My wife Julia and I came to North Glengarry in November 2016. We bought forty-five acres, an old house, and a lot of work. Our youngest daughter, Anastasia, has grown up here. This is home to her.
Julia and I chose this place. We put down roots here, raised our daughter here, built our life here, and became part of this community.
What We’ve Built Here
We named our property Anastasia’s Domain after our youngest daughter. Over the years we’ve built an off-grid farm, kept bees, raised animals, built cabins and trails, grown food, and welcomed thousands of visitors from around the world to North Glengarry.
Living this way teaches you something about responsibility. When something needs doing, you do it. When something breaks, you deal with it. You learn to work with what you have, solve problems, and take responsibility for the decisions you make.
Before North Glengarry
I’ve spent much of my life building things and working with people. I’ve owned and operated businesses, managed employees and budgets, coached hockey for more than twenty years, helped build lacrosse organizations, and spent years involved in non-profit and humanitarian work in Canada and overseas.
Today I serve as Chair of the Friends of the Glengarry Trails Association and have been involved in other community projects here in North Glengarry. They were different chapters of my life, but I’ve learned the same thing in all of them: leadership isn’t a title. Eventually, somebody has to take responsibility and do the work.
Why I’m Willing to Serve
I’m not running because I believe I have all the answers. The more people I sit with across North Glengarry, the more convinced I am that the answers shouldn’t begin with one person anyway.
I am willing to serve because I care about the people who live here today, the families building their lives here now, and what we leave behind for those who will come after us.
And whatever comes to the council table, I’ll keep asking the same question:
Will this leave our community stronger for the families who come after us?