Why you’re on the team:

I have no choice – I was the whole team for a short while and now absolutely love the fact that we have a group of skilled and fun colleagues who work hard and strive to laugh every day!

Personal Accomplishments

I have been married to my lovely and fun-loving wife, Lorette, for over 25 years and together we have 4 motivated, fun-loving children. As a whole, all 4 of these young people have been the best accomplishment that I have been associated with. I have learned from them and hopefully they continue to learn from me.

I love the fact that I still play hockey and have done so since the age of 5. Playing hockey with the old boys as many as 4 times a week is my “release valve” and makes me very happy. I am also proud of the fact that I have been involved with some great volunteer projects over the years as one must give back to the community in which they live!

Professional Accomplishments

My greatest leap of faith took place when I left a secure job and secure company and joined a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy. The faith was in my abilities to help turn the ship around and we did so. I am proud to this day of the business success of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and take solace that I played a part in that success.

• Labatt Breweries of Canada (14 years in various management positions)
• The Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club
  • Director of Marketing & Corporate Development from 2000 – 2004 inclusive (5 seasons)
  • Responsible for the following initiatives:
    • Branding of Riderville & “Canada’s Team”
    • Fan-based marketing initiative (melon-head campaign; Football Hero; Heart of the Nation etc)
      • Also includes the #1 Pre-game celebration in the CFL
    • Capacity point set at stadium in 2002
    • Impressive increases in sponsorship to over $1.4M and in Riders becoming #1 merchandiser in CFL, #1 Ratings Driver on TSN and #1 Draw in opposition stadiums
• Phoenix Advertising
  • VP of Business Development
  • Increased gross revenue by 40% in 2.5 years
• Started Fraser Strategy in October of 2007
• Most recently managed the Saskatchewan Pavilion at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
  • Responsible for Marketing, Communications, Sponsorship, Programming and Event Management of Pavilions in Vancouver and Whistler
  • Over $2M in unpaid advertising value – coverage nationally and internationally including Wall Street Journal

Community involvement:

• Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Tourism Saskatchewan
• Rider liaison for the 2003 Grey Cup (and also worked on 4 other Grey Cups in other major Canadian Cities)
• Chair of the 2004 Western Canadian AAA Midget Championship
• Marketing Chair of the 2006 World Under 17 Hockey Championship
• AVP of the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship
• President of Hockey Regina Inc.
• Has been a minor hockey coach for 21 consecutive years
• Currently sits on the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Board of Directors.

Education Background

Bachelor of Arts (Economics) – University of Saskatchewan

Hobbies:

• Playing rec hockey
• Coaching minor hockey
• Gardening
• Reading
• Travelling with Lorette (and sometimes the kids)
• Camping
• Helping out on the farm

Favourite super hero:

BATMAN – because he is rich, chicks dig him, he drives fast, he walks up walls and he has a cape!

Favourite book:

Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

Favourite cartoon character:

EASY – Yosemite Sam – because he is an extremely grouchy gunslingin’ cowboy with a hair-trigger temper who is obviously misunderstood. He would have made a great hockey player! Oh, one more thing, he is short!

Favourite Song:

“You Never Even Called Me by My Name” by David Allen Coe

Most inspirational person I know:

A gentleman by the name of George Creelman who lives in Florida now.

Why:

George became the General Manager for Labatt Saskatchewan in the early 90’s and he was the first person I ever met in the baby-boomer dominated workplace that actually tried to have fun at his job. I had been chastised somewhat for my belief that work should be fun and George was a successful manager who really didn’t give a shit what people thought of him…and I loved it! He taught me that my philosophy was not wrong as he believed that you could achieve great things and still have a giggle doing it. I especially loved it when upper level executives came in and George would give them the gears – he was a friggin’ classic!

Thankfully the workplace today has less of the “serious” baby-boomers and more of the young male and female professionals who understand that the work needs to be done but it does not need to be done in such a manner that nobody enjoys it! We all work hard and hopefully we all do well but isn’t the relationships that we build and the laughs that we have just as important! I believe the answer is yes and I know George Creelman would agree!

Favourite quote:

“My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.”

Indira Gandhi
Indian politician (1917 – 1984)

Contact Details:

C: (306) 530-9556

trent@fraserstrategy.ca

Personal Accomplishments:

Still alive.  Going back to school

Jane has put up with me for 22 years.  She is the positive force that pushes me to do better and to act on my ideas.  Due to my allergies we have no pets.  However, on the way to my funeral, Jane will stop at the pound to pick out some great animal companions.  We enjoy adventure travel and have been lucky enough to visit places around the globe.  Jane’s love of life inspires me daily.  At age forty I received a Master’s Degree from the University of Calgary.  I was told I was the second person to be allowed into the program without an undergraduate degree. I now know the right names for the mistakes I made in business.

Companies you worked with:

I have had the pleasure of working with some great companies over the years.  The first was with Honda as one of the youngest dealer principals in the Honda family.  After 10 years with Honda and few with Chrysler, I ventured out into the consulting world.  The consulting world has allowed me to work in industries that were extremely diverse from food processing plants and well known food chains to manufacturing plants and service companies.  Many of these companies experienced similar issues within their industries but within unique circumstances.  The satisfaction comes from sharing the learning’s with people struggling in other industries.  The best part of all these projects and working engagements have been meeting and working with some fantastic people who excel in their industries.

Community involvement:

I used to do a bunch of shit like coaching Midget and Juvenile hockey , Ambassador with Calgary Chamber of Commerce, executive with High River Chamber of Commerce, working with small business start ups as a mentor, mentoring U of C MBA students,  working with Aboriginal Startup Companies,  and now I do none.

Education Background:

MBA – UofC

Hobbies:

Hockey, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Photography, Cooking, talking business

Favourite super hero:

Spiderman—cause sometimes it nice just to hang around

Favourite book:

The 4-hour Work Week, Timothy Ferriss

This describes how we should all run our businesses

Second:  The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien

This is like working with Fraser Strategy – mostly hobbits

Favourite cartoon character:

Yoda – I can relate to the physical side – not so much to the wise side.  He has the same hairdo and is really short.

Favourite Song:

Wonderful World, by IZ

Most inspirational person I know:

My family including my wife, parents, and extended family.

Why:

Each and everyone has overcome either personal or situational issues with positive attitudes, a love of life and way to make things better for all those involved.  I am proud to be part of this group.

Favourite quote:

My father used to say to me, usually after I came up with a great revelation on life– “no matter how dumb a person looks, you can always learn something from them”

Contact Details:

ted@fraserstrategy.ca

403.681.0526

Professional Accomplishments:

• Grey Cup Championship with Saskatchewan Roughriders – 2007
• ABC Candidate
• Freelance writer
• Owning two sets of billy bob teeth

Personal Accomplishments:

• Happily married for over 20 years (Pam happy for 19yrs; me for 1yr)
• Three really cool Boston Terriers (Sherlock, T-Bone and Xena the warrior princess)
• Two great kids – Nicole and Austin
• The ability to laugh at myself

Companies you worked with:

• Regina Public Library
• Saskatchewan Government Insurance
• Saskatchewan Roughriders
• City of Regina
• Canadian Blood Services
• Saskatchewan Special Olympics
• Canadian Football League Grey Cup communications team
• CKRM Radio

Community Involvement:

• IABC Regina Board Member – Vice President
• Saskatchewan Red Cross – Board Member
• Regina Sports Hall of Fame – Board Member
• Esso Cup – Female National Hockey Championships – VP Communications
• World Junior Hockey Championships – AVP Internal Communications
• Regina Minor Football – Board Member

Education Background:

• Got half my grade 12 – grade 6
• Went to “What’s a Matta U”

Hobbies:

• Professional wrestling
• Writing
• Comedy and Mystery shows on TV
• Sports trivia
• Sports card collecting
• Comedy

Favourite super hero:

Batman – he has everything in his utility belt

Favourite book:

Green eggs and ham by Dr. Seuss

Favourite cartoon character:

Scooby Doo – One of the all time great detectives. Those meddling kids could not get the mystery solved without Scooby’s keen sense of detective work.

Sherlock Holmes and Magnum PI could learn a few things from the great Scooby Doo.

Favourite Song:

Rock and Roll All Night – KISS (The greatest rock band of all-time)

Most inspirational person I know:

My parents and my wife

Why:

My parents; as they sacrificed to make sure they gave me everything I needed to succeed in life. That type of sacrifice is inspirational and taught me the meaning of family. That is where I got my positive outlook on life from.

My wife; for her work in the ICU ward in the General Hospital. She sees people when they are suffering and at their worst and yet keeps her positive and loving attitude.

Favourite quote:

The harder we work the luckier we get – Vince Lombardi (NFL coach)

I love pressure. I eat it for breakfast – Stanley Goodspeed (from the movie The Rock)

Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one – Bill Bradley (NBA player)

To be the man, you have to beat the man – Ric Flair (professional wrestler)

A great baseball player is one who will take a chance. – Wesley Branch Rickey (baseball executive)

Anything you want to add:

All kidding aside you will always get more than you bargained for when dealing with Fraser Strategy.

Contact details:

Tony Playter

tpoutlaw@sasktel.net

tony@fraserstrategy.ca

306-570-6913

Professional Accomplishments:

Managing Operations for the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship I played a significant role in helping achieve a profit of $15 million and an economic impact of $86 million to the province making the 2010 IIHF WJC was the most successful ever.

As the Director of Operations for Grey Cup 2007 in Toronto I supervised and directed the implementation of all aspects of a 5-day festival encompassing over 50 individual events, 5 major venues and two street festivals.  While effectively maintaining a $15 million budget, this event went on to make a profit of $5 million, the largest profit in the events history.

Companies you worked with:

• Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club, Regina
• Canadian Football League, Toronto
• Ottawa Renegades Football Club, Ottawa
• Arnoldi Watters Inc, Toronto
• Vision Group, Toronto
• Sask Sport Inc./KidSport^TM Saskatchewan, Regina
• Hockey Canada/2010 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, Regina
• Olympics 2010/Saskatchewan Pavilion, Vancouver

Community involvement:

• KidSport^TM Regina Board Member (2009-Present)
• PW Classic Golf Tournament for Parkinson’s Research assisted organizers with many facets of the day including silent auction, registration, prize collection for auction, raffles, and other miscellaneous duties as assigned
• Vanier Cup Committee (2001) assisting in the organization and implementation of the volunteers and ancillary events surrounding the game
• Canadian Football Hall of Fame Committee (1999 – 2002) assisting in the organization of all facets of the Induction Dinner including the Silent Auction, travel arrangements and budget decisions
• Saskatchewan Roughrider Women’s Night (1997-1998) planned and executed all facets of the evening
• Saskatchewan Roughrider Ticket-A-Thon (1997) assisted in the organization of the overall event
• Grey Cup 1995 Committee (1994-1995) acted as a liaison between the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club and the committee, responsible for overseeing all ticket areas, managed all areas of Club ’95, assisted with organization of Champions Breakfast and volunteers
• Saskatchewan Roughrider Plaza of Honor Dinner (1992-1998) assisted in the organization of the Silent Auction, travel arrangements, volunteers and table assignments.

Favourite book:

Predator – Patricia Cornwell

Favourite cartoon character:

Goofy

Favourite Song:

What Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

Most inspirational person I know:

Tie between my parents

Why:

My parents have been the best possible role models a person could ask for.  They are hard working, well respected, strong, community minded and the first to jump in to help in any situation.  They have provided me with some fantastic experiences and tremendous life lessons.

As well, I like to take a little something, good or bad, from every person who has crossed my path. I have been fortunate to have some great positive influences in my life and am very thankful for that.

Favourite quote:

Here are a couple of my favs …

• Shoot for the moon … even if you miss you’ll land among the stars!

• Obstacles provide the opportunity to stretch the limits of your creativity.

• Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

• When you see boundaries as opportunities, the world becomes a limitless place.

Contact Details:

robin@fraserstrategy.ca

306.502.4609

Accomplishments:

Professionally:

My most exciting and rewarding accomplishment until now, was being hired as one of the first Sales Representatives in Canada for Red Bull Energy Drink with PRISM Distributions Inc. I was responsible for the initial launch of the product in the Southern Saskatchewan market. In the first 5 years I opened over 200 new accounts achieved yearly increases in sales of 15% or higher, and managed to be the first Sales Rep in Canada to merchandise and maintain an entire single door cooler space full of Red Bull.

Personally:

I have been married to my wife Christine for 10 years, and together we have 2 absolutely wonderful children, our daughter Presley (5), and son Corson (2). I was born and raised here in Saskatchewan. Previously lived in Saskatoon, but now currently reside in Regina.

Companies you worked with:

• Red Bull Energy Drink (PRISM Distributions)
• Regina Pats
• Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC)
• ESP Salon Sales
• Oh, and when I was 17yrs old I absolutely loved working at EDO Japan in the Southland Mall. “Sauce on top?”

Community involvement:

• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
  • As a parent of a Diabetic child, I have focused all of my energy toward a cause I can truly relate with.

Favourite super hero villain:

Darth Vader, because of his ridiculously, powerful looking, red lightsaber. I remember as a child everyone wanted to be Luke Skywalker or Han Solo, but I yearned to be Darth. While playing “Star Wars”, I loved to look at my older brother, as I was wearing a blanket for a cape and cupping my hands over my mouth saying… “You will never… know the power… of the Dark Side.”

Favourite book:

It seems to be a reoccurring theme amongst Fraser Strategy bio’s, but I am also going to have to say “The Four Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss - The concepts and philosophies that Timothy Ferriss introduces in this book, I believe, speak to anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming their own boss.

Favourite cartoon character:

Spider-Ham (aka Peter Porker), a great comic book from my youth. Please take the time to Google it… You’re welcome.

Favourite Song:

“Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson

Most inspirational person I know:

My son, Corson

Why:

February 2010, when our son Corson was 15 months old, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Since then, he has had to endure so much for someone so young, all the while, with a smile on his face. The resilience Corson shows on a daily basis astounds me. It is a truly humbling, but amazing feeling, to learn so much about life, from our two year old son.

Favourite quotes:

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

-Charles R. Swindoll

“Winning isn’t everything… Wanting to, is.”

-Vince Lombardi

Contact Details:

James Rathwell

306.550.7243

james@fraserstrategy.ca

Twitter: @rbjames

Accomplishments

Personally:

I am a Saskatchewan boy through and through with roots firmly planted in this province.These roots have offered me many great opportunities to work and play with some great people. After spending three years in Manitoba as a business owner, I have returned  home with my enterpreneurial spirit. I have been blessed with a beautiful wife who keeps me in line, as well as a couple of dogs that round out our family for now.

My main goal is to continuously learn and keep a positive attitude on this journey we call life. I’ve been fortunate  to be able to travel extensively throughout many countries such as Scotland, France, Australia and most recently Mexico.This love of travel is held by everyone in my family and has given me a new prospective of how we, as Canadians often forget what we have in our own backyard. With that in mind, my most recent trip was with my wife and two dogs (Vegas and Hunter) where we travelled across Canada in an ‘antique’ campervan.

Professionally:

My love for entrepreneurship started very young; first as a Leader Post carrier and then bigger project selling shirts and major fundraising in Highschool. No one doubted that Business was in my future at some point. A job at the local steel mill, allowed me the finances to begin my personal investments and real estate endeavours. It also allowed me to appreciate and respect the ‘blue collar’ aspect of work and encouraged me not to be afraid to get my ‘hands dirty’. Working in the local steel mill also taught me the importance of working with a team when things like fingers, toes and lives are in jeopardy every day.

After a summer with the Leader Post helping district managers, I was offered a position as Assistant District Manager, and shortly thereafter I became a District manager of my own territory with 60,000 homes and 60 carriers. It was here that I honed my customer service skills dealing with angry customers and motivating ‘young’ employees to do their job well. A transfer to Single copy sales soon followed which eventually led me to the advertising side. As Executive Advertising Insert Consultant, we were able to target different demographics with flyers/insets, and strategize and implement marketing campaigns within the newspaper while executing the design and creative for print and distribution.

Enterpreneurial opportunities arose that led me to start my own construction company. This was the beginning of a 4 year venture of building a company from the ground up. We landed many major developments and were able to work with some of the biggest real estate developers in Canada while growing to be one of the most trusted and successful companies in Winnipeg. A move back to Saskatchewan meant selling my portion of the company to my business partner.

Companies you’ve worked with:

As a previous business owner and through my sales and marketing experience lets just say..’Everything from soup to nuts’ as the expression goes.

Education Background:

• Attended post secondary education at the U of R business certification program
• Bilingual with an International Bacca Laureate certificate

Hobbies:

• Mountain biking
• Investing
• Real estate
• Swimming with my dogs
• Reading investment books/business books
• Staying healthy (gym, biking, hockey etc)
• Renovating properties

Favourite super hero:

Green Lantern for sure!

Favourite book:

When I was 17 I read “The Wealthy Barber” by David Chilton (common sense guide to investing, great book to learn the basics )…nowadays I’ve got way too many to list.

Favourite cartoon character:

Leanordo from The Ninja Turltes – A true leader.

Favourite Song:

Basically anything country

Most inspirational people I know:

I cannot name just one inspirational person, as many people have impacted my life in many ways so perhaps it is anyone that has overcome personal challenges for the betterment of themselves.

Favourite quote:

“If your needs are many, you may never be happy. If your needs are few and easily met you may always be happy”

- Brett Wilson

“Work smart, not hard”

- Ted Klassen

Contact Details:

Logan@fraserstrategy.ca

306.596.1689

Twitter: logansfraser