Despite its appeal to tourists the world over, Whistler isn't always the most attractive landing spot for new RCMP officers fresh out of the training academy, with high rents being perhaps the biggest drawback.
This wasn't the case for Cst. Brianna Kisby when she learned of her first career posting three years ago.
"Honestly, I was pretty excited about it," said Kisby, an avid downhill biker and snowboarder. "There were a lot of people that ended up in the middle of nowhere, places you haven't heard of, so when I heard I was coming to Whistler, it was really exciting."
In the latest instalment of Pique's series profiling cops who go above and beyond the call of duty, we caught up with the 33-year-old Kisby, who, this month, will participate in the Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast for the first time, a nearly 900-kilometre bike ride through the greater Vancouver region—including a stop in Whistler—that takes place over nine days.
The annual ride by law enforcement and emergency services personnel raises money for pediatric cancer research and support for patients' families.
Kisby got a firsthand look at some of the kids she would be fundraising for in the ride back in July when she attended Camp Goodtimes, organized by the Canadian Cancer Society.
There, kids and their families get to participate in traditional summer-camp activities while receiving care round-the-clock care from medical staff onsite.
"We spent an entire day there, got to hang out with the kids and kind of a be a camper with them while we were there and run some activities with them," Kisby said. "Because their whole life is basically run by their diagnosis ... the kids and their families get a chance to forget about it for the entire week they're there."
Originally from Richmond, Kisby said the international make-up of Whistler's visitors and residents means that there's rarely a dull moment policing here.
"It keeps you on your toes all the time,"she said. "You're always dealing with different people with different ideas and different backgrounds."
Sometimes those different backgrounds come with a negative perception of police, something Kisby said she tries to break through in the line of duty.
"I try to humanize myself as much as possible, because, at the end of the day, I'm only human, too," she said. "Instead of taking a power stance—this uniform can be pretty intimidating—I just try to be relatable and speak to people like you're on the same wavelength, the same level."
With an interest in behavioural science, Kisby is hopeful to one day get into police interrogation on larger cases.
Ever since I was little, I've always been intrigued by the human brain and why they think the way they do," she said.
The Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast makes a stop in Whistler on Saturday, Sept. 21. That will be followed by an afterparty at the Longhorn Saloon, which will include a silent auction.
"I just encourage the community to come out because it's for a good cause," Kisby said. To learn more, visit convio.cancer.ca.
