The Economic Developers Association of Manitoba held its 3rd annual Awards night last week where Tyler King, Carman-Dufferin Director of Economic Development, won top honours.

King was given the 2019 Award of Distinction.

"I was lucky enough to be the recipient of that award, although the other two nominees in my category were definitely very deserving individuals themselves of that honour."

He has been working in the Economic Development field across Manitoba for the past 16 and a half years.

"I started off in Deloraine-Winchester and also was working for Community Futures Organization . . . then I moved over to Boissevain-Morton for a couple of years, and following that I moved to Carman and have been here for more than twelve and a half years."

In a year King travels outside of the Carman-Dufferin region to promote travel to the area, the thriving local business sector, and what their community offers residents and visitors.

"I look after tourism coordination. I manage everything from distribution of our visitor guide through social media, marketing planning. I do work on business development and retention, so new and existing businesses."

He is also involved in many major projects like the construction of the new Personal Care Home in Carman.

"Other things I do in my job are to try and ensure we have the tools in place to develop our community. We have done a lot of that work when I first started here."

One area he notes is strong cooperation between the Town of Carman and RM of Dufferin which has been important for both the work he does and residents.

"The award means that the work that we've been doing is obviously being recognized by others. It shows that the time we've been putting into things is worth it."

King adds, it can take a lot of time and patience to see the rewards of working in his field, but the 16 and a half years of service, and award, as a result, have proven to be worth the effort.