Fehr heads to Baldy Hughes board meeting today
The Baldy Hughes Addiction Treatment Centre's new board appointee is coming into the position with a deep store of fundamental knowledge of what the facility is all about and a belief in its mission.
Not only does his company employ six graduates from the program, Brian Fehr was on the board for the treatment centre when it was formed in December of 2007.
Fehr said he strongly believes in the results of the process which takes someone who may either be in custody or perhaps on welfare, and instils change to the point where the individual can hold down a job and pay into the system instead of living off of it.The ultimate change, he said, "is just unbelievabe."
"I was involved quite a bit even before the board was formed," Fehr said.
Fehr said he believes one of the major gaps in the current board is lack of representation from the North.
"Don't get me wrong. I believe there's good board members, but there should be an equal mix of north and south," he said'. "A lot of the decisions made here are based on hearsay. They don't have an ear to the ground."
This is particularly important for the Baldy Hughes facility, Fehr said, because it is so dependent upon northern services.
"Baldy Hughes is a very community-based business."It must have a good local connection with the court systems, the police, BC Housing and local suppliers."
The second priority Fehr sees is, in some ways, related to the first.
"We need an executive director who is committed to the project. Since Marshall Smith left, I think they have struggled. He had a good rapport with the court system."
He said the new executive director must be able to share the same qualities and ensure the police system is on-board.Fehr's first board meeting begins Monday at 4 p.m. in Vancouver, and he is looking forward to assessing the applications of what has been described to him as two very promising candidates to fill the executive director position.
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