Unexpected Opportunities Result in Life Altering Decisions for Mannville Resident and Business Owner

Unexpected Opportunities Result in Life Altering Decisions for Mannville Resident and Business Owner

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

Some of the best laid plans aren’t plans at all. Just ask Jocelyne Lanovaz.

A brief stop over in Mannville in 2015 while she was getting her motorcycle repaired in Lloydminster marked the beginning of new relationships, which in turn developed into other opportunities in the community for the former Edmonton resident.

Jocelyne wanted to have a breather from her hectic life in Edmonton and soon after her stop over purchased a property in Mannville, a place where she could retreat to during weekends. One thing led to another and the certified professional accountant decided to take on a few clients during her down time. That led to her putting out her own shingle, and opening a permanent business in former MP Leon Benoit’s office.

One thing led to another and she decided to open another business, Confectionery 881, with her partner Alfred St. Jean. The convenience store has been open seven days a week since it opened more than four years ago.

If Jocelyne wasn’t busy enough, she decided to get involved with the Mannville & District Chamber of Commerce, serving as president for three years. She believes there’s power in numbers and enjoyed advocating on behalf of members, about 40 in total, during her time in that role.

Jocelyne Lanovaz and partner Alfred St. Jean outside Confectionery 881.

(Michelle Pinon/Photo)

“We are a very entrepreneurial community,” noted Jocelyn, as there are 40 businesses in town with about 30 to 40 more in the rural area that surrounds the community. She admits there are benefits and challenges to being a business owner in a small town but that is what makes it all worthwhile.

“Business in a smaller community is more about relationships. Yes, you are still trying to compete with the larger centres, (trips to the city for a less expensive product) and the online shopping experience, however, it is the giving and receiving that makes it successful.”

She believes in giving back to the community and through her business has donated $216,000 to various organizations.

Jocelyne created an annual scholarship which launched in January 2021. The scholarship is open to anyone registered in the trades and involved in the apprenticeship program locally. She expects to award the scholarship later this summer.

Jocelyne said she can’t remember exactly what it was that “irked her” when dealing with the village, but that issue became the impetus in her decision to run for a seat on village council back in 2017. Not being born or raised in the community she said never expected to win.

Describing her experience on council, Jocelyne said, “It’s been a steep, steep learning curve, but it’s been very rewarding.” Her accounting background and ways of looking at things a bit differently has served her well and she is always thinking of ways to make the community a better place to live.

“Being a business owner, elected official as well as a regular property owner and resident of a village in rural Alberta has never been more challenging than it has been over the past year and a half.”

In 2019 she was elected as Director of Villages East with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, (AUMA) for small rural communities, representing the eastern portion of the province. She sits on a special committee which encourages economic development and collaborates with other communities to lobby provincial and federal governments. That is “so they can see our perspective and needs” on many different issues, added Jocelyne.

She went on to say, “I believe our future is positive thanks to regional collaboration. Villages are working with the counties, counties with the towns, towns with the villages, businesses with each other and the list goes on. It is a complete circle that allows for the maximization of economies of scale and having a standardized region while maintaining our own independence and unique qualities.

We have teamed together as a community and we support each other. Not only on a business level, but on personal levels as well. We are all striving to put groceries on our tables, to help make a bit of difference in the lives of those we touch and to hopefully leave a legacy that will last for even more generations to come.”