The Free Press reporter, Soranne Floarea will be bidding the newspaper farewell.

There will be no riding off into the sunset though – Floarea will be staying in the town she’s come to love – though don’t ask her what’s next just yet.

“Short answer is marketing, long answer is I don’t know exactly what, but that’s the beauty of it.”

A native of Ontario, Floarea came to Fernie and The Free Press after a stint in Central America a year ago, and found a community that was both welcoming and challenging as the pandemic turned the world upside down.

For Floarea, a self-confessed ‘people pleaser’ that loves to chat, it was just more to overcome and grow from.

“The week before I moved to Fernie I was living at my parents house, unemployed and broke after having come back from Central America.

“But I had this trust in life, knowing that everything was going to work out – and as soon as I got here all these pieces started falling into place. I felt taking on this position as reporter was where I was meant to be in the moment. I knew life was going to take me to where I needed to go, and it did. And I know it will do the same for me again.”

Floarea said she’d enjoyed the challenges and lessons of working at a small-town newspaper covering Fernie and the Elk Valley.

“There’s a lot more to Fernie than most people think. There are so many different kinds of people and interests – there’s purity and there’s grime, there are things to celebrate and there are things to mourn, and it was really cool getting a chance to immerse myself in all of it,” she said.

Above all, Floarea said the most rewarding part of the job was the opportunity to make so many new connections, and to feel woven into the community.

The team at The Free Press will miss working with Soranne, whose energy and enthusiasm has brought life and light to the newspaper.

Best of luck Soranne!

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