In 1969 I moved my family to Kingsville. I believe it was one of the best decisions I could have made for my family as my children thrived and prospered in this nurturing community.

As a result of our family’s personal and professional involvement in local schools, churches and the farming community, I was exposed to, and became knowledgeable of, not only the advantages of living in this area, but also the needs and concerns expressed by community members and professionals.

Running a family-owned business outside of Cottam provided me with a deeper insight into the area as a whole and exposed me to additional knowledge of the needs and concerns of surrounding communities.

My wife Margaret was born in Kingsville and has lived her entire life in the Kingsville area. As a social worker, she specialized in the field of children’s mental health for 25 years. She was part of a special team that attended area elementary schools.

The team introduced the Early Intervention Program (a program funded for many years by United Way) to school staff, providing them with strategies and techniques that benefitted all children experiencing difficulties. For the last five years prior to her retirement, she was the therapist for the Regional Children’s Center satellite office in Leamington.

As a result, we are well aware of the area’s escalating mental health needs! As a councillor, one of my hopes would be to initiate discussion into the establishment of a local mental health center similar to RCC so that our county children do not have to travel all the way to the city in order to receive extended services.

Would this be a sizeable undertaking with a number of challenges? Of course, but no worthwhile task is without its’ trials! Remember, we will soon have a number of empty school buildings ready for revision as areas that will continue to benefit our community in a number of ways.

We are also blessed with a vast number of community members who are noted artists in their specific fields. Many of our children are beginning to demonstrate exceptional skills in all the art forms.

We need to encourage these budding talents and assist our county in realizing the potential it has in becoming the recognized artistic nucleus of Southwestern Ontario. Artistic talent is not exclusive to big cities like Toronto or Vancouver and creates an additional appeal for our tourist trade.

We also need to encourage and support businesses (both small and larger) that provide decent wages and work friendly environments to not only our adult community, but that will also inspire our children to remain in their hometown rather than feeling the need to move to areas that seem to provide more hopeful prospects.

Our community population is aging and if we wish for our small town societies to remain healthy and vibrant, we need to find ways to prove to our youth that they can have a prosperous and productive life right here – in their own hometown!

Has our community made advances in the past? Of course we have. But, have we also lost some of our town’s identity? I believe so. We must continue to evolve, but we cannot do it blindly and not at the expense of what we already have. There must be a merging of both worlds and I look forward to being a part of that evolution!

Over the past 57 years I have been fortunate enough to gain a vast amount of business and political experience. Throughout my career I have: worked with and managed numerous employees, resolved both immediate and long term issues, participated in meetings with government officials, and maintained a common sense approach throughout.

Following is a list of my accomplishments:

· Past President of the Essex South PC Association

· Past Vice-President of The Essex County Ratepayers Association

· Past President & Owner (Family Business) Sunburst Canning Limited

· Past President & Owner (Family Business) Vine-Ripe Farms Limited

· Past Office Manager of Primo Foods Ltd.

· Past Consultant for Price-Waterhouse Ltd.

· Past President & Owner (Family Business) Castilian Holdings (Kingsville) Ltd. – 46 Unit Apartment Buildings

· Past Treasurer of First Lutheran Church (Kingsville)

· Past Treasurer of Temple Baptist Church – Windsor

· Past Owner of Sunburst Electric

· Past General Manager & President of Beach Grove Foods Limited

· Presently Semi-Retired & Part-Time Consultant

It is with a sense of responsibility, commitment and enthusiasm that I look forward to using my managerial expertise and political understanding to help all individuals living within our combined communities!