CONTRIBUTOR SPOTLIGHT

GLENA CLEARWATER

Growing up in London, Ont., Glena became interested in writing as a teen, while corresponding with six different pen pals, and has been at it ever since. As an adult, she relocated to the small town of Nipigon, Ont., to teach. She also began to write for two newspapers in Thunder Bay and a weekly in Nipigon, often taking photos to accompany her stories. Viewing her role as that of a freelance reporter/ historian, Glena’s been covering the local scene since 1964. Read one of her latest in Cause for Applause on page 18 —about an inspired quilting project in support of a local Legion hall and the dedicated, multi-talented woman leading it.

JOHN CHALMERS

John, a retired educator, holds B.ED. and M.ED. degrees from the University of Alberta. He has been doing freelance writing and photography all his adult life and is widely published on a variety of topics in Canada, the United States and Mexico. He says a good retirement also involves full-time work and so spent ten years as historian for Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame; read his story A Hurricane to Remember about the restoration of a classic World War II fighter plane on page 20. John and his wife, Linda, have travelled extensively around the world; they live in Edmonton but spend their winters in Mexico. The couple have two daughters, two sons-in-law and four grandsons.

CAROLYN MELDRUM

Carolyn is a travel enthusiast, blogger, photographer and proud Canadian from Cornwall, Ont. After visiting numerous countries around the world, she and her husband, David, decided to explore their own backyard when they travelled across western Canada on a 32-day RV adventure, which you can read about in Our Travels on page 24. David was at the wheel for every kilometre of the journey, and Carolyn photographed the scenery they encountered and wrote in her blog, The Roving Redhead, every day as she sat in the passenger seat. She also kept David fed and watered as he drove!

DEAN WHITFORD

Dean was born and raised in Alberta and still currently resides in that province in the city of Spruce Grove. Dean makes his living as a data analytics program manager by day and, when not working, is busy being a dad, playing hockey and trying to write from time to time. One example of Dean’s writing talent is the heartwarming story My Dogs Chose Me featured on page 40 of this issue. Dean says the small amount of time he has left for reading is usually spent on fantasy novels, with Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson being two of his favourite authors. You can read Dean’s business articles on Linkedin.