Murray Coates - Team Lead
I am a semi-retired consulting agrologist and live on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia with wife Jan and Casey the beagle. I was born and raised in rural Manitoba and attended the University of Manitoba and the University of Guelph. After university, most of my working life was spent in Winnipeg. We moved to BC several years ago but in the summer, we try to spend as much time as possible at our cottage at West Hawk Lake in Manitoba.
Our family includes two grown sons, one of whom is a journeyman carpenter and lives in Nelson. Our youngest son is attending Bishops College in Quebec and hopes to become an architect.
Jan and I did our first Habitat trip in May of 2008 to Hungary. I followed this up with another trip in the fall of 2008 to Jordan and then both of us took the Habitat trip leaders course in May of 2009. I took my first trip as a Habitat leader to Armenia in the fall of 2009. My most recent Habitat trip was to Poland in September of 2010. (Next trip after Paraguay will be Cambodia)
Active holidays are the best way to see the world. Travel to exotic places is a major passion and I hope to visit at least 75 countries. (At 46 and counting)
Information on previous HFH trips and other adventures can be found on my travel blog at http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cornerduck
Dan Garry - blogmeister
Me llamo es Danylo y estoy mirando adelante a encuentro y trabajando con usted y habitat para la humanidad Paraguay con mucho gusto.
….and that’s pretty much the extent of my Spanish
Bien Dia….my name is Dan Garry. I’m 57 years old, born in Montreal, raised in Scarborough [Toronto] and now live in Waterloo Ontario. I’m thrilled to be joining this Global Village build in Paraguay. This will be my second build, having worked with Habitat Guatemala last October.
I’m an early retiree after 28+ years as an electrical technician with Ontario Hydro, and the successor company, Hydro One. I prefer to consider myself semi retired as retirement conjures images of rocking chairs, moth eaten sweaters, and a steady diet of Jell-o. […but I digress, which by the way, I do often….but I digress once again]…anyway, I also do a fair bit of volunteer work with the Region of Waterloo Food Bank….so semi retired it is!
It’s been a great gig so far, so it’s time to give a bit back.
Passions include, but are not limited to, travel [go figure!], photography, music, food and wine, the outdoors, mountains, deserts, beaches, trails, motorsports, classic sports cars, anything performed live, learning new things, learning about old things, science and technology, [astro and theoretical physics not so much but I’m a huge Steven Hawking fan], philosophy, historical documentaries or documentaries of any type and kind, news and current events, ….pretty much everything to varying degrees!.....by the way, did I mention travel?
I’ve also been accused of being a tad quirky….I like that, and consider it a compliment!
I very much look forward to meeting and working with each of you on what will certainly be a unique and fulfilling experience.
….hopefully I can pick up a bit more Spanish as well!
Dietitian from Victoria B.C. ( presently working @ hospitals near Sidney plus lovely Saltspring Island!) Looking forward to meeting everyone involved in the Paraguay build. Two years ago was in El Salvador doing the same sort of work & thoroughly enjoyed it Am lucky to have met our team leader Murray, and sense that our time under his assist will be adventuresome and fun!
Lydia York
This is my first BUILD with Habitat for Humanity and I am looking forward to the experience very much.
My profession, originally was Psychology with a degree from the University of Toronto, but branched out into doing and teaching ceramics. Four of us started an architectural ceramics company....made no money but had lots of fun working with interior designers and architects. I do love creating & building things.
I was born in Toronto where I have always lived. However like Murray, I love travelling (54 countries at last count) And have lived for 7 month periods (sabbatical leaves) in Australia, France, Japan, South Africa, Kenya, Hong Kong, and England. I spend summers in my cottage on a lake in the Muskoka granites...swimming, canoeing, sailing.
Probably the most amazing trip I've ever taken was to the archeological site of "Lucy" in the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia A real safari with National Geographic, 15 armed Afar guards, (& Don Johanson.)
My husband was a geophysicist, (& professor at UofT) ) whose field was 'age determination', hence the involvement with early man studies, feathered dinosaurs, the moon (and I have touched the moon!)
Derek died 3 years ago. My son Link, is an executive producer. His partner, Lisa, directs music videos. And my 'grand-bird' (also called Lucy), is their (rescue) parrot. I gather Paraguay is Lucy's ancestral home. I look forward to looking for her relatives.
I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, (where I was born and raised), along with my wife Mary and our two daughters. I work as a well site geologist, providing on site geological consulting services during the drilling of horizontal oil wells. Currently, I am working in southeast Saskatchewan, but have worked all over Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as in North Dakota.
This will be my first HFH trip. I travelled abroad in my younger days (4 months in Europe and 5 months in the South Pacific), but a working holiday will be a new experience for me. The opportunity to both visit a part of the world that I have not seen before and to work on a project that benefits others appeals to me. I am really looking forward to the trip and to meeting the other members of the team.
Jen Elder
I'm a 24 year old electrician living and working in Fort McMurray, Alberta. I was born and raised in Victoria, BC. I love to spend as much time on the Island as I can. I love the outdoors so the Island is a very big part of my heart and soul. I love to camp, surf, hike, kayak, play sports…pretty much anything to do with being active. Especially being active outdoors.
Before I left Victoria I was about to finish a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in biology at the University of Victoria when I took another direction and went into electrical. I went to Camosun College and did the entry level training program for electrical. I ended up absolutely loving it and never went back to finish my degree haha.
I have two younger sisters, a mom, a dad, and two sets of grandparents back home. I'm a big family person and love to spend as much time with them as possible!
I have always been interested in doing something like Habitat for Humanity. I love to help people in any way I can, and being in construction I thought I could possibly put some of my skills to good use! I can’t wait to go on this new adventure!
I am an Application Developer for a Pet Insurance Company in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I graduated from Red River College with their Computer Analyst Programmer diploma in 2006 and have worked for several companies in Winnipeg before settling in with my current employer three years ago.
I have two older sisters: one lives in Seattle with her husband, and their two young children and the other is currently living in The Hague, Netherlands working for the UN. My parents are retired and are busy snow-birding in Arizona for the winter.
I’ve recently moved back home so that I could take the opportunity to do more traveling. Last summer I spent a week in France following the Tour De France and a week in Prague in the Czech Republic on vacation. Next year I’m hoping to take a six month break from work to travel across Europe.
I’m an avid swimmer and I recently started working on my PADI Open Water Diver certification. I’m hoping to find time to complete it after our build in Rio de Janeiro before I return to Winnipeg. I also like to bike and go camping with friends.
I’ve been very lucky to have everything I’ve ever needed in life and I think that it’s time for me to give back. I think that working with Habitat will help me accomplish that goal in a meaningful way.
I am a networking/computing employee of the University of Toronto. I design, install
and maintain computer networks for the University of Toronto downtown campus.
I was born and raised in Slave Lake, Alberta and moved to Sydney, Australia after teaching school in Alberta for several years. Taught mathematics for Sydney Girls’ High School, for five years.
Returned to Canada and taught mathematics in Alberta before taking computing/telecommunications courses and finding employment with the University of Toronto where I have been for the last twenty three years.
I have been to many parts of the world but not Africa or South America. One interesting
trip was the Trans Siberian railway trip across Russia.
Hi team, my name is Wendy Galigan.
I live on Vancouver Island. I have 2 grown daughters.
My career is nursing. This will be my third Global village trip with Habitat.
I am looking forward to meeting everyone and having another awesome experience. Hasta luego !
I am a speech-language pathologist currently working at the Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste Marie ON. I was born in Weyburn Saskatchewan, and then my family moved to Ontario when I was 2. I grew up in and around the area of Owen Sound ON. I completed my BSc in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo, and then went on to complete my MHSc in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Toronto. Upon graduation I moved up north to Yellowknife, NWT, and worked for the hospital up there. With this position I got to travel to remote Inuit and First Nations communities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to provides speech and language services. I really enjoyed the Canadian North!
My first international volunteer experience was in November 2009, when I traveled to Kenya with the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation to provide speech and language services to a remote community in the District of Victoria Lake (Nyanza Province) –I think I learned more from the Luo people of this area, than I ever taught them!
I enjoy outdoor activities, traveling, experiencing new people and cultures, and I am I’m looking forward to combining all of these things together in our build in Paraguay!
My husband Craig and I owned and operated a construction company in the Whiteshell Provincial Park for 25 years. During that time we also got together some partners and built a resort at Falcon Lake Manitoba., called Falcon Trails Resort. After retiring from construction in 2008, we bought out our resort partners and continue to operate Falcon Trails Resort, which includes a small ski hill and biathlon training centre.
I an am a journeyman carpenter and have a BA in history and sociology. I love the outdoors and I love to travel and meet new people and cultures.
Craig and I have three daughters who help us immensely with running our resort and ski hill. Our eldest Emily has a university degree in environmental studies and works full time for the resort. Caleigh is in geography honors at U of W and recently won the top scholarship at U of W. Our youngest, Brooke is taking the year off to work at the resort and travel in the spring, but until then she is training in Biathlon and will represent MB at the Canada Winter Games.
Truly looking forward to my first habitat experience.
Hi! My name is Tony Bendall. I currently live in Penticton, BC, in the Okanagan Valley in the interior of the Province. I moved here recently from living in the Whistler/Pemberton area for 6 years. I was born in Montreal, moved to the west coast in 1980, and have lived in Victoria and Vancouver.
My occupation for the last 30 years has been in the hospitality industry, mostly in hotel and restaurant service areas. My interests lie in food and wine knowledge and service. The Okanagan valley is known for its fruit production but has become more focused on wine production in the last decade, so I find it very interesting to be in the thick of the innovations and advancements occurring in the industry locally.
The seasonality of the business I am involved in allows me to take extended time off, hence the HFH build. Looking forward to the adventure and meeting the team members. See you all in Asuncion.
I am a single mother of two grown daughters. I currently work in a project management construction group that builds power plants in Canada and the US. I was born and raised in Calgary and plan to spend my retirement years in BC (just not sure where yet).
My two daughters both live in a small town in the foothills of Alberta (Rocky Mountain House). One is currently working towards becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse and the other is in Animal Services. I have been blessed to have these amazing children.
On my 50th birthday I treated myself to a “Day of Caring” and participated for a day on a Habitat build in Calgary. I have to admit it was one of my best birthdays as it felt incredible to give back. While I was at the site I met a young man who has participated on a few Global Village builds and he could not stop talking about how wonderful the adventure was and encouraged me to look into this.
The time has now come and I am certainly looking forward to building a home, new friendships and sharing this adventure with my best friend in Paraguay. I look forward to meeting everyone on the Paraguay team.
I am a 55 year old lawyer living in Calgary, currently practicing with TransCanada PipeLines Limited, a major North American Energy Infrastructure company. I have a chemical engineering degree and read, speak and write Spanish at an intermediate level. I have two children, a 19 year old daughter and a 16 year old son. i enjoy volunteering, running, triathlons, skiing and snowboarding.
Excellent post.thank you.........
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