Former Edmonton Stingers CEO Reed Clarke launches bid for city council
A familiar name in Edmonton sports and business circles is entering the municipal politics arena for the first time.
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Reed Clarke, the former CEO and co-owner of the Edmonton Stingers and current CEO of Sport Edmonton, announced his candidacy for city council in Ward Nakota Isga this weekend, bringing what he describes as a 'fresh approach' rooted in collaboration, community and economic vitality.
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'I love this city,' Clarke told Postmedia ahead of the launch. 'As somebody who grew up and was raised in the ward, bought my first house there, learned to play the sport I love the most — basketball — and still coaches these kids at the Grovenor Community League in basketball, it's really a full circle moment for me.'
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Nakota Isga is the west-end ward that has been represented by Coun. Andrew Knack, who is not seeking another term as councillor but is reportedly considering a run for mayor.
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Clarke's platform is built around three pillars. The first is connected, which is all about building strong relationships among stakeholders, including the province, federal government, police, business leaders, and fellow council members. Clarke believes consensus-building and collaboration are essential to civic government's ability to 'get things done and to move forward with a better Edmonton.'
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The second pillar is community, emphasizing Clarke's deep roots in the area and commitment to enhancing Edmonton's unique network of community leagues.
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'Edmonton is one big community in my mind,' he said. 'I want to embrace and support them, and make everyone welcome in communities, especially in Nakota Isga, and make those safe, inviting places for everybody,' he said.
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The third pillar is commerce, reflecting Clarke's background and his desire to make Edmonton 'the best place in Canada to do business,' particularly among major cities. He said he will advocate for quicker permit and licence approvals and stronger partnerships with the private sector to drive 'equitable, responsible' development.
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'I think working with the business community and having a really good relationship with them is something that's needed in city council,' he added.
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Clarke's campaign will also lean on his experience in sports leadership. Under his tenure, the Edmonton Stingers became a 'community powerhouse,' selling out 70 per cent of their home games and winning the Canadian Elite Basketball League's Community Service award with over 1,000 volunteer hours logged.
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Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Promise David, no relation, also scored for Canada in his senior debut. Both Ukraine goals came in the dying minutes. Illia Zabarnyi scored in the 89th minute, tapping home a teammate's header to cheers from the pro-Ukraine crowd. Arsenal's Oleksandr Zinchenko added another from the penalty spot in stoppage time after Buchanan was pinged for handball in the Canadian penalty box. 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Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. 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14 hours ago
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There are definitely days when I've felt like I was floating on my feet, not so much from staying up all night fretting over numbers, but more from wondering what else we can do to make coming here a positive experience for everyone.' 'They told me opening a café is like having a child – you can forget about sleeping for the first six months or so'–Tanya Clarke Clarke, a mediator, leadership coach and professional development trainer based out of Yellowquill University College, split her time growing up between Transcona and Interlake districts such as Lundar and Komarno. Her father, who was Anishinaabe, was a residential school survivor. It wasn't until 2016 — five years before he died at 79 — that he began openly discussing that period of his life with his four children. 'My cousins grew up in community but we didn't, and there were definitely occasions of me feeling like I didn't belong,' says Clarke, who was seven when her mother, who was of German descent, died following a prolonged illness. 'When I did find out more about my dad, whose name was George but went by Buddy, things started to make sense for me. I was able to process a lot of what I'd been dealing with — or lacking — when I was younger.' Clarke and her partner Kevin moved to Dugald three years ago. Last June, she was out for a walk with their dog Blue when she noticed there was a vacant space in Dugald Station, a multi-tenant strip mall. The self-described coffee aficionado had always dreamed of running a café of her own, and because her youngest was about to graduate high school, she figured she might actually have the necessary free time to do so. Not to mention that nothing comparable existed in the town of about 800 — a number she understood would continue to grow over the coming years. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Grey Wolf Cafe came to be with the support of First Peoples Economic Growth Fund, an organization that assists First Nations entrepreneurs. After discussing the notion with her family, she set up a meeting with the First Peoples Economic Growth Fund, an organization that encourages and supports First Nations people in Manitoba who are delving into entrepreneurship. She next put together a multi-detailed, 63-page business plan, listing everything from desired menu items to job descriptions for prospective staff to projected sales. The venture required a tag, of course. Clarke says it was an easy decision to go with Grey Wolf for Grey Wolf Man, the traditional name her father received at a ceremony that was held following his death. 'When I was thinking about what to call it, Grey Wolf Café just made sense,' she says, crediting her 29-year-old daughter Sierra for coming up with the howling-wolf logo that adorns one of the café's bay windows. 'And because I do a lot of cultural-awareness training, I felt like it was a good, positive way to celebrate culture not just by honouring my dad, but also anybody else who attended a residential school.' She received the keys to the site on Dec. 1, at which point she promised herself she'd be serving her first cuppa joe by the beginning of February — a timeline she quickly realized wasn't viable, given the amount of updating that was required. New flooring, new wainscoting, a fresh coat of paint, a brick-encased gas fireplace built from scratch, she says, listing some of the renovations she undertook with the assistance of Kevin, her kids and her new landlord. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS A Red Seal chef from York Factory First Nation helped with menu items like the bannock breakfast sandwich. When Clarke wasn't busy making things over, she was spending hours taste-testing as many as 20 coffee blends, prepared with beans roasted in the province. She also recruited Dana Constant, a Red Seal chef from York Factory First Nation she knew from volunteering at Folklorama's First Nations pavilion, to lend a hand on the food side of things. 'We definitely wanted bannock for the breakfast sandwiches and Dana, who is 28 and brilliant, came in and worked with my son Vincenzo. Between the two of them, they arrived at three different (breakfast) sandwiches, as well as a lunch menu that, for now, includes a turkey-BLT and a ham-and-Swiss, both served on ciabatta.' (There is also a selection of pastries and for the younger set, soft-serve ice cream.) Oh those, Clarke smiles, when a visitor asks about a set of handsome wooden armchairs positioned around a live-edge table. Her father gave them to her years ago, and as soon as she decided to open a café she enlisted the services of Anishinaabe textile and interior designer Destiny Seymour to recover them with one of her Indigenous-inspired patterns. Fabian Sanderson (no relation to writer) is the chief executive officer of the First Peoples Economic Growth Fund. While the organization has in the past aided businesses such as gas bars and convenience stores, Sanderson says what they are particularly interested in is working with places where 'restoration… perhaps some reconciliation' is part of the agenda. 'Obviously there are a lot of advancements that have been made — which is fantastic — but there are still prejudices that are alive and well today,' Sanderson says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Vincenzo Marinelli prepares lunch sandwiches. 'So when you have a company that comes up like this, sometimes it's throwing a dart and hoping it lands because you might have a community that supports it or you might have one that totally rejects it, because of lack of understanding or ignorance. That's why for us, it's super exciting to say, 'Hey, this is what an Indigenous business looks like.'' Sanderson says he and his colleagues feel like 'proud parents' whenever a venture they're involved with begins to get its feet under it and attain its goals. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. 'To have somebody like Tanya who has kids and who wants to create a business to help support her family is fantastic,' he continues. 'Unfortunately, you still don't see a lot of inter-generational prosperity within the Indigenous community — you see it all over in other areas of the world — so when we witness something that has the potential to be carried on by the next generation, we do whatever we can to help them achieve that success.' Besides running the café, Clarke, who currently has seven employees, all from the general area, intends to market bagged coffee under the Grey Wolf banner at the retail level. That includes one type, Buddy's Blend, named for her dad. She'll also be designating space inside the 23-seat locale — occupancy can be expanded to 37 for anticipated book readings and corporate get-togethers — where Indigenous artisans such as Caroline Cheekie of Cheeky Beader can sell their wares on a consignment basis. 'And my long-term goal would be to have more Grey Wolf Cafés, right?' she says, adding whenever she's unsure of next steps, she seeks guidance from more knowing sorts. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Grey Wolf Cafe will sell bagged coffee, along with wares from Indigenous artisans on a consignment basis. 'I have my dad's photo on the fireplace mantle and if I'm ever stuck, I'll smudge and we'll talk. Mom, too.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Lexi Taylor feeds a sweet treat to a canine customer. David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
