Ray Prins was elected to his second term as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the constituency of Lacombe-Ponoka on March 3, 2008. In addition to his regular duties as an MLA Mr. Prins currently serves as chair of the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee and the Standing Committee on Resources and Environment. His agricultural background and knowledge of rural areas assist him through various positions on boards and committees such as the Rural Caucus, Rural Alberta Development Fund, and Alberta Grain Commission. Mr. Prins also serves as chair of Rural Caucus and on the Treasury Board committee. In addition, he is MLA co-chair on the Petrochemicals/Chemicals Task Team for the Alberta Competitiveness Council.
Since the 2004 election Mr. Prins has served on the following:
- Chair, Seniors Advisory Council, 2004-07
- Chair, MLA Task Force for Seniors
- Chair, Review of Local Authorities Election Act
- Chair, Rural Development Strategy
- Deputy Chair, Standing Committee on Public Accounts
- Standing Policy Committee on Agriculture and Municipal Affairs
- Agenda and Priorities Committee
- Standing Committee on Managing Growth Pressures
- Cabinet Policy Committee on Managing Growth Pressures
- Private Members� Business House Strategy Committee
- Standing Committee on Private Bills
Prior to his election as MLA Mr. Prins served on council for Lacombe County and went on to be appointed reeve from 2001-2004. He was a founding member of the North Red Deer River Regional Water Services Commission (2004). He has also served as chair of the Lacombe County Agricultural Service Board.
Ray Prins was born in Lacombe on April 15, 1951. After high school he worked various jobs in the agriculture and construction industries. He spent about two years as an ice road trucker in oil field construction in the Mackenzie River delta and northeast of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. He also worked for a year in refinery maintenance in Edmonton before buying a farm near Gull Lake in 1974. Over the past 30 years he has farmed grain, hogs, cattle, elk, bison and hay.
Mr. Prins is an active member of his community. He is a lifelong member of Woodynook Christian Reformed Church, past chair of the Lacombe Christian School Board and a 12-year member of King�s University College board of governors, retiring in 2004. He was a volunteer community developer in Sierra Leone, Timbuktu, Mali, Kenya, Russia and Armenia, helping to build water systems throughout rural Sierra Leone, Africa. After completing this project, he was named an honorary Kuranko tribesman.
Ray and Pauline have been married for 36 years and have four grown children and two grandchildren: Julia (Trevor) Vanderveen and their sons Gideon and Levi, Mark, Wayne (Renee) and Lorne.
June 18, 2010