A career in flux

There's been quite a number of changes in my career over the past couple of months.

It feels analogous to what I experienced back in the summer of 2011 when I moved to London to play baseball for the London Majors and took one final shot in kicking down the door that would (hopefully) lead to a long and fruitful career in the multimedia world.

Regular visitors to this website will have noticed a steady uptick in material added to this space since 2011: from book news, to freelance writing, demo reels, weekly videos, and writing for Sun Media. So slowly but surely I've been able to continue climbing up the media-career mountain.

Before I bury the lede too far down this post, I start a new job tomorrow: on-air presenter at The Weather Network. I'm extremely excited about this new opportunity and can't to get started. I will be training full-time for a month and then will start appearing on-air in March.

This is the opportunity for which I've been waiting for years. My goal has always been to have my main paying job to be on-air and then have time to write novels in my spare time (Books 2 and 3 are complete; now begins the very difficult job of getting them published).

This has been a long time coming. I've volunteered for every single on-camera role I've ever had to this point. I've tirelessly worked at improving my skills and building my resume and, now, to be paid to do what I've always wanted to do is an amazing feeling.

How did I get the presenter position with The Weather Network?

I'd attribute it to a serendipitous sequence of events.

Sun Media shut down the K-W and Guelph Review on December 5. Approximately a week later, I saw the presenter position posted on a job board. If I still had had the editor job with Sun Media I would have never been searching job boards.

I went in for an interview and audition before Christmas and then was called back for a second audition during the second week of January. After a thorough background check, I received the job offer.

Of course this means that I had to leave my multimedia journalist position with the Woodstock Sentinel-Review, which I started a few weeks after the K-W Review and Guelph Review ceased operations.

Thus, updates to my website are going to change.

I will (most likely) no longer have new writing samples to post to this space. I will continue to post updates on book news (I'm hopeful this will be a big year for 60'6": Balls, Strikes, and Baseball Mortality) and any pertinent links to my new role at The Weather Network.

Thanks for continuing to visit my website.

Fluoride and sodium levels increased

Here is a story I wrote for the Woodstock Sentinel-Review about elevated levels of fluoride and sodium in the drinking water of select communities in Oxford County.

Fire budget dominates discussion

Here's a story I wrote at last night's Woodstock special budgetary council meeting on the fire department's budget. 

Revitalizing Woodstock's Core

I spoke with Woodstock city councillor Bill Bes about his plan for improving the downtown area of Woodstock. Here is the story.

Legal dispute and proposed baseball complex

Two stories that I've written this week thus far detail a legal dispute between the City of Woodstock and the developers of a retirement residence in regards to development charges and a proposed baseball complex to be built in Woodstock.

Job Change and First Article

Unfortunately, the K-W Review and Guelph Review ceased operations at the beginning of December. A couple of weeks ago, I was offered a multimedia journalist position still within the Sun Media editorial umbrella.

Thus, I am now working for the Woodstock Sentinel-Review covering the city and county council beats as well as some periodic sports coverage. Covering local politics will be a distinct change for me, but I am looking forward to expanding my writing coverage.

Here is my first article, which was featured on Page 1 of the January 9th paper: Oxford County close to answering methadone question?