POUCE COUPE – The new President and Chief Executive Officer of Northern Lights College is also the owner of the most recently-completed NLC house.
Laurie Rancourt, formerly the Vice President Corporate Services at Collège Boréal in Sudbury, Ontario starts her new position at NLC on Feb. 21.
And she also will be the newest resident of Pouce Coupe. Rancourt and her husband Ron recently purchased the home that was completed in 2010 in Pouce Coupe by NLC’s Residential Construction (Carpentry Foundation) class.
“We looked at several houses in the Peace Region, and this was the one that best met our needs. We were very impressed with the quality of the workmanship and attention to detail,” said Rancourt. “I’m very happy to be able to say that I live in a home constructed by students at Northern Lights College.”
The 1,300 square foot bungalow, with two-car garage, features insulated concrete forms from floor to roof, and an open-concept kitchen and living room with vaulted ceilings. The students determined the colour scheme, and selected and purchased the fixtures, paint and interior door design elements.
While the decision to buy was relatively easy for Rancourt, the purchase process for the house was a little more complicated. The house was considered a Crown holding and the purchase offer came from a College employee; therefore the sale process had to be conducted to avoid any conflict of interest.
As a result, the College hired a local accounting firm to oversee the sale. The firm negotiated and finalized the purchase agreement to ensure that fair market value was achieved with the final selling price and other details of the sale.
Rancourt’s first week at NLC is already slated to be a busy one. In addition to settling into her office at Regional Administration in Dawson Creek, she will be presenting Service Awards to approximately 30 staff members in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John on Wednesday and Friday.