The new CAO for Cochrane is Mike Derricott and he and his family are excited about starting the new year here in our fair town.

Originally hailing from Ft Macleod, and attending school in Lethbridge, Derricott says it feels good to be coming back to southern Alberta.

Currently, working as CAO for the Town of Edson, Derricott says that he and his family will be making the move to Cochrane at the end of December. Christmas dinner will be takeout as they will be living out of boxes over the holidays. Derricott's family consists of Mike, his wife Brittany three daughters, and a son ranging in age from 14 to 8 years. Derricott says the family likes to be active and out enjoying the outdoors and hiking. “You can imagine why that adds to our excitement to join Cochrane. Excited for our family to come and be a part of a new adventure.”

Turning to his new position as CAO for the Town of Cochrane, Mike Derricott says, “I’m humbled and excited to join the organization and join the community. It’s a really attractive place to live and we are excited to bring our family there and become a part of the community.”

Derricott admits that following this unprecedented year, 2021 will certainly have its share of challenges, but he is up for it and looking forward to jumping to the new job with both feet and hopefully finding a firm ground to take off from in 2021.

“One of the hardest things I think we have dealt with in 2020 is the uncertainty of it all. What does it mean, when will it end, and what are the impacts?  So, as we move into 2021, I think that’s one of the main things on my mind is how do we start to find our firm footing again as hopefully as it looks like the vaccination process beginning. We can start to just get ourselves back onto firmer ground and get back to just the regular challenges of operating a municipality which is many and significant.”

Another challenge Derricott believes will arise from 2020 and going into 2021 is, “All the implications of the disruption that has come to our economy. It is our job as a community to respond and understand to continue to do the work of building a thriving sustainable community with all these new implications. Getting our feet back on firm ground is what I am looking forward to the most in 2021 and knock-on-wood, that starts to come together early in the new year.”

No doubt, Mike will have his work cut out for him in the new year, but it sounds like he is ready to take on the challenge. Congratulations, to Mike and welcome to the Derricott to our fair town.