In Brief

Family, travel, education, diving, music, working with wood, photography, good friends, good food, good wine, programming in C++, good beer, single malt whiskey, technology - these are a few of my favourite things. I have been connected with education since Kindergarten in Ontario in 1951. Until 1973 that connection was as a student. Since that time I have taught at the university level (Acadia) and as a teacher in the Nova Scotia public school system until August 1, 2000. My teaching career in the public school system involved every grade from 7 to 12, primarily in mathematics, but also in science and computer science. Throughout that time, I was actively engaged with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, starting out as a school rep, serving on the Local negotiating team, as Local President and in 1991 elected as a member of the Provincial Executive where I was subsequently elected as Second Vice-President and then First Vice- President. In 1996 I ran for NSTU President in the first ever universal suffrage election for the president. I lost! In August 2000 I was appointed to a term position on staff with the NSTU and that position was formally made permanent effective March 1, 2003. As of November 1, 2012 I am retired. I doubt that will conclude my involvement with education; there are opportunities to return to the university setting to teach graduate courses in leadership and projects in educational policy at the provincial and national level that I hope will come my way. I am exceptionally fortunate to have a wonderful wife, Donna, and two sons, Ian and Alan, both of whom are terrific young men.

More Time for Play

I began playing guitar in 1966 and enjoyed many years of making music on a relatively regular basis until the early 90s. At that time my involvement with the NSTU assumed greater prominence and playing music, now including mandolin, mandola (tuned like a viola - ADGC) and cittern (tuned DADAD), faltered. I am now playing more and have a wonderful Martin D-41 guitar and a custom-built Nick Apollonio mandola. We travel more, with more destinations and longer stays. The Caribbean will continue to be a destination of choice for us, but with part of our family in France, I’m sure there have been lots of trips to Europe.

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