I am late introducing myself. I grew up on a farm in southern Alberta, did a degree at the University of Calgary then attended law school at the University of Saskatchewan and graduated in 2001. I worked in private practice doing until 2009 when I joined the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo as its first in-house lawyer. There are currently two lawyers in the department and I am hoping to add a third in the next few months. I am a stepmother of 3 (one teenager and two close behind) so outside of work I am very busy as well. Where I work and live is much more interesting than me ... the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is an exciting place to live and work. With an average growth rate of 7.24% over each of the last 10 years (in comparison to 2.1% for the province of Alberta and 1.1% for Canada during the same period) and a cumulative population increase of 101% since 2000, everything here happens quickly. Geographically speaking, we are one of the largest municipalities in Canada. At over 63,000 square kilometers, we are more than double the size of the country of Belgium. There are 104,338 residents in the municipality with approximately 77,000 living in the urban service area of Fort McMurray. The oil sands industry is responsible for 48 percent of the region's employment and 96 percent of investment. The strength of this industry has made the region one of the wealthiest in Canada with an average household income of $177,634 in 2011. The average cost of a single family home in 2010 was $685,970 and I am confident that this number is higher now. The median age of people in Fort McMurray is 32. http://www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/Doing-Business/Economic-Development/Economi c-Profile-2011.htm I have babbled on now so, I guess its clear that I love my job and where I get to do it. I hated private practice and was ready to quit being a lawyer until this job opportunity came along. I am much busier than I ever was in private practice, though. We open, on average, 3 new files each business day. Something that may be of use or interest to some of your communities in planning for the future is our new Municipal Development Plan: http://www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/Assets/MDP+Assets/Draft_MDP/Final+MDP.pdf We are quite excited about it. Sincerely, Tamara D. Epple, B.A., J.D. Senior Municipal Solicitor Director, Legal Services Department T 780.788.1582 C 780.713.5948 F 780.792.5952 tamara.epple@woodbuffalo.ab.ca <mailto:tamara.epple@woodbuffalo.ab.ca> www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca <http://www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca> 9909 Franklin Avenue, Fort McMurray, AB, T9H 2K4