I came to Grande Prairie to take a job developing youth programs. I moved here to create community connections for young people. And I grew to love Grande Prairie because of the many different ways it allowed me to connect.
I’ve raised a family, established a sport, volunteered, started a business, and served on Council. These have all been incredibly rich experiences which I am so thankful for. Scroll down to see how I’ve connected with our community.
City Council and other levels of government play a critical role in shaping our community. But government doesn’t create a great community. It only supports it.
Businesses and non-profits are the organisations that truly make community happen. They provide jobs. They deliver services. And they further causes.
My career has involved working in private, non-profit, and government roles. This gives me experience and insight to help all connect with each other to build a better Grande Prairie.
I’m a founder and owner of a labour company. My company provides workers and services to a variety of industries including energy, retail, construction, and real estate. I’ve appreciated helping create jobs in our community, and enjoyed getting to better understand the business needs of a wide variety of customers.
I spent a decade establishing and supervising youth programs throughout the Peace Country. It was a privilege to learn about and meet the needs of young people. Recruiting volunteers, fundraising my entire budget from private donors, and organising big events helped me develop communication and management skills.
I’ve served for four years on Council. I dedicated a lot of time to reading background information, seeking out advice, and learning the job. In my Council role, I’ve also served on and chaired a number of boards and committees (click here to see my Council appointments).
Volunteering is important to my life and family. It’s how we make our community better. How we met most of our friends. And where we have a lot of our fun. And how we thank Grande Prairie for being so good to us. Here are some of the ways I’ve given back to Grande Prairie.
When I first moved to Grande Prairie, I founded the local Disc Golf Club. I also designed, installed, and fundraised for the Thrill Hill Disc Golf Course. I still serve on the Club’s board, fundraise, teach youth, and organise events. I’ve also been involved in the design and construction of the two other public courses in our region. Disc golf is a free opportunity for our residents to get active in our parks. By introducing foot traffic, it also cleaned up some troubling and criminal activity in our parks.
My Neighbourhood Association has been an important part of my time in Grande Prairie. I was a founding board member. I’ve helped with many community projects including improving our parks, maintaining a rink, organising neighbourhood mixers, and City Scrubs. I’ve appreciated getting to know my neighbours, and board members of other Neighbourhood Associations. Getting neighbours meeting and working together is the best way to make Grande Prairie Stronger and better.
I enjoy finding a variety of challenges and needs in our community. This has led to me volunteering on the United Way Board, the Community Accessibility Advisory Committee, the evaluation team for Community Building Youth Futures, and various committees with Swan City Rotary Club. I’ve also provided communications support, strategic planning facilitation, governance coaching, and fundraising work to various non-profits. This work is in addition to the many boards and committees I’ve been appointed to by Council.
Along with my wife Naomi, I’m raising two energetic boys. Our house is a noisy, busy, often messy, but never boring place!
Our family is very involved in the boys’ school, loves playing board games, reading together, and bike riding around the neighbourhood.
When I have some free time and am not disc golfing, I enjoy getting together with friends to drink or make coffee and craft versions of other adult beverages. There is also no denying my inner nerd: I’ve always got some sort of sci-fi book on the go, and look forward to my weekly Dungeons and Dragons game.
