My calendar notifications shared with me that it was 29 years ago today that Tina and I left Edmonton’s familiarity and headed south to the dreaded city of Calgary, Edmonton’s archrival in all things. Things in the province were very unsettled. Ralph Klien was Priemer, and he and his majority government were making massive budget cuts to the provincial budget.
The economy was in turmoil, and interest rates were high. My fixed-rate mortgage rate in Edmonton was a mere 10%. The provincial government was slated to terminate my employment, but they introduced Tina and me to a hail-mary arrangement. My job could be saved if we were willing to move to Calgary, which only had a small regional office.
At the same time, the company Tina was working for, DRG Globe Envelopes, needed someone in Calgary. We came down for a weekend visit in April 1995 and decided, “What the Hell beats unemployment.” So, after our weekend in Calgary, we went back in and put the move into play. The rest, as they say, is history!
