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Deputy clerk leaving Kincardine and heading for Peru By Liz Dadson |
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Melanie Hogeveen says it's time for a change. Deputy clerk of the Municipality of Kincardine for almost four years, she is planning a trip to Peru in the fall, and possibly more travel after that. Born and raised in Kincardine, the 29-year-old daughter of Bill and Corinne Hogeveen went to Conestoga College and completed a diploma in health office administration. She worked at the Kincardine hospital site but then began her career with the municipality as a casual worker and laser fiche clerk in 2005. She travelled to Australia for six months and returned to the municipality, landing a job in the parks and recreation department, watering plants. Later, she worked in the building and planning department, doing livestock claims, and then in the clerk's department as secretary for several committees. In 2006, she helped then-deputy clerk Nancy Turcotte with the municipal election, worked as licensing clerk for three months, and when Turcotte retired in October, 2007, Hogeveen became deputy clerk. "I've sat in just about every desk in the municipal office," she says, with a laugh. She has also completed the two-year Municipal Administration Program through the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO). But now, the travel bug has returned. Hogeveen went to the Middle East last November and says she enjoys travelling and wants to do something above and beyond administrative work, such as volunteering overseas. So, she plans to take the summer off and help her parents complete their house, "Windy Acres," on Highway 21 near the Kincardine Airport. Then, Oct. 1, she is off to Cusco, Peru, a city smaller than the capital of Lima. There, she will be teaching English, as well as nutrition and hygiene, through International Volunteer HQ which provides high-quality, safe and extremely-affordable international volunteering programs in developing countries all over the world. Hogeveen also wants to hike the Inca Trail and take a jungle tour in the Amazon. And she is considering the idea of crossing the water to Africa and working in an orphanage in Tanzania. "It would be interesting to play with the kids, interact with them and improve their socialization," she says. She expects to be away for about two-and-a-half months, returning in time for Christmas. After that, she may go back to school or continue running her own business, creating wedding invitations and thank-you cards. "I'm not sure what's in the future," she says. "I'll have to play it by ear. I'm going to be 30. I have my whole life ahead of me, so I want to do as much as I can. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: 'Life is a journey, not a destination'." Hogeveen's last day at the Kincardine Municipal Administrative office is Thursday (July 28). She says she will miss her colleagues, many of whom have become her friends. "That's what kept me here this long. They're great people and I'll miss them." The municipality is a good place to work, she says. "I know Kincardine's going through some changes right now, but over the past six years we've had some good times."
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 Deputy clerk Melanie Hogeveen One of her favourite jobs was being part of the social committee, planning parties and get-togethers. She will miss working the municipal elections. "I have been here for two elections - they're high-stress, high-energy events." And she will miss working with the public. "That was the best part of the job," she says. "I really enjoyed helping people when I was doing marriage licences, commissionings, and working with the volunteers on committees and at the volunteer appreciation events. "I won't miss the politics," she says, adamantly, "even though I knew it came with the territory." Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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