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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018 3THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 20182 By: Vivien Fleisher Acton's new BIA man- ager, Dianne Gowland is eager to take on the chal- lenge. Her biography reveals a well-rounded person: parent, volun- teer, fundraiser, coach, outdoor enthusiast, third genera t ion Be l l em- ployee, and enthusiastic supporter of all things local. The fourth man- ager in less than three years, Gowland's first major event will be the annual Winter Carnival on January 28. She's lived in town for 30 years, and her ca- reer outside it makes her typical of Acton's demo- graphic. She retired from Bell last November after 37 years; being one of the older employees, parting ways was a "very mutual agreement." She worked with "fantastic teams as a developer of internet products, responsible for revenue, the business of a product, reporting up the ranks to executives", but says she's a techni- cian by trade and started as a telephone operator. Her 23-year-old son Jake worked for Bell-owned The Source recently, so she sees a lot of legacy in her life. Another son, Walt, is 14. G o w l a n d s a i d s h e came to town when the "Old Hide House" and businesses like the "Avi- ator Shop" were in their heyday; the last real ves- tiges of the industry that put Acton on the map. She refers to "opportun- ities" that lie ahead in Acton, instead of "chal- lenges" which has a negative spin. She sees "synergies between the businesses downtown", having arrived in town when Acton was at one of its high points, and untapped opportunities, thanks to her business background. She wants to br ing forward the pride she knows is there and "make it pop". While away on business, when she'd tell people she was from Acton, they always asked, "Is it worth the drive?" "That was a really vis- ceral marketing tool, and I'm not really in a hurry to throw any of tha t away." Because she takes her respon- sibilities seriously, she doesn't want to come in with all the answers. She needs to listen and ask, "What do we want for Acton?" She knows everyone will have a dif- ferent answer, so the key initially will be finding out what they're think- ing to identify the next legacy. She's currently in training for coaching, a skill congruent to the job. Asked what it's like on the other side of the desk after being a resident for years, witnessing a steady loss of stores downtown while man- agers came and went, Gowland says a lot of passion and hard work was put into the stra- tegic plan, and she plans to carry through with it. "I reached out to every predecessor...had cof- fee with them... they're not gone. People leave jobs for two reasons: to repel away from a prob- lem, or to the light. In all cases everyone was moving forward." Gow- land added, "This is not a teardown. We're build- ing on what's already there." The vibrancy of the natural resources all around Acton and the easy commuting dis- tance to Toronto are its major strengths. She no- ticed a lot of new faces at Leathertown Festi- val this year and sees the festivals as key to the town's future. She doesn't want to make any assumptions about empty storefronts, say- ing, "Part of my recent training is to investigate things with people to get a true understanding of it." Dianne feels her big- ges t s t r eng th i s he r passion for Acton. The skills she learned in her career and community involvement puts her in good stead for effective collaboration and listen- ing. A first priority is the revamped website since i t's the l ink between her and the community. She'll be at the BIA of- fice Monday to Friday, though evening meet- ings make it a bit fluid. She welcomes visitors, espec ia l ly i f there 's something they want to discuss. Dianne Gowland: Acton's New BIA Manager BIA Manager Dianne Gowland outside of the BIA Office at 45 Mill St. E.