Resumé
Academic:
- Civil Engineering Degree, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1959.
- Management Certificate, University of Calgary, 1967
- Arts Degree, University of Victoria, 1992.
- Russian language major.
- Extensive courses in writing.
Business:
Gil worked on dam construction in Saskatchewan (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation), designed steel bridges and buildings in Alberta with Dominion Bridge and directed the structural department for Willis, Cunliffe, Tait ' Co. (which later became Delcan), in British Columbia. He created a solar energy firm, Ark Solar Products Ltd., in 1977 and ran it for 8 years, later working in solar energy in Saudi Arabia, then in India for a year. Through Dalvos Pacific Trading, Gil managed a trading and agency representation in Eastern Russia.
Writing:
As a freelance writer, Gil specializes in non-fiction, regularly publishing articles on outdoor adventure, conservation and energy issues, the environment and international issues. His articles on technology have appeared in national magazines. He has written three books.
Gil is past-president of the Victoria School of Writing, a workshop-based event led by experts that happens every summer.
Community:
Gil has held executive positions in the Alpine Club of Canada, the World Federalists of Canada, the Solar Energy Society, Better Business Bureau, Victoria School of Writing and the Sister City Advisory of Victoria. He is Class Secretary, '59 Civil Engineers of U of A, and is an Honorary Citizen of Victoria.
As a member of Harbourside-Victoria Rotary Club for 18 years, in 1988 he organized the first Rotary-Russia exchange visit and facilitated an academic exchange with Tbilisi State University in the former Soviet Georgia in 1990-2. In 1990, he led a 15 climber expedition to the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. Harbourside awarded him a Paul Harris Fellowship for his work introducing Rotary to Russia and educating our citizens about the Russian Far East.
