Former Killam Mayor and Pastor of the Killam Pentecostal Church Ben Kellert says he will be leaving the community with fond memories of the time he and wife Tanny have spent here.
The couple came to the community, where he started as the new pastor, in July of 2015.
He commuted from Barrhead for the first few months before the couple physically moved to the community that November.
“It was a very busy time,” Kellert recalls, as he was working actively as an auctioneer during that period, holding his first sale in Killam the next spring. He also helped with the Charity Auctions held by Ralph Sorenson for a number of years afterwards. In fact, Kellert says he still participates in 10-12 charity auctions each year, in communities from Red Deer to Slave Lake.
Prior to coming to Killam, Kellert pastored at a new church, serving the Westlock and Barrhead areas, also working with the local youth centre and women’s shelter as well as running his own auctioneering business. Kellert also has a singing career, he’s been performing for the last decade or so in Love, Sask., and Millet at jambourees in both locations.
Kellert says for him, one of the big things he’s proud to have been part of is the Highway 13 ministry, which he says gave him an important opportunity in the community to be a helping hand, and adds that being able to do that as part of a unified group has been a priority for him. He says that Pastor Doug Webb has agreed to step in and take on some of his roles, in fact the annual Prayer Tour started last week with Webb at the helm.
Kellert says his eight years at the West Edmonton Mall chapel really helped solidify for him, “That we’re all in the family of God. That’s a huge lesson, and I’ll take that with me as I go forward.”
He says that message extended to the work that is done at Long Term Care, adding, “That’s very meaningful work for me, and has meant a lot.”
Kellert says he’d never ventured into municipal government until he lived in Killam, although he’d been involved in a community league while living in Edmonton, and was president of the chamber of commerce in Westlock.
“When we came here, we’d been living in town two years when an election was pending. I thought it would be a great way to get to know the community better, and also to be able to serve my community, which is important to me.”
He says at first he’d intended to run for a regular council seat, but after speaking to former mayor Bud James, he was encouraged to seek election as Mayor. He put his nomination in and won the position by acclamation, winning the next municipal election the same way.
Kellert says, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to serve. I enjoyed meeting and working with Council. Wherever I go I brag about our amazing council members in Killam. I can say, confidently, that I am so proud of the Council I have worked with over the past six years.
“There’s such a mutual honour and respect for each other. We can share our individual points of view and opinions with respect, and at the end of the day walk out of council chambers with that respect in place.”
Kellert says he spoke to each councillor individually before making his resignation public, out of respect, in early February.
He adds, “I wanted to do one more Council meeting, but felt it would be better for the community to put my resignation in sooner to get that process going. I realized it’s not about me and what I want, it’s about serving the community in the best way.”
He says the highlight of him being Mayor is the working relationship between Council and administration, and “Seeing the passion that Council and staff have for the community, not just to maintain or survive, but to thrive; to see our community be the best in the county.”
He says he’s proud of Council’s fiscal responsibility, and keeping property taxes reasonable while providing all the services residents expect during his time on Council.
He says it was a priority walking in to Council on his first day without his own agenda, but working for the community, to serve and enhance it.
Sunday was Kellert’s last service as preacher here in Killam, and the evening of March 17 a special farewell was held at the Living Room for the couple.
He’s looking forward to a couple of weeks of vacation after that, and will take up his new role at Barrhead Pentecostal Church on March 31.
Kellert says, “I’m quite confident that I’m leaving Town Council and the church in good hands.
Leslie Cholowsky
Editor