Born
in Ontario in 1947, I grew up in Forest (a town of 2,000 people near
Sarnia close to Lake Huron), working for my father in the local weekly
newspaper and commercial printing business as a typesetter, press
operator, reporter and salesperson.
In high school, I was active in the town and school concert bands
playing drums and percussion. As president of the school Key Club I
represented the school at a convention in New York City. I also won a
national essay contest for writing a piece called 'Achieving World Peace'.
My life journey away from home started in 1967 after visiting Expo67 in
Montreal and attending a weekly newspaper convention in Ottawa.
I lived in Manitoba for 6 years working in the printing industry in
Winnipeg, Brandon, Carman and Minnedosa. At Red River College I received
a diploma in Graphic Arts achieving the Sears Award for highest standing
in class.
During that time, I learned to play the guitar and started a travelling
singing group for the Baha'i community called 'There's a New Wind Blowing',
promoting unity in diversity and the benefits of a world community based
on justice, spirituality and mutual respect.
Married in 1972, Deb and I started our own business publishing a
regional magazine called 'Focus on Western Manitoba'.
In 1973, we headed further west and fell in love with the beauty, people
and vibrancy of Red Deer and Central Alberta almost as soon as we
arrived. Again I worked in the printing industry for several years as a
graphic designer, layout artist and image assembler. In the late 1970's,
we operated a school of modelling and personal development called 'Image
One'.
During this time, my interests expanded to include urban planning,
heritage preservation and model railroading. I was one of the founding
members of the Alberta Central Model Railroad Club which, unfortunately, is no longer in
existence. We were also quite active in the Red Deer Baha'i community.
Our only son, Michael, was born in November 1978 while living in Sylvan
Lake. After a period of upheaval in our lives, we separated for a year
and divorced in 1981.
I
decided to make many changes in my life and had the opportunity to work
for a local engineering company assisting with report production,
surveys and research for a number of transportation studies. During that
time, I met a wonderful woman by the name of Laddi Earle (Hughes).
Laddi and I married in December 1982 and lived in Innisfail for 14 years
managing an apartment building for 9 of those years while pursuing other
career goals. After working as a production manager and photographer, I
worked for 13 years as a driver education instructor both in-car and
classroom, travelling throughout the province working with teens,
adults, immigrants and corporations teaching basics to advanced traffic
safety.
In 1996, we bought a condo in the new hamlet of Springbrook, the former
living quarters for the closed CFB Penhold. In the 15 years living in
the community, I have served for several on the Springbrook Community
Association Board and the Springbrook Condominium Board. I have also
been active in the establishment of a trail linking the hamlet with Penhold and Red Deer.
Another career change occurred in 1999 when I started training and
getting licenced as a financial coach marketing mutual funds, seg funds
and life insurance. For five years, I worked with young families,
individuals and team members in developing financial strategies in
investments, income protection, debt elimination and goal setting.
During this time I also developed interests in personal development,
health improvement, the environment and the opportunities of
values-based business. I took several courses and camps with Harv Eker,
founder of Peak Potentials, including Warrior and Wizard camps, Train
the Trainer, Millionaire Mind Intensive, Life Directions and
SuccessTracs.
Early in 2005, I launched an internet business that combined my
interests in website creation, design, the internet, community
development, history and promotion of the region, called
AbundanceNet.
It is the parent business for a network of internet entities that
include two netMagazines --
Springbrook-Waskasoo Life and
Focus on the Red Deer Region -- as well as
Central
Alberta Websites for attractive,
economical, purpose-driven website design.
In February 2012, another career change was made when I took on the
position of Regional Co-ordinator of Junior Achievement Central Alberta.
My
hobbies in the past
included playing drums and guitar, stamp collecting, photography and
transportation and urban planning. Presently, my primary hobbies
include website development, personal development, geneology, transportation
history and
model railroading.
Musical
artists I listen to frequently are: Enya, Alan Parsons Project,
Adiemus, Moody Blues, Mike Oldfield, Beautiful World, Leonard
Cohen, Shania Twain, Gordon Lightfoot, Susan Aglukark, Eric Clapton, Sheena Easton,
Vangelis, Sting, The Guess Who, David Foster, Blondie and
Seals and Crofts.
My favourite musical movie is Evita.
My favourite
computer games are Freecell, RiskII and Simcity4.
Born
in Ontario in 1947, I grew up in Forest (a town of 2,000 people near
Sarnia close to Lake Huron), working for my father in the local weekly
newspaper and commercial printing business as a typesetter, press
operator, reporter and salesperson. 
In high school, I was active in the town and school concert bands
playing drums and percussion. As president of the school Key Club I
represented the school at a convention in New York City. I also won a
national essay contest for writing a piece called 'Achieving World Peace'. 
In 1973, we headed further west and fell in love with the beauty, people
and vibrancy of Red Deer and Central Alberta almost as soon as we
arrived. Again I worked in the printing industry for several years as a
graphic designer, layout artist and image assembler. In the late 1970's,
we operated a school of modelling and personal development called 'Image
One'. 
Our only son, Michael, was born in November 1978 while living in Sylvan
Lake. After a period of upheaval in our lives, we separated for a year
and divorced in 1981.
I
decided to make many changes in my life and had the opportunity to work
for a local engineering company assisting with report production,
surveys and research for a number of transportation studies. During that
time, I met a wonderful woman by the name of Laddi Earle (Hughes). 
Laddi and I married in December 1982 and lived in Innisfail for 14 years
managing an apartment building for 9 of those years while pursuing other
career goals. After working as a production manager and photographer, I
worked for 13 years as a driver education instructor both in-car and
classroom, travelling throughout the province working with teens,
adults, immigrants and corporations teaching basics to advanced traffic
safety.
In 1996, we bought a condo in the new hamlet of Springbrook, the former
living quarters for the closed CFB Penhold. In the 15 years living in
the community, I have served for several on the Springbrook Community
Association Board and the Springbrook Condominium Board. I have also
been active in the establishment of a trail linking the hamlet with Penhold and Red Deer.
During this time I also developed interests in personal development,
health improvement, the environment and the opportunities of
values-based business. I took several courses and camps with Harv Eker,
founder of Peak Potentials, including Warrior and Wizard camps, Train
the Trainer, Millionaire Mind Intensive, Life Directions and
SuccessTracs.
My
hobbies in the past
included playing drums and guitar, stamp collecting, photography and
transportation and urban planning. Presently, my primary hobbies
include website development, personal development, geneology, transportation
history and
model railroading. 