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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Phone calls, letters, bowl-a-thons and air shows ... it's all in a day's work when you're the mayor's executive secretary.

Sarah Morgan, 29, has been working at city hall as the mayor's assistant for almost three years. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

"I like this job the best out of any of the admin jobs that I've had because of the variety of the work and also the people that I work with," said Sarah Morgan.

"The mayor is a great boss. He is really easy going and has a great sense of humour. It makes it a great environment to work in."

Morgan has been the assistant to mayor Gordon Van Tighem for almost three years. Originally from Ottawa, the 29-year-old had worked in administration for two years before moving North. In 2006, her "other half" got a job here and she moved up with him.

"I moved up here in February of 2006, and after a few months started working with the city as the receptionist, and then from there moved over to the mayor's office when his assistant retired," said Morgan.

As the mayor's executive secretary, Morgan said she does a large variety of tasks and is confronted with new situations and jobs all the time.

"I deal with all the incoming and outgoing correspondence for the mayor and council," she said.

"I schedule appointments for the mayor, answer any phone calls coming into the office and direct them to him. I set up and clean up after committee meetings of council, which generally is every week. You know, support community events and try to get the mayor and council involved in community events, like the memorial cup hockey game. All kinds of different stuff. If something needs to be done, we do it."

Morgan told Yellowknifer the hours are great. Most of the time she works 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., but when summer begins, the hours change to 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. She said the extra half hour in the evening really makes a difference and lets her enjoy the summers more.

There are some cons to the job, though, she said. Dealing with difficult people is also part of her work.

"We get people who are angry and upset and loud and agitated, but it's part of the job and you handle it," she said.

"People aren't necessarily angry at the mayor but they're angry at a situation that's happened. Often times if they don't get the answers that they want from other levels of city administration, they come to the mayor."

Morgan said Van Tighem will talk to almost everybody and returns phone calls, which makes her job easier.

Right now, she said they're working on Yellowknife's part in the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay.

"That's something pretty interesting that not a lot of people get to be involved with," she said.