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I was born in Port Arthur, Ontario and grew up across Western Canada.  My family lived in Sudbury and Port Arthur (Ontario); in Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) and in Cold Lake and Edmonton (Alberta) before coming to BC in 1974.

I graduated from North Delta Senior Secondary in 1976, and attended BCIT in Burnaby, graduating in 1979 from Building Technology (Architectural Major).

After graduation, I worked at Armour Blewett & Partners, Architects and at Waisman Dewar Grout Carter in Vancouver.  I then worked at Tree House Design in White Rock.  In 1987, I joined Canwest Consulting in Burnaby, progressing to lead draftsman for several large multi-family projects in the Lower Mainland.   I also spent 6 months on-site in Salmon Arm as Construction Manager for an Abattoir.

In 1990, I joined Abbey Systems, a local steel building contractor, as their Design and Project manager.  During my time, the company changed from being a Steel Building Representative to a manufacturer. We would design and detail all steel in-house, source the material supply and fabrication locally, then supply and install the complete building for the Owner. 

Since 1998, I have worked for local steel detailing companies.  When I started, there were still manual drawing boards in the drafting office. Now, at Dowco, I have the opportunity to use the latest 3-D modeling software in the world.  How times have changed! 

I have been married for 27 years to Barb and we have 3 children: Robert (26), David (23) and Jessica (18).  Robert works at Superstore in Abbotsford, David is completing his degree in Psychology at Kwantlen University and Jessica is in her first year at UBC.  Barb is the Exhibitor Relations and Special Events Manager for the British Columbia Landscape and Nursery Association in Cloverdale.  My hobbies include taking our Cairn terrier, Coco, for a walk and working on my model railroad.

Jamie Nelson, AScT