Hive Development Group - Morden

Hi, I’m Heather Francis, co-owner of Hive Development Group. Let me tell you a little bit more about who I am, what I do and where I’m headed.

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I am married to my husband James (over 22 years now!) and we have four amazing children who keep us young. I grew up in southern Manitoba (and I’m still here!) so I obviously have a love of prairie life. I decided that if winter lasts half the year then I had better learn to like it, so I took up cross-country skiing. It really does help get through winter when you have an activity to look forward to! In the summer I enjoy biking, kayaking and getting out for walks with our puppy.

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Our family loves to travel. We will happily forego other luxuries in order to travel to different parts of the world. I really enjoy the way that travel can open your eyes to the diversity of planet earth. Our designs are often influenced by interesting designs and innovative construction techniques that we see in the places we visit.

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I grew up as a pretty studious kid, and I took school very seriously (I graduated with the highest academic record in the province of Manitoba). Some may call me anal – I prefer to think of it as meticulous. My attention to detail serves me well in our company, as there are days when I juggle thousands of items and schedules over multiple checklists. I take pride in ensuring that construction progress on our clients’ homes are carefully scrutinized and tracked!

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I have always had a passion for justice. It really gets me bothered when I see that something is not fair. That has led me to found and develop volunteer organizations - Many Hands (a community kitchen program) and the Morden chapter of Cycling Without Age (a program to help seniors better access the great outdoors). It is also what led me to run for election to the City of Morden Council, where I served as a Councillor for eight years. I thoroughly enjoyed representing my neighbours on Council and contributing to the future direction of our city, and in return that experience furthered my understanding of community planning best practices. This has allowed me to better navigate the building policies and bylaws in place, and ensure our clients’ projects will be favourably received.

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