For nearly four decades, St. John Ambulance has been an important part of my life and an extremely meaningful expression of my commitment to community service.

Founded more than 900 years ago, St. John Ambulance is one of the world's oldest humanitarian organizations. Guided by the motto Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum - For the Faith and in the Service of Humanity  - the latter which I adopted for my personal arms - the organization is dedicated to improving the health, safety, and resilience of communities through first aid education, volunteer medical first response, youth development, therapy dog programs, and community service. Every day, volunteers across Canada give their time and talents to teach lifesaving skills, provide medical first response at community events, support people in times of crisis, and strengthen the communities they call home.

My journey with St. John Ambulance began in 1987, when I became a volunteer First Aid Instructor. Teaching first aid gave me an opportunity to empower others with practical skills that could save lives, but it also introduced me to an organization built on compassion, professionalism and service.

It did not take long for me to realize that St. John Ambulance was much more than a volunteer organization. It was a community of people dedicated to helping others and making a difference when people needed it most.

In 1988, I was recruited by Bruce Adderley to become involved in the governance of the organization. His confidence in me opened the door to a new dimension of volunteer service, allowing me to contribute not only as an instructor but also to the leadership, development and future direction of St. John Ambulance.

From 1987 to 1995, I served as Chair of the Brigade Committee, providing a voice for frontline members directly to the professional board. In that role, I assisted with recruitment, helped ensure that public duties were properly staffed, and worked to ensure that the Brigade had the equipment and resources necessary to carry out its responsibilities.

I also served as St. John Thunder Bay's emergency contact, carrying a pager 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over those years, this represented more than 70,000 hours of continuous availability to respond whenever St. John needed to mobilize.

That responsibility taught me a great deal about preparation, organization and dependable leadership. When a call came, there was an expectation that someone would answer—and I was that person.

I also learned how to engage in serious sales - getting people to commit to joining  the then professional board. Through these experiences, I began to understand the breadth of St. John Ambulance and the many ways in which the organization served the community beyond its frontline public duties.

In 1990, I joined Honorary Colonel Jack Young's Honours and Awards Committee. This introduced me to another important dimension of St. John—the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Through my work on the committee, I learned the fundamentals of preparing nominations and advancement submissions. This became an early introduction to executive-level writing and taught me the importance of recognizing service, leadership and achievement properly.

My writing eventually extended to submissions considered by provincial and national nominations committees, with recommendations ultimately proceeding to Government House. The experience helped develop the writing and advocacy skills that would remain valuable throughout my career.

My volunteer work extended well beyond Brigade operations. I sought opportunities to identify contracts and new opportunities for St. John, developed awareness and recruitment initiatives, and helped bring children's safety into the organization's broader suite of community safety initiatives.

In 1993, I developed a business case for a Train-the-Trainer program for the Thunder Bay Police Service in First Aid and CPR. It was an opportunity to connect St. John's expertise with the needs of professional policing and to demonstrate how volunteer organizations could contribute directly to building professional capability.

My policing career increasingly provided opportunities to apply what I had learned through St. John.

From 1995 to 1997, while seconded to the Ontario Police College as a recruit instructor, I developed course training standards and emergency-response scenarios in which first aid was an important component of police training.

As a firearms instructor, I was also the designated first aider on the range, reinforcing the principle that those responsible for training others must also be prepared to respond when something goes wrong.

My St. John experience continued to influence my work in international policing and peace-support operations.

While working as a contractor providing training support to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations in Sudan, I ensured that first aid was an essential component of training for police first responders.

Later, while seconded to the RCMP's International Peace Operations Branch and serving as Canadian Contingent Commander with EUPOL COPPS in Palestine, I helped introduce first-aid training as an element of the curriculum for police recruits attending the Palestine College for Police Sciences.

Although my direct involvement with the Brigade became less frequent after 1997, my commitment to the principles I learned through St. John never diminished. My policing career, secondments and international peace-support deployments sometimes required me to step away from active governance, but I always remained proud of my affiliation with St. John Ambulance and returned to serve whenever circumstances allowed.

The organization's emphasis on service, preparedness, leadership, first aid and helping others became part of my professional philosophy. Those principles followed me from the Brigade in Thunder Bay into police training, emergency preparedness and international peace operations.

In 2012, I wrote a pipe band composition entitled 21st Century Crusaders and dedicated it to the St. John Branch and its Medical First Response Unit.

I presented the tune to the Branch, and it has subsequently been performed on numerous occasions at St. John events. A copy of the original presentation hangs on the wall at St. John House in Thunder Bay.

For me, the composition represents more than music. It is a small expression of the lasting connection I have had with an organization that played such an important role in my development.

Looking back, my St. John journey has been one of service, leadership, learning and influence.

What began in 1987 as a volunteer First Aid Instructor evolved into Brigade leadership, organizational governance, recruitment, emergency mobilization, honours and awards work, community safety initiatives and the development of professional training.

Perhaps most importantly, the lessons I learned through St. John did not remain within the organization. They became part of how I approached my career in policing, education and international peace-support operations.

St. John taught me that effective service is about more than responding when something happens. It is about being prepared, developing people, building capability and being there when your community needs you.

Those are lessons I have carried with me throughout my life.

In 1992, I was deeply honoured to be invested into the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem by His Excellency the Right Honourable Raymond Hnatyshyn, Governor General of Canada and Prior of the Order in Canada. The Order of St. John is a working order of chivalry whose members are recognized for their commitment to humanitarian service. Membership is not simply an honour—it represents an ongoing responsibility to live the values of service, compassion, integrity, and care for others. In 2018, I was humbled to be promoted to the grade of Officer of the Order of St. John in recognition of my continued service to the organization and the community.

Upon returning from Palestine, in 2014 I rejoined the board as Vice Chair, and from 2016 to 2026, I had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Regional Advisory Board for Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. During that decade, I worked alongside an exceptional team of volunteers and staff dedicated to strengthening our region, supporting volunteer development, expanding community partnerships, and ensuring that St. John Ambulance remained responsive to the needs of the communities we serve. Using my position as the Director of Security Services at Lakehead, I was able to stream line the process that dropped the various administrative barriers to having St John Therapy dogs make regular visits at Lakehead.  Members of the security team became car seat inspectors.  For a time, members of our security service worked hand in hand with the newly formed Lakehead University Medical First Response Unit. 

The COVID-19 pandemic presented one of the greatest challenges in our organization's modern history. Volunteers continued to serve their communities under extraordinary circumstances, often while balancing their own personal and professional responsibilities. During this period, I worked closely with public health officials, healthcare partners, and organizational leadership to help ensure that our Medical First Response volunteers received timely access to COVID-19 vaccinations. Protecting our volunteers meant they could continue protecting others, and I remain proud of the collaborative efforts that enabled our teams to continue serving safely throughout the pandemic.

In 2025, I was given the opportunity to contribute my experience in governance and policy development to the St. John Council for Ontario through its Governance Committee. I embraced this responsibility with enthusiasm, hoping that my contributions would demonstrate the value I could bring to the organization and, ultimately, lead to an opportunity to serve as a Director. Equally important to me was the prospect of ensuring that Northwestern Ontario would have a voice and representation at the provincial governance table.

Today, I continue my service as a Director on the St. John Ambulance Ontario Council, where I serve on both the Governance Committee and the Human Resources and Leadership Development Committee. These responsibilities provide an opportunity to contribute to the strategic direction of the organization, support effective governance, and help ensure that future generations of volunteers have the resources, leadership, and support they need to continue our humanitarian mission.

As I approach my 40th year of affiliation with St. John Ambulance, I do so with a profound sense of gratitude. The organization has given me far more than I could ever repay. It has provided opportunities to teach, to lead, to learn, and to serve alongside extraordinary volunteers whose compassion, professionalism, and dedication continue to inspire me. It has introduced me to lifelong friendships, challenged me to become a better leader, and continually reminded me that even small acts of service can have a lasting impact.

Throughout my life, my work in policing, peacekeeping, security, education, and volunteerism has been guided by a simple belief: leadership exists to serve others. Few organizations embody that principle more completely than St. John Ambulance. Its volunteers quietly dedicate themselves to improving the lives of others, often without recognition and always with humility. They demonstrate that service is not measured by titles or honours, but by a willingness to step forward when others need help.

It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to be associated with St. John Ambulance. As I look toward the future, I remain committed to supporting its mission and helping ensure that this remarkable organization continues to serve Canadians with compassion, professionalism, and integrity for generations to come.