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LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
If Lindsey Blake was a tourist in Norman Wells for a day, he would canoe the Mackenzie River, take a helicopter ride through Dodo Canyon and hike Hammer Mountain to try and catch a glimpse of the muskox and caribou.

Luckily though, Blake has called the town of 850 home since he moved there from Inuvik four years ago.

He was supposed to be filling in for someone on a temporary job, he said, but instead decided to stay.

Since then, Blake has changed careers - going from manager of Matco Transportation to recreation programmer with the town - and one year ago he became recreation director in Norman Wells.

He said the switch made perfect sense, since he has always been involved

in community sports.

"Why not get paid for a job you love doing?" he said.

As director, Blake oversees the town's campsite, hockey and curling rink, swimming pool and ball parks.

He helps organize Sahtu-wide sports tournaments and swim meets, and oversees staff from the town's recreation programmer and lifeguards to arena staff and maintenance workers.

In the coming months, he will help oversee the installation of new playgrounds in town, as well as the construction of a new track and field and the replacement of the arena and fitness centre's roof.

He said the best part of his job is working with the youth in the community, while the worst part is trying to find funding for all the programs he wants to run and

equipment he needs to buy.

The most challenging part: finding enough hours in the day to get it all done.

"I can definitely say this job keeps me as busy as five jobs. It's definitely more than a nine-to-five job," he said.

Blake's biggest task in the coming years may be helping to promote Norman Wells as not just the hub of the Sahtu, but a prime tourist destination for adventurers across North America.

When he helped host the town's "Celebrate Sahtu" events earlier this month, he said he realized Norman Wells has yet to tap into all its potential as a tourist destination.

"They were astounded by the beauty we have here, and the opportunities for tourism," he said of out-of-town visitors who attended the events.

"I think sometimes advertising doesn't reach southern people, but I think we need to get out there and let people down in Ontario, in the United States and in surrounding areas know that we have this beautiful attraction in our backyard. People just have to know that it's here."

And when they do, he said, they will fall in love with the town just as fast as he did.

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