Former police constable and federal Conservative candidate Sonny Spina is moving on to a leadership role with Norpro after 18 years of serving the public as a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.
The Sault-based security and investigations company officially announced Spina as its managing director of security Wednesday following months of ongoing talks between the two parties.
“You know, this has been a fantastic move for me personally. It’s been something that I’ve enjoyed, and I really jumped in with both feet as soon as I got here,” said Spina. “I’m excited to keep moving forward, and excited to expand the way I not only serve the community in Sault Ste. Marie, but now, I have the ability to serve the people of Ontario as a whole, because we do have clients across the province.”
“I’m excited to be able to have that opportunity.”
As head of Norpro’s security division, Spina now oversees approximately 130 employees - ranging from security guards to COVID-19 screeners and loss prevention officers - and a fleet of 40 vehicles province-wide. He’ll also oversee local and regional sales teams, and act as the lead on Norpro’s expansion of services.
Spina tells SooToday that policing has given him the opportunity to learn a number of skills, from leadership to dealing with people and resources, which can be drawn upon in order to teach and develop employees.
But the immediate challenge right now, he says, is addressing staffing levels at Norpro during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spina is encouraging people to reach out to Norpro about its current job opportunities, as it looks to fill positions in a variety of patrol, guard and supervisory roles.
“We have a lot of different positions, and a lot of opportunity for growth for somebody right now,” he said.
Spina’s last official day of employment with Sault Ste. Marie Police Service was Jan. 8. His last shift for the force was Dec. 28.
Asked what he’ll miss the most about policing, Spina tells SooToday that more than anything, he’ll miss the ability that he had to make an impact on people on the ground as a frontline officer.
“These folks, nothing short of incredible people. They stepped up to the plate each time and put themselves before the community, and I have just such high respect for every one of them,” he said of his former colleagues at the police service. “It was very difficult to leave those folks behind.”
“I won’t say that I’m going to miss them, because I know I’m going to be connected with them for life.”
Spina has been having ongoing talks with Norpro over the course of the company’s expansion of its services, and was working with the company in a part-time capacity over the past three months.
The former officer says that he accepted the offer from Norpro just after Christmas.
“Certainly, I didn’t make the decision lightly. I didn’t make the decision to transition from policing to this role lightly. It’s something I looked at for a significant amount of time, and it’s a decision that my wife and I made together. We felt it was the best decision for us moving forward,” said Spina. “It allowed me the opportunity to continue serving my community in many, many, many different ways and allowed me to expand my own scope of experience personally.”
Norpro was ranked 136th by Canadian Business and Maclean’s annual Growth 500, the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies, in 2019.
- with files from Darren Taylor