Cassi Hider group up in the region and has spent much of her life dedicated to community service.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Cassi Hider has long helped those within Medicine Hat but she wanted to play a bigger role. That’s why she ran for council this fall and is glad to be one of the six newly elected city councillors.
“I turned 50 in May and I wanted to play a bigger part in our community and I wanted a voice at the table,” Hider said. “I felt we were missing out on some key components to bring strengths back and some economy back into our community and I wanted that opportunity.”
The third generation Hatter originally went to school for education before meeting her daughter’s father. She was a self described ranch wife for a number of years before the relationship did not work and she started working in retail and other avenues for a time.
Hider then joined the not-for-profit world and hasn’t looked back as she is the current general manager of Medicine Hat’s Ronald McDonald house. She says it took some time but she found her passion.
“It takes a while to find your niche sometimes, but this is definitely my passion for this and the community. The surrounding community, it’s very exciting to have this in our city.”
She grew up in Elkwater while her dad worked for the provincial government. The family ran cattle there before her mom became sick and they moved to town when she was in Grade 6.
Hider says she has always had agriculture and ranching in her blood, stemming from her Danish grandfather Augi Sauer who was a cattle buyer that worked all over Alberta and into Saskatchewan.
She says she volunteered a lot when she was younger and was an avid runner and cycler, which connected her with a number of different communities. She says her strength has always been working face to face with people.
“I think my strengths are more in people, I like to be around people, get energy from people and communicate what the city needs,” Hider said.
Hider says she’s always been an advocate for giving back to the city she’s lived in.
“If you’re going to build a strong community you have to give back to where you live, Hider said.”
She doesn’t have any previous political experience but says she’s always been aware of it and had an interest in politics. In her free time, Hider says she walks and takes time for her mind. That time to enjoy the quiet and clear her mind is something she says she needs to be successful.
“I need that to be able to succeed in both positions,” Hider said. “Some people don’t need that and can keep going and live on three hours sleep, that’s not me. I need to make sure that when I am engaged I am 100%.”
Hider says it’s recognized that the majority of the new council is women but says they’re the individuals that were voted in.
“There’s been a lot of emphasis on ‘Ra-Ra female power, and ‘Helen Reddy, here me roar.’ and it’s not that I don’t disparage that – of course I am a 50-year-old woman and I am proud to be that,” Hider said. “But we also need to recognize that Andy McGrogan, Darren Hirsch, Robert Dumanowski, these are great people. I want to work with them and make great decisions for our community.”
