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New Rocky View Publishing reporter introduces himself to Airdrie

One of Canada’s fastest growing cities just grew by at least one more resident last week.

One of Canada’s fastest growing cities just grew by at least one more resident last week.

Ok, that was a bit of a newsy opening for an introductory piece, but it was my way of saying that as of May 29, 2013, I officially became a reporter for the Airdrie City View and Rocky View Weekly and will be taking up residence in Airdrie.

This is my second gig as a news reporter and I spent the last 20 months working for the Thompson Citizen in Thompson, Manitoba (I hadn’t heard of it either before I moved there).

Not only is this my second posting with a newspaper, but arriving in Airdrie was the second time in my life where I experienced a bit of a culture shock.

This time around was a bit less alarming than when I moved from Mississauga, Ontario, a city with a population of close to 715,000, to a tiny northern mining community of just 13,000 people.

For the better part of two years, however, that little hub was home, and I was a wide-eyed tourist when I first drove in to Airdrie after 16 hours on the road, thinking, “wow, there’s so much stuff here!”

Funny how your perception can change. Anyway, a bit about myself: as mentioned, I moved from Thompson, but am originally from Mississauga, where I spent the first 26 years of my life. For those that haven’t heard of it, Mississauga is about 20 minutes (or the distance from Airdrie to Calgary) from Toronto.

Yes, I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, feel free to poke fun at me, everyone else does. I always feel a bit like I’m pigeon holing myself as “the sports guy” when I make sports a conversation piece (especially as a news reporter), but sports are a big part of who I am.

I grew up in a family of three boys, myself and my two younger brothers. Our family spent more time together at soccer fields and hockey rinks than we did at the dinner table.

My dad came from a family of four boys who were all athletes, my mom ran track and field; sports are in my blood and its hard for me to ignore it.

There’s a scene from the movie Wedding Crashers where Christopher Walken says something like, “nature versus nurture, nature always wins,” I guess that kind of applies to me.

Speaking of movies, as you may have just ascertained, I do lean toward the comedy genre.

This isn’t an online dating profile so I won’t rattle off a long list of my favourite movies, but I will say that comedy has played a big role in shaping my personality.

As far back as I can remember I’ve enjoyed laughter, and more than that, I enjoy being able to make others laugh. I was a bit of a class clown in school and though I’ve grown to realize that there’s a time and place to joke around, in most social situations, I still tend to be the one who is constantly chattering and cracking jokes.

For the longest time, I’ve been a pretty balanced mix of introvert and extrovert, I like parties and going out with groups for a night out; on the other hand I enjoy having some time to myself to sit and listen to music or read.

Moving away from a very close-knit circle of friends that I had in Mississauga really let the extroverted side take over in a sense and meeting new people has become one of my favourite things to do.

That being said, I’m excited to be making another new start and getting to know as many new people as I can in the city of Airdrie.


Airdrie Today Staff

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