About Steve
I grew up in Fernie and, like a lot of young people, spent some time away after high school. Getting outside the Elk Valley gave me a chance to experience other places and, maybe more importantly, made me realize just how fortunate I had been to grow up here. I came back, and the Elk Valley has been home ever since.
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to call all three Elk Valley communities home.
Fernie is where I grew up and where we raised our kids.
Elkford is where my wife Melissa and I met and began our life together.
Sparwood has been at the centre of my working life for more than two decades and, when it came time for Melissa and me to decide where we wanted to make our home, we chose Sparwood.
We choose Sparwood
That choice is important to us.
We know all three communities because we've lived in all three, and we could choose to live anywhere in the Elk Valley. We choose Sparwood.
Today, it is where we've built our life and where both Melissa and I work with Elk Valley Resources. I work in Health & Safety, and Melissa is EVR's Occupational Health Nurse. It is also where I have had the privilege of serving on Council and where we are now enjoying being grandparents.
Family remains a big part of my life. Melissa and I raised three kids in the Elk Valley, and watching each of them find their own interests, take on challenges, and build their own lives has been one of the most rewarding parts of ours.
There are plenty of moments I'm proud of, but one I'll always remember is watching our son grow through minor and Junior hockey and eventually take the ice for the Fernie Ghostriders. Our daughters have taken their own paths and given us just as many reasons to be proud.
Through all three of them, our family has been connected to these communities through schools, sports, work, friendships, and community life.
We are now grandparents too, which has added another chapter for our family here.
A career built in the Elk Valley
I began at Elkview Operations in 2002 as a heavy-equipment operator. I later became a Red Seal Powerline Technician, became deeply involved in Mine Rescue, and eventually moved into Health & Safety leadership.
My working life has allowed me to see organizations from very different perspectives. I spent many years in leadership in organized labour, representing the workforce at Elkview Operations as both Health & Safety Chair and Vice-President.
That experience taught me a great deal about worker advocacy, workplace safety, difficult conversations, and the responsibility that comes with representing people whose interests and opinions aren't always the same.
My career later took me into management and increasingly senior Health & Safety roles. Today, I work with Elk Valley Resources as Senior Lead, H&S - Water Operations, Sustainable Development, & SafeCoal Implementation.
That progression - from equipment operator and tradesperson, through organized labour, management, and Health & Safety leadership - has given me an appreciation for how differently the same issue can look depending on where you are sitting.
I have carried that with me onto Council.
Before deciding that an answer is obvious, I want to understand who is affected, what we may be missing, what the practical consequences are, and whether the proposed solution will actually work.
Service beyond my day job
Emergency response and community service have also been a significant part of my life.
I spent 18 years in the fire service, with that part of my career ending at Fernie Fire Rescue as Battalion Manager (Chief) for the auxiliary firefighters. Fernie's auxiliary firefighters proudly serve alongside the department's professional career firefighters as part of the same team.
My emergency response background also includes a long tenure in Mine Rescue and my ongoing work with Sparwood Search & Rescue.
With SAR, I serve not only as a responder, but also as the organization's Facility Coordinator and Health & Safety Chair. That involvement extends to the provincial level through my work on the BC Search and Rescue Association Health & Safety Committee.
I also serve on the Canadian Risk and Hazards Network (CRHNet) Professional Development Committee, helping support the professional development of crisis management professionals across Canada.
Education has also been an important part of my work.
Since 2014, I have taught and developed courses with College of the Rockies, delivering instruction across all of its campuses and supporting learners from a wide range of industries and workplaces.
Teaching gives me an opportunity to share what I have learned through my own experience, but it also keeps me learning from the people who come into the classroom with experiences of their own.
I am a Canadian Registered Safety Professional and have continued my education throughout my career, including Occupational Health & Safety studies through the University of New Brunswick. I am currently working toward a Bachelor of Emergency and Security Management.
Four years on Council changed what I bring to the table
When I first ran for Council, I brought experience in leadership, emergency response, Health & Safety, organized labour, management, education, and community service.
What I did not have was experience governing a municipality.
I have that now.
Four years on Council have taught me how municipal decisions actually move from an idea to something that can be delivered.
I have learned much more about municipal finance, legislation, infrastructure and asset management, land-use planning, development, regional relationships, public engagement, and the limits of what a municipality - or an individual councillor - actually has the authority to do.
Council has also given me opportunities to serve the community in different roles.
I have chaired the Recreation Facility Advisory Committee (RFAC), working alongside residents and District Staff through a detailed process examining the future of recreation facilities in Sparwood. I have also had opportunities to serve as Acting Mayor during this term.
Some of my Council work has also introduced me to organizations where I have chosen to stay involved beyond the formal Council role.
I originally joined the Elk Valley Seniors Housing Society as one of the District's appointed representatives. When Council's formal appointments to the Society ended, I chose to remain and continue serving as a Director because I find the work fulfilling.
The Society manages Lilac Terrace, Sparwood's independent living facility for seniors, and the experience has given me a much closer understanding of seniors housing and the importance of helping people remain in their community as they age.
My involvement with Coal Miner Days came about differently.
I volunteered with the organization and was elected to its Board of Directors. Much of my role has been as a liaison between Coal Miner Days and the District, but I also support the planning and logistics that go into putting on one of Sparwood's major community events each year. It is another way I can contribute to the community outside my role on Council.
Those experiences have broadened my understanding of the community I represent.
Recreation, seniors housing, community events, and the day-to-day work of municipal government can look like separate things on an agenda, but they all contribute to what it is like to actually live here.
Just as importantly, I benefited from experienced members of Council who were willing to share the history behind decisions and explain why certain things are done the way they are.
That institutional knowledge matters.
There will be new faces around the Council table after this election. If I am fortunate enough to return, part of my responsibility will be to pass along what was shared with me while remaining open to the questions and ideas new members will bring.
Experience shouldn't mean protecting the way something has always been done.
It should mean understanding why it was done, knowing what has already been tried, recognizing what has worked, and being better equipped to challenge it when circumstances have changed.
What that experience means to me
I don't include this background because I think a collection of titles or credentials makes someone entitled to a seat on Council. It doesn't.
The seat belongs to the community.
I include it because residents should know what experience I bring when I sit at the Council table and how it shapes the way I approach the job.
I have represented workers and managed people. I have responded to emergencies and helped plan for them. I have worked in an industry that is fundamental to this community, taught others, volunteered alongside people throughout the Elk Valley, and spent the last four years learning the responsibilities and limitations of municipal government from inside it.
I am also a father and now a grandfather.
Like everyone else who calls this place home, there are parts of Sparwood I hope we protect, things I believe we can improve, and decisions being made today whose consequences will extend well beyond the next four years.
I don't have every answer, and I don't think voters should expect that from anyone asking to serve on Council.
What I can bring is experience, preparation, a willingness to ask difficult questions, respect for the people who know more about an issue than I do, and four years of municipal knowledge that I am ready to put back to work.
Melissa and I know the Elk Valley. We've lived in all three communities and could choose any of them.
We choose Sparwood.
Serving this community for the last four years has been a privilege.