beyond the ballot
juliefriesen By SCOTT SCHMIDT
Born and raised in Stettler, Alta., Friesen eventually entered into the fashion
O
nce Julie Friesen finds something she loves she’ll stick with it, even if it took her the standard few years to figure it all out.
design program at Olds College, though it wasn’t necessarily chosen with the most confident of reasons.
“It was either go really far away in the east or go to Olds,” says Friesen. “It’s an odd choice, I know. That program amongst everything else they do in Olds is kind of odd, but it’s still there and doing really well.”
After finishing up her fashion diploma, Friesen moved to Calgary, where she embarked on a very short-lived career in her field of choice.
“It’s something that you have to be extremely committed to, because you don’t make any money,” she says of the fashion industry. “So it’s not that I disliked it … I still love it and could always go back to it, but I guess I found it just wasn’t challenging me the way I wanted.”
Jumping to the opposite end of the spectrum, Friesen went from fashion design into accounting. It was there she finally found her true passion and has been on the same career path ever since.
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Friesen began to get involved in the administration of various social organizations, as well as community development.
“I got married in that time,” she says. “My husband is a family therapist, so when I met him I got into some volunteer work and started to become really interested in the community and the social services aspect of it.
“Not just social services but a whole gamut of community services.”
Friesen gained valuable administrative experience as a volunteer. And thanks to a move with her husband Howard’s career, she soon brought that experience to Medicine Hat.
“That was about 35 years ago now,” Friesen says. “We’ve lived here most of our adult life.”
The couple’s children were born in Medicine Hat and for the first few years of their lives she was a stay-at-home mom. Deep down however, she knew
being around the house all the time just wouldn’t cut it.
“No. 1, I get bored very easily,” she laughs. “So I needed something to do. I’m a highly motivated individual and I have tons of energy. So the first thing I did was get involved in my kids’ school.”
Friesen’s volunteer adventure began with the kindergarten parent council, which eventually led to involvement at a district level. It was there she met a woman who was running for city council, and Friesen became involved in her campaign.
That was her first taste with the City of Medicine Hat and it’s clear she has never looked back.
“Because I was so interested in community, it was suggested that I run for the FCSS (Family Community Support Services) board, which is now the Social Development Advisory Board.”
Friesen wound up the chair of that board for several years, as well as a stint as chair at the provincial level. She has also chaired the likes of the Police Commission and the Alberta Association of Police Governance, she is a former president of the local United Way, a former member of PEP, SEAWA, local library associations… the list is not short.
She even started a pair of programs through Health Canada for mothers and young children.
It goes without saying that Friesen knew the community as well as anyone. And how many boards can you chair before natural progression kicks in?
41149725•03/25/14
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