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Wooden Buffaloโs new mayor hasnโt been in politics earlier thanย howeverย he is able to combat for change.ย
Sandy Bowman, 50, was sworn in final weekย and is getting ready for his first council assembly. The well-known martial arts teacher defeated council incumbents Mike Allen and Verna Murphy to win the vacant mayorโs seat final month.
Like many Fort McMurrayย residents, Bowman is just not initially from the area.ย
Bowman moved to Fort McMurray in 1993 from Nova Scotia. He and a good friend had determined to maneuverย to B.C, however they stopped in Fort McMurray on the best way to go to household.ย
โI used to be right here for six days, I met a woman, fell in love, ended up getting married,โ Bowman mentioned.ย
โOnce I say house now, that is house.โย
Bowmanโs ardour is martial arts, whichย he began practising when he was 9.ย
He introduced that to Fort McMurray, educating household and mates Taekwondo at MacDonald Island Park.
โIt steamrolled to youngsters preferred it, youngsters wished to get entangled with it,โ mentioned Bowman.
In 1995,ย he determinedย to open a studio referred to as Bowmans Martial Arts.ย He plans to maintain educating throughout his time period as mayor.
โIf I am completed for the day and need a couple hours to de-stress and exercise I will simply are available right here and prepare and train,โ mentioned Bowman.ย
Though Bowman is new to politics, he has plenty of notable expertise withย the Western Canada Summer season Video games, the Arctic Winter Video games and Alberta Taekwondo.
Massive combat
One stand-out second in his martial arts profession was an MMA combat towards Eric โButterbeanโย Esch, a widely known boxer and MMA fighter.ย
Bowman mentioned in 2010 the corporate wanted a win and one thing to take it out of debt. The plan was for Bowman to combat somebody who was โvirtually unbeatable.โย
โWin or lose, folks would come to the occasion,โ mentioned Bowman.ย
On the time,ย Butterbean, an achieved boxer, weighed 377 kilos. Bowman weighed 209 kilos.ย
Bowman received the combat. He mentioned it helped launch โthe beginning of combined martial arts period in Fort McMurray.โ
Two years later, the municipality handed itsย combative sports activities fee bylaw, which Bowman helped write.
Flood troubles
Bowman hopes to place that very same combating spirit to get the municipalityโs flood mitigation completed. It is a difficulty that has affected Bowmanโs enterprise.
In 1997, he did not have flood insurance coverage. He misplaced his studio andย needed to rebuild the enterprise on his personal.ย
โWe have been instructed after that the flood mitigation was executed,โ mentioned Bowman. However in 2020, the downtown flooded once more. And Bowmanโs studio, which is in a basement, flooded.ย
Bowman mentioned he is grateful to his landlord who helped put in a sewer backup system, which allowed him to get insurance coverage, however is aware of notย everyone seems to be so fortunate.
โI do know a number of the buildings downtown are empty they usuallyโre empty as a result of folks cannot get insurance coverage,โ he mentioned.ย
Bowman misplaced his house to the 2016 wildfire.ย He mentioned he needs to make it easier for folks rebuilding, as a result of many individuals battle to fill out the allow types.
Bowman mentioned he needs to begin caring for the folks in Fort McMurray, fairly than specializing in attempting to draw new folks to maneuver to the neighborhood.ย
โAs soon as we try this, I feel our inhabitants goes to develop,โ mentioned Bowman.ย
He additionally needs to wash up Fort McMurrayโs downtown and make investmentsย in beautification.ย
โMaking it appear like a spot we wish to dwell. And make it appear like a spot folks wish to do enterprise.โย
The primary council assembly is scheduled for subsequent Tuesday.
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