Rick was born in Montreal, Canada, graduated from McGill University, and received his Master’s degree at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. His wife, Jane, also grew up in Montreal. They have three daughters between the ages of 19 and 25 who have caught the travel bug from their parents and have experienced quite a bit of international travel.
His first job was with the organizing committee for the 1983 World University Games, which included international travel. He then was in the marketing department of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Canada’s largest annual summer festival.
In 1986 he joined Labatt Breweries of Canada and for 10 years held senior marketing and sales positions, becoming Director of Marketing. In 1995 he started his own marketing services agency business, The Hive Strategic Marketing, Inc. The company has been chosen as the top 10 agencies in Canada for three of the last six years.
As a boy of 10, the world’s fair (Expo 67) in Montreal ignited a real curiosity and keen desire to see first hand the countries that were represented. He also had a grandmother, a famous Canadian painter, who traveled widely and returned home with exotic presents.
During a 10-country business trip, he learned about TCC from a fellow traveler waiting in the Swiss Air lounge in Mumbai. Rick’s count was only 37 countries at that time. For the next 20 years he opportunistically looked to add to his total via business trips and personal/family travel. First a Provisional TCC member, he became a full member in 2010, and soon after he received Board approval to launch a TCC chapter for Canada.
He is an avid runner and has participated in marathons. Rick played football for 14 years so Canadian and American football are of interest. He’s a devoted member of the International Winston Churchill Society.
