Andrew Gower

Andrew Gower - Production Manager, ETA

Dad all the time, civil engineer by day, community activist by night, adventure sports enthusiast on the weekends, musician every Tuesday and an aspiring freelance writer! Sometimes I am not sure how I have time for it all, but serving in the Canadian Army for 11 years taught me a thing or two about time management. Currently, I am professionally employed as a partner and the local branch manager of Wedler Engineering LLP. What do I actually do there? Well, every time you interact with water in your life, whether to drink it, flush it, or watch it flow into a storm drain, you should thank a civil engineer. My community activism is channelled through Imagine Comox Valley, where we have focused on true activism with events like Car Free Sunday and TEDxComoxValley. My writing outlet is mainly through my blog at citizenclass.ca. Be warned, content is occasionally alarming and the photos are often mediocre…

Website  URL
http://www.citizenclass.ca

Your thoughts on the Arts
What the Arts mean in my life/To my company?
Inspiration. Without arts, how do you express your dreams? How can you convey your fears, your hopes? Arts can bring people from vastly different backgrounds together. Arts can act as an outlet for your deepest, darkest emotions or your brightest, most inspirational passion. My personal outlet is music. I sing, I play, I write. Without arts, I feel incomplete.

How are you involved in the arts in the Valley?
Aside from playing live music, I mainly contribute through volunteering and the occasional purchase from local artists. I have volunteered at the Vancouver Island Music Festival as both stage crew and as a stage manager. I also volunteered at the inaugural FolkWest music festival in Victoria last year as a stage manager, and I somehow let the team talk me into being the production manager for Elevate the Arts.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbP0XTZZb5E