Burgess happy to be back in Brandon

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2019 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the old song says, there’s no place like home for the holidays.

And while Dave Burgess and his wife Susan have been back to the Wheat City for the festive season frequently over the last eight years, now they’re truly home for Christmas. Permanently.

They’re even living, for a brief time (they got back seven weeks ago) in the house they sold when they moved away, so their return is a real homecoming in more ways than one.

“Very good friends of ours, Keith and Terry Atkinson, bought our place when we moved to Winkler,” Burgess said during a recent interview. “So we still remain very close, and because we had to wait until later in December to get into our home we’ll have permanently, they said, ‘Please move into our house.’ They’re down south. So it was fun to move back into our own house.”

Burgess — a longtime businessman, and a one-time city councillor who also served two terms as mayor of Brandon — moved away after he was defeated in his run for a third term as mayor by Shari Decter Hirst in 2010.

And while he freely admits that there’s a sting that comes with losing an election, he’s also philosophical about it. He doesn’t take it personally and knows you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

“I’d have to be honest — it is painful,” he said. “I wouldn’t be giving you the straight answer if I didn’t say that. But it’s not a reflection of you — you have to realize that. It can be just a matter of circumstance, so if you’re in for so long and you’re very active and doing a lot of decision-making and leadership, you’re going to actually have some folks that just aren’t crazy about one thing or another, or several things. So it’s not that they don’t like you, they’re just ready for a change.”

He never resented the challenges that come with the mayor’s job — being committed to doing things almost 24/7, and having people start a conversation with you as a politician when you’re out and about and trying to live your personal life.

“I never, ever felt it a burden when you’re out and you’re being approached about things,” Burgess said. “You just appreciate that everybody’s got a reason for the opinion that they have or the passion that they feel about issues.

“I really enjoy people. That’s why I got into the business in the first place many years ago (he took over his family’s grocery store when his late father, Ken, became Brandon’s mayor) because I just thoroughly enjoyed serving the public. Same with politics — it’s still about customer service and treating people the way they should be treated. And I just really always enjoyed the interaction.”

While many people think the mayor is in charge — and he or she is, sort of — the mayoral position is more of a figurehead — the public face of city hall, if you will. The person who makes things happen behind the scenes is the city manager, which is why that position pays more than that of the mayor. While many decisions that are made require the approval of city council, the city manager is really the workhorse.

And Burgess was intrigued by the city manager’s job, so much so that that’s what he has being doing for the last eight years. He spent five years in Winkler, and three in Wetaskiwin, Alta. He loved the challenge that those jobs provided, and credited the folks in Winkler with being go-getters and progressive thinkers. He moved to Wetaskiwin because it was a larger organization, which provided him more opportunities to learn and grow.

But with his mother and his wife’s parents still living in Brandon, the lure of home was too great. Burgess, however, had no intention of retiring any time soon, so while he was in Alberta, he was planning ahead, and took the required courses to earn a real estate licence. Now back home, he’s working for Royal LePage. But this isn’t his first foray into that industry.

“I actually got started as far as owning real estate when I was 19 years old,” he said. “I bought a three-suite house on Victoria (Avenue) and I moved into the basement suite — the cheapest suite possible — and moved up later from there. And I got involved with other rental units, too. And I seriously, after being mayor, was trying to decide which passion I wanted to go after, city management or real estate. So now I think it’s time, and I’m so thrilled with the change. And I seriously wanted to have a type of career at this stage in my life that I enjoyed that much more — that was more fun.”

While real estate is similar to being mayor, in that it can be a profession that means you’re pretty much on call 24/7, Burgess says that’s just fine with him. He’s not the type to just sit around, so real estate seems like a perfect fit. It also allows him the contact with people he so relishes.

“I love this type of work,” he said. “I find it just keeps me so energized. I’m not an idle person and I really enjoy the interaction and I love keeping the brain on high speed. And it’s again serving the public and treating people the way they should be treated.”

He says his colleagues at Royal LePage are wonderful, and he sees himself staying in real estate for many years to come. He said he admires several agents who have been in the industry for decades who look like they’re always enjoying themselves.

“So if you’re happy and you’re healthy and you’re active,” he said, “why would you want to stop?”

As far as being back in Brandon, returning was a goal for both Burgesses when they left town. And while having their parents here was a big part of their decision, they would have come back regardless, because this has been, and always will be, home.

“People are really nice here,” Burgess said. “And I certainly don’t want to say anything derogatory about Alberta, but boy, ‘Friendly Manitoba’ is a really true sentiment. And we definitely feel that. It’s a warm feeling to come back to Brandon.”

» Got a story idea for The Back Story? Please contact me at thebackstory@brandonsun.com.