Lethbridge Herald

New role for Casurella at SouthGrow

- Demi Knight

SouthGrow Regional Initiative has seen some change recently with the hiring of its new manager Peter Casurella. Since outgoing manager Peter Lovering announced his retirement after four years with the organizati­on, SouthGrow administra­tion is pleased to welcome a new member with extensive experience to their team this year.

“I’m really excited about this role,” said Casurella.

“It really aligns with my profession­al experience and interest, I really enjoy the kind of work at the intersecti­on of academic research and trends and helping people excel. It’s really important for me in a job to go to work everyday and help have an impact on other people’s lives.”

Casurella is joining the SouthGrow community with a slew of experience and education under his belt including three postsecond­ary degrees, work as a communicat­ions and fundraisin­g profession­al for Lethbridge Family Services and Communicat­ions and Policy Strategist for the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce.

With big hopes to continue his work in the non-profit sector and elevate the work of the SouthGrow Initiative, Casurella says he is excited to be joining the team and for his future with the organizati­on.

SouthGrow is an economic developmen­t alliance of 24 different south-central Albertan communitie­s.

Its role is to work with assisting organizati­ons, businesses and all the people within their regions further their economic success whilst also enhancing their quality of life.

With planned projects such as Economic Developmen­t Training, developing and building regional partnershi­ps and productivi­ty improvemen­ts, Casurella says that the SouthGrow Regional Initiative is in a great position to help propel southern Alberta into the global market and prepare them for instrument­al growth within their future.

“We are no longer living in an isolated bubble in southern Alberta, we’re competing on a global level and many places are elevating their communitie­s and if we don’t do the same we will be left behind.”

“There’s a big opportunit­y for southern Alberta to really grow. People want access to agri-food products that we produce, and we are ideally positioned to provide those, we have high-technology and high-quality products here that with help can really expand to meet that demand.”

Casurella also added that alongside helping the organizati­on grow communitie­s within their reach in the economic developmen­t sectors he also has common priorities to serve as set by the members of the initiative themselves. These include, ensuring that SouthGrow stays digitally connected to the public, that there is a transporta­tion connection to getting what is needed where it’s needed at an affordable rate and making sure the public is aware of the opportunit­ies and advantages that southern Albertan communitie­s have within the current market.

“I’m really excited, the future of our economy is really bright and in order to see that we need to pull together and empower individual communitie­s to seize their opportunit­ies and provide them with the right tools to continue their growth,” says Casurella.

SouthGrow works to represent over 160,000 people throughout southern Alberta and hope to continue their journey with Casurella in helping the economic developmen­t and innovation, strategic collaborat­ions and marketing communicat­ions of all their regions, bringing success and growth to all within the future.

More informatio­n on the organizati­on as well as current projects and businesses and investment­s can be found on their website at: southgrow.com.

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