My wife Julie and I moved to Squamish from Sydney, Australia in 2007. Now, seven years down the track, we have a beautiful 2.5 year old daughter Ella, Canadian citizenship, jobs we both love and a small town lifestyle that is the envy of many of our family and friends back in Australia.
My career so far
After graduating from the University of NSW, Sydney with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Relations and a Masters of Commerce in Human Resource Management, I spent a number of years working in general insurance, managing teams of underwriters and claims specialists. Later I worked for a large risk consulting brokerage where I was responsible for new business development as well as being account manager for a number of large businesses in commercial real estate and property management/development, as well as government agencies. In 2004 I had what my wife refers to as my ‘mid-life crisis’ (a claim that I find a little disturbing considering I was only 28!) and my career took a different direction. While still working full time, I earned my Registered Massage Therapist designation. These skills put me in good stead for my first couple of years living in Squamish and working as a massage therapist in Whistler. The early years living in Squamish allowed me to r ekindle my love for the game of golf and after working at the Squamish Valley Golf Club for a number of summers I once again changed career paths and turned teaching professional, accepting membership with the Professional Golf Association of Canada.
So why politics?
This is my first foray into the world of politics. I have come to really love where we live and as a new Canadian citizen I feel that this is a way that I can give back to the town that has given me so much. Squamish has so much potential and I’d love to play a small part in showcasing this potential to the rest of Canada and the world. I would also like to play an active leadership role in relation to local issues such as infrastructure, business growth/job creation, and developments that impact us, the residents of this town.
My commitment
I can’t tell you that I won’t make mistakes during this election campaign; I won’t always have all the answers and nor will I pretend to. But my commitment to you is that I will do the hard work and find out the answers. If I am successful in my bid for council, I will do my utmost to ensure that I am informed, that I communicate clearly at all levels, that I am available to the people of this town, and that I will never make any decisions on important matters until I am confident that I have all the facts and that I have given the topic consideration from all possible angles. I will be honest and forthright and as I am running for local government, I will unapologetically, always think local first.
For more on Scott:
Follow Scott on Twitter - @ScottWengi
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