal with multiple relationships, (including) Parks Canada, Tourism Jasper, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, the Government of Alberta, the MLA and MP. He's really good at the personal and the professional.
“He will be missed by a great number of people in town."
Fercho passed the torch to interim CAO John Greathead on Oct. 20, and said he will spend a week with him to ensure "a nice, smooth transition".
