An interaction from childhood helped shape the life of Kimberley’s incoming mayor and he plans to bring that message in his approach to leading the city.
Matt Mosteller said an exchange during his youth helped him see the possibilities and capabilities he didn’t know were there.
Mosteller said his first time on the slopes changed his life for the better after an instructor offered to teach him to ski. That experience inspired him to help others chase opportunities they might think are out of reach.
The outcome of the exchange also led to the nickname, which is what residents might know him by, “Powder Matt”.
Now through being Kimberley’s next mayor Mosteller wants to help others overcome barriers and break the boundaries that keep them stagnant.
“I had this immense amount of powerful joy, so ever since that time, you know, the love of flakes and powder, Powder Matt, became my nickname. But it’s also because of that joy that one can have when you get outside, when you break down barriers for other people and give people the opportunity to do things maybe they don’t think is possible.” said Mosteller. “People asked about it during the election, obviously, so to me it really is important and powerful, not because I’ve got the nickname, but what it means for me. And to always remind me that we need to be serving others and doing things to help and support others, and putting ourselves in other people’s shoes, find ways to make things possible, not put up barriers.”
Mosteller said he feels honoured by residents’ trust and appreciates the support the community has given him and the new council.
“Well, I’m deeply honored, you know, it’s an amazing responsibility. I’m really, really thankful and grateful for the people of Kimberley, they’ve put their trust in me and the other council members. We’ve got great, incredibly talented and capable councilors.” said Mosteller.
He also credits his wife and family for supporting him through his campaign.
“I was really excited and it really was special to be able to share this joy and this moment of celebration with my wife and my family who have definitely helped me immensely, being able to provide a really strong foundation for me in all their love and care.” said Mosteller.
Mosteller brings nearly 30 years of experience as a ski industry executive, and said that background has urged him to share his passion for outdoor recreation.
“It’s always been important to me to serve and support others, and I’ve been involved in a variety of different efforts to do that. I’ve been an executive in the ski industry for close to 30 years now, and that’s provided me an opportunity, not only to share my joy and love for the sport of skiing and snowboarding, but it’s also provided opportunities to help other people out, and we’ve created a bunch of different ways to do that.” said Mosteller.
He has worked on several programs and projects encouraging children to get active outdoors, along with promoting real life human connection.
“A lot of it has to do with where I started from, and one of my real interests was to fight childhood obesity, and to get kids active and outdoors. So I’ve done a lot of programming and projects around that. But I also found through time that one of the other things, and it’s not just children and adults, we’re all basically hooked to these devices now. So now I’ve also been working on how to get people off their devices, to connect with people, to have an exchange with people and to collaborate with people.” said Mosteller.
He said that his latest project represents those values.
“Part of that is one of my latest nonprofits I co-founded called Kore Outdoors.” said Mosteller.
Through combining his passion for the outdoors and relationship building, Mosteller described the endeavor as supporting rural jobs and businesses making outdoor gear, helping people build a livelihood in Kootenay communities.
“Basically it’s a rural economic incubator, but it’s to find ways to create jobs in rural communities around outdoor craft gear making,” said Mosteller. “But it’s also really about bringing people together around their passion and celebrating their passion and supporting their passion and providing a pathway forward so that they can create an opportunity to live in these wonderful communities we have in the Kootenay region.”
Mosteller expressed that protecting Kimberley’s quality of life matters to him, saying residents made it clear they value outdoor access, along with the city’s arts and culture.
“It’s such a special place and people are passionate about this place, and for the people that have lived here for a long time, I heard loud and clear that the quality of life, and access to the outdoors is really important. I think one of the reasons why people invest here, move here and build houses here, is that same reason, you know. We all share that love for the outdoors and that incredible outdoor access and also the art and culture that is really a strong fabric of the quilt of Kimberley.” said Mosteller.
Mosteller said he wants more input from the community so residents can help shape the city’s direction.
“So we’re looking forward to some really exciting times and making some really great steps together and, and collaborating deeply with the community and also opening up lines of communication so we continue to get more insight and input from community members as well.” said Mosteller.
His first step is to work with the council on shared priorities. He said he wants councillors to compare what they heard during the campaign, and work together as a community to shape the future of Kimberley.
“I’m really excited. I heard a lot from our community, and I’m very grateful for everybody who came out to share concerns, care and things that are of interest to them. This community is an incredible place and full of passionate people.” said Mosteller. “The next steps will be working with this incredible council that we have and learning from them, listening to them and finding some common ground. You know, hearing what’s important and what they heard while they were out campaigning, and then collaborating and creating what I would call an action list for the community. Then we’ll let the community know what that action list is. Once we’ve got together, obviously we’re gonna be doing a deep dive here over the next month and really finding a way to continue to move Kimberley forward in a positive way.”
Mosteller concluded with the importance of community and building strong relationships, saying that will be a big part of evaluating pros, cons, and what’s next.
“Really seeing what is working, what is positive, and hopefully educating people on the bigger picture and really why we have to collaborate even more deeply and get to know our neighbors even better, and not just the neighbors next door, but three, four, or five houses down because that’s gonna be critical for the next steps that we take for the community” said Mosteller.
Mosteller was elected Mayor of Kimberley in the October 17 municipal election, securing 56.3 percent of votes with 1927 individual votes.
Mosteller will be joined by Grant Farquhar, Sue Cairns, Woody Maguire, Angela Symes, Travis Fooks, and Craig Janzen as the city’s incoming councillors.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up for MyEastKootenayNow News Alerts.
