Laura Power
Northern News Services
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The City of Yellowknife is preparing to say farewell to one of its key employees.

Dave Devana, director of corporate services, will be moving back to Vancouver Island this month after keeping the city's finances in check for the past three years.

Devana began working for city hall in March 2004.

He said he, his wife Jan and his two sons Mitchel, 17, and Nelson, 14, wanted to "come North for something different."

They're returning because he has landed a position he calls "a perfect fit" - the same job he is doing now but in Sooke, B.C.

"The job came up in my dream place to live," he said. He added that his City of Yellowknife job was the "best job I ever had."

What made it special was "the people I work with and the variety you get working in a municipality. And you feel like you can make a difference in a community this size," he said.

Devana said much of their family lives in Sooke, and that his family is looking forward to getting home.

He said Sooke offers great hunting, camping and fishing.

Though he is looking forward to spending his time in what he calls a "recreational paradise," he said he will miss the view of Frame Lake outside his office. He will also look back fondly on his time working with his co-workers and with the city's people.

"The people - they're all good and everybody seems to be working for the same goal, making sure the city is a good place to live," he said.

Devana's last day at work is today. The city has been seeking a replacement for him.