Meeting Place
MICHELLE DUVAL
Born into a military family Michelle has lived from coast to coast as well as abroad. Moving multiple times has given her a deep appreciation for what she describes as this amazing, diverse and beautiful country we are privileged to live in. Michelle didn’t take up photography seriously until her early 40s, upon receiving her first good camera. She’s always had a love of animals, especially dogs—check out her Bark in the Park photo essay on page 8—who she says humble her daily with their innate ability to give such unconditional love, joy and laughter.
RICHARD MAIN
Richard, who makes his home in Thunder Bay, says that as he approaches the milestone age of 60— sometimes a time of reflection—he finds himself eagerly anticipating his next nature hike or “lighthouse adventure.” To read about one of his favourite lighthouse visits, turn to Our Travels on page 20, where he recounts his trip to the Slate Island Lighthouse located on the Slate Islands archipelago in northern Lake Superior. Fascinated by the area, Richard says he is constantly on the hunt for the many hidden gems along Superior’s rugged shoreline.
KELLIE MCNABB
Kellie currently makes her home in Barrie, Ont., but was born and raised in Toronto. She grew up bilingual, speaking both English and Portuguese, and later studied other languages while in university, including French, Korean and Spanish. Kellie has been a French teacher for more than 20 years, working in both Saskatchewan and Ontario. Her other passion is running, and she’s written a book called ONE The Power of One Step about her journey to truly enjoy life every step of the way, which you can read about in this issue’s Showcase on page 38.
RICK WOOLSEY
Born in Toronto, which is the subject of this issue’s My Hometown feature on page 54, Rick is a freelance writer, poet and author of screenplays. His writing mainly celebrates down-to-earth subjects such as nature, with the occasional foray into the supernatural. As a journalism student early on, and writer of business articles more recently, Rick prefers to keep his personal writing noncommercial, saying, “I never really expect to be published often; I write when I feel deeply inspired.” When not writing, Rick spends two months a year volunteering his time to help homeless dogs in Mexico’s less fortunate neighbourhoods.