By Katrina Boguski

A somewhat curvy career path has unfolded in my life and the most recent turn on that road has led me to the editor’s desk at the Haliburton County Echo. It’s a great view from this desk and looking out onto Head Lake is just one more confirmation that buying a one-way ticket from Vancouver five years ago was a good investment.
In August of 2016, I arrived with no job, no car and only two suitcases. My one-way ticket from Vancouver got me as far as Toronto, and a long bus ride brought me to Combermere. If things had not worked out, my plan was to head on to Nova Scotia where I had spent a year from 2010 to 2011. Things did work out, and life here keeps getting better.
My two suitcases somehow multiplied into a four-bedroom house on a plot of land in Palmer Rapids. The place has a garden, two cats and more than enough of everything needed to make it feel like home. With those items checked off my to do list, it was time to focus on my next ambitions.

I spent many years as a yacht broker in Vancouver, and as such, always had a waterfront office looking out over the Pacific. Having an office with a view of the water was never something I planned, but it is one of those recurring themes in my life that continually reappears. The first day sitting here at the editor’s desk there was another waterfront view that appeared serendipitously.
I have a master’s degree from UBC and have worked as a college instructor, corporate trainer and publicist among other things. Just prior to arriving in Haliburton I was a staff reporter at another community newspaper and loved the opportunity to dive into stories about the people, places and events at the heart of that community.
During university and graduate school days I sold dead fish for living. That job taught me a lot about life, and about the importance of rotating stock to keep things fresh. My hope is that our readers will play an important role in forming the editorial content of this paper. We want to know what is important to you and what fresh ideas you would like read about. For the next little while, there will be lots to think about on the drive to work in the morning; my hope is that much of that time will be spent noodling over ideas generated from community members who are engaged in shaping the future of Haliburton.

My plan has always been to get another property as soon as possible, and when the opportunity to work in Haliburton presented itself, my radar zoned in on property in this area. I will be splitting my time between Haliburton and Palmer Rapids while seeking out that next place and am looking forward to exploring the surrounding area in the meantime.
There is a good chance that we will run into each other at a hockey game, an arts event or at one of the local businesses. When we do, please be sure to introduce yourself and let me know what issues are important to you. There is a lot to learn in this job and having input from readers about the stories that are most important to you will go a long way to help me get up to speed and build on the success this paper has had for so many years.
The staff at the Haliburton County Echo have been incredible to me through these first few days, and it is a privilege to be working with them to produce your community newspaper.