Glen McKenzie started his political service with the Town of Swan River in 1988 as a councillor.
Seven years later, Glen was elected mayor and he held that position for 22 years. During this time, Glen was a driving force in signing the first Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) agreement with Sapotaweyak Cree Nation in 2012.
"We were the first municipality in Manitoba to have two TLE agreements in a municipality, so that was a big achievement," said McKenzie. "It set a precedent for many other municipalities and the documents that we used were used as templates for other municipalities to negotiate."
Glen was also presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012. Then just more than 10 years later and very recently, Glen was presented with a lifetime membership to the Association of Manitoba (AMM) municipalities, which was announced by AMM president Cam Blight.
"To be recognized by your peers is very special," said McKenzie. "I did what I did for the good of the community and to be recognized, it's a real honour for me."
As he looks back at his time as mayor of the Town of Swan River, Glen said it was an incredible 22 years.
"It was a real honour for me to represent Swan River," offered McKenzie. "I was also very fortunate, I worked with great people. From our councillors to administrative staff to the city workers and everything in between, there are a lot of very skilled passionate people in Swan River."
McKenzie also says Swan River is an extremely special community to be a part of.
"The people are here are incredible, they are friendly and they work hard," ended McKenzie. "They are also community minded people, everyone rallies together to help out and get things done."
