Over the years Revelstoke has changed. It’s gone from a sleepy city to a budding resort destination.
“In 2004, you could walk down the street and not see a single face you did not know,” says Stacey Brensrud, who has lived in Revelstoke for 40 years.
“If there was a new person in town, you would actually look and wonder who is that.”
Brensrud was adopted from South Korea when she was a baby and moved to Mica Creek. Her father was a professional photographer for B.C. Hydro. When Mica dam was finished in the 1970s, the family moved to Revelstoke when work began on the Revelstoke Dam. In the 1980s, her dad opened a portrait studio and raised five kids on the income of a small business.
Growing up, there weren’t many non-white faces in Revelstoke. Brensrud says the ski resort has brought diversity to the city.
“There’s different people from all over the world now.”
As a kid, Brensrud says she struggled with the same issues many of us have, such as trying to find a sense of belonging and fitting in.
“I tried to involve myself in as much as I could. I would be on as many sports teams as I could. I’d travel out of town as much as I could if it was for track and field or volleyball.”
Brensrud knows Revelstoke inside and out. She’s worked in the service industry, run several businesses and managed the local Telus branch for many years.
Now, she’s a constituency assistant for MLA Doug Clovechok. Constituency assistants are non-partisan employees of the legislative assembly of B.C.
“Being a constituency assistant isn’t about politics. It’s about providing a service to the community,” says Brensrud.
The job is specific to Clovechok. If he loses an election, Brensrud may also lose her job. However, it was a risk she was willing to take.
“It’s been interesting seeing how things work. You get a sense of how to make a difference.”
Regardless, it isn’t an easy job.
“The biggest challenge of the job is communicating to people that we are trying to get them the help that they need, but that there is policy and procedure and a framework that needs to be worked within. So their issues are very important to us, even though there is no magic wand for instant results sometimes,” says Brensrud.
It’s very rewarding, says Brensrud, to be able to connect people from the community with the resources to help.
Brensrud is one of the main threads in Revelstoke that keeps the community together. She’s on the board for the Farwell Splash Park, Revelstoke Woman’s Shelter and an active member of the Parent Advisory Committee for Arrow Heights Elementary School, the school her two children attend.
“When you volunteer, opportunities present themselves where you can step in and make a difference for an individual or community.”