My life so far

As I expected, some interest has been shown about who I am and what I've done that has brought me to want to be the Leader of an Independent Saskatchewan. What follows is a brief summary of my life so far:

1957
Born in Saskatoon, as a baby I was spirited away at the behest of the Canadian Army. Dads postings moved us across The West, ending finally in Vancouver and there I was raised in a suburb, south of the city.

The 70's
After high school I chose varied jobs in the resource, manufacturing and service sectors (and a stint with a Crown Corp - BC Ferries) but my love of photography since the age of 8 brought me back to the lab again and again. I was lead processing operator for the film Happy Gilmore, developing the dailies for that and many other feature films and TV shows shot in and around Vancouver. Other labs I worked in included a custom cine lab and a large franchises central lab, where I processed custom still film from all over Western Canada.

It was in the custom cine labs print room that I saw my first IC chip, one of the owners showed me one and told me this was the future of the film industry. I had learned programming in high school, penciling in IBM data cards, and bought my first PC in 1979. Working as driver of a pit truck in a copper mine in Northern BC, I learned all I could about the Apple II Plus in my off time.

The 80's
My knowledge in a (then) cutting edge technology led to work consulting both during and after attending the BC Institute of Technology (Operations Management - Diploma of Technology 1982). As I was hired by BCIT to assist them in integrating PC's into their faculties, teaching students and instructors, I had to join the Staff Society of the school I was attending as a student.

In 1983 I began volunteering at my local cable station, to learn the video business, and within 2 years I was working as a freelance videographer in and around the Lower Mainland of BC. I worked with some of the top professionals in the business, on numerous shows, a few of which won awards. My ability with computers gave me a distinct advantage, as the industry was in the process of adopting digital standards and equipment. I was the Chyron operator hired by the Social Credit Party for their live convention coverage in Whistler BC, the year Bill Van Der Zalm won the leadership. I later operated the teleprompter for that Premiers live broadcasts to the Province of BC on more than one occasion.

The 90's
In the summer of 1997 I brought my young family on vacation to Saskatchewan, and later that year we returned for good. I had no firm job offer when we came home, but an opportunity existed to write ad copy for an up and coming local realtor. Within 2 years I was working for him full time, had him selling homes on the internet, and was responsible for all his other marketing efforts in print, TV and radio. You still see my work occasionally, on the back of buses in Saskatoon.

The 00's
My family was settled into Radisson by 2000, and I was self employed as a PC consultant focused on the Real Estate industry in Saskatoon, providing custom programming and tech support. I also did home reno's on the side and at one job met an electrician that needed a worker, part-time at first. I worked for their family owned business until 2006, leaving the trade as a Year 2 apprentice, taking a sales position at a local distributor selling a full line of MRO goods to the electrical trade.

I plan to run for a seat in the Legislature in the Riding of Biggar during the general election scheduled for November the 7th. I look forward to providing an alternative to the current choices available to voters, the choice which Always Puts Saskatchewan First.

Thanks for reading
Dana Arnason
Leader
WI Party of Saskatchewan