Longtime Kugluktuk volunteer starts new chapter with hamlet

Longtime community volunteer and former Enokhok Inn manager Nadene McMenemy has been hired as Kugluktuk’s new economic development officer.

McMenemy, who signed the job offer on Monday and begins the full-time position Jan. 6, said the transition comes after leaving her job at the inn, which she operated with her husband, Johnny Tootoo.

McMenemy said she wasn’t ready to retire after 14 years at the inn.

“One door closes and another one opens,” she said in an interview.

Her new appointment required her resignation from the hamlet council, where she served as a councillor for seven years.

McMenemy said she will also step back from the hamlet’s Christmas committee and community bingo, adding “the time has come” for new leadership in those roles.

As an economic development officer, she will work alongside former economic development officer John McCafferty, who now serves as assistant senior administrative officer. She said her priority is to restore momentum for stalled community initiatives.

“We’re building again as we didn’t build for a while because of COVID,” she said. “We’re going to get as many programs for the youths, kids, and for the adults and elders.”

She said McCafferty’s work on the community’s new emergency food bank, which opened Nov. 19 and operates once a week on Wednesdays, will keep him busy, and she looks forward to helping expand it.

“I’ll have to see what happens when I actually get behind the desk and find out what was on the go and what we’re going to move into,” she said.

McMenemy’s long-standing volunteer work in Kugluktuk was formally recognized when she received the 2023 Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from Gov. Gen. Mary Simon. She was recognized for fundraising efforts that contributed to a dementia care facility in Yellowknife and ensured local residents received food and gifts for Christmas.

McMenemy said staying in Kugluktuk was important to her, and securing housing through her new job was a key factor given the community’s housing shortage.

“When I go out, and I’m in the store, everyone’s like, ‘Oh hey, Nadene. So happy you’re staying. We’re not saying goodbye to you yet.’ That’s really nice. I love this little hamlet. It’s grown on me so much,” she said.

McMenemy said she will spend December finishing her duties for the Christmas committee before travelling to Edmonton for the holidays. She will return to start her new job in January.

Community response to the news has been overwhelmingly positive, she said.

“It’s been amazing,” McMenemy said.

“When I went to do my walk-through for my new apartment and sign my job offer, everybody was coming up and shaking my hand. It was so nice. I’m just going to give it my all.”

As she prepares to travel south for Christmas, she said she is grateful for the opportunity awaiting her in the new year.

“Opportunities are still alive in the North, and that’s part of the reason why I love it here,” she said.