Episode 15 - Oil, Octagons and the Future of Fort McMurray ft. Mayor Sandy Bowman

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to episode 15 of The Drawing Board. We are back this week with another special guest. We are pleased to host 30 year resident of Fort McMurray, business owner, 7th Degree Taekwondo Black Belt and 1st Degree BJJ Black Belt, current Deputy Chair of the RMWB Combative Sports council, and Mayor of the largest Municipality in Canada, the RMWB, Mayor Sandy Bowman. Anyone who has spent any time in Fort McMurray knows of the name "Bowman", namely by way of Bowman's Martial Arts. We wanted to sit down this week and take a deep dive into why Mayor Bowman chose to enter local government, his history as an MMA fighter and speak a little about the future of the city that we have called home for the past 15 odd years has in store. We began by asking the Mayor what his day to day life looks like in his current role, and his thoughts on the future of Fort McMurray as an oil producing community and our identity as the powerhouse literally and figuratively of Canada. We then dove into why Mayor Bowman decided to make the shift into the local government scene, and how he has adapted to this new role having to make unavoidably polarizing decisions. We then spoke a little about the Mayor's history as a martial arts practitioner, teacher and competitor and how the philosophies he has developed and the lessons he has learned through that history has informed his ability to help run this city and be an effective leader. On the topic of leadership, we spoke a little bit about a "Hot Take" the mayor has that defines his leadership style, and some of the processes behind making decisions within his role. Finally we touched on the perceived issues surrounding Brain Drain and population loss, the magic of Fort McMurray and one final piece of life advice you'll definitely want to stick around for. Hope you all enjoy! If anyone has any ideas for topics to discuss or any other suggestions feel free to email us at [email protected]