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Penticton hires new communications officer

The City of Penticton didn't waste any time filling the communications job left vacant by Tina Lee's departure last week.
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CIty of Penticton

The City of Penticton didn't waste any time filling the communications job left vacant by Tina Lee's departure last week.

Mark Parker took over as communications officer on Sept. 6 coming to the city from Valley First Credit Union, where he was part of the communications team.

"I was working across all of our brands, but I was based here in Penticton," said Parker, noting the parent company, First West, has operations in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

Having lived and worked in Penticton, Parker said he is current with much of what is going on in the community.

"I am pretty well read, I did a fair bit of work with the city and some of the volunteer groups Valley First works with," said Parker. "I am getting up to speed on a few more things."

Parker holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, with previous experience in communications at engineering consulting firm Golder Associates as well as several years overseas with Seiko Epson Corporation in a variety of communications and public affairs roles.

"Penticton is a vibrant city, I think there is a lot going on in the city.  I have taken part in quite a few of the events, I did the Challenge Penticton every year. There are some good challenges on the communications front. It is not always about the issues or the controversy," said Parker, adding that his new job working in government rather than a corporate environment offers greater scope on communications.

"I am more of an information provider and connector to make sure people get all the information they need," said Parker.

Lee left the city's employ to pursue her activist leanings, headed for South America to join the Asian Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development in protesting the impeachment last week of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff.