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Arts student finds niche in North

When he graduated in 2008 from Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, Jerimy Earl had a fairly good idea of the challenges he was about to face.
Jerimy Earl
Kelly Road graduate Jerimy Earl tried life in the big city but the north drew him back and he now lives and works in Dawson Creek.

When he graduated in 2008 from Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, Jerimy Earl had a fairly good idea of the challenges he was about to face.

"I graduated when the global economy was collapsing with an arts degree, which was in retrospect not the best time," he said with a chuckle.

Fast forward seven years and Earl is now thriving as the Director of Corporate Partnerships at Dawson Creek's premier centre for events. He is a community leader as well, serving as president of the Dawson Creek Chamber of Commerce for the past three years, and as a board member for four.

He didn't see himself in this position when he started university.

He took a year off after graduating from Kelly Road secondary school in Prince George to "kick around" Calgary and Whitehorse, the latter of which was where he started his university career before transferring to TRU in Kamloops.

While in school he sought out practical administrative experience as a librarian, tutored at the university's writing centre and all the while, honed his own writing skills by majoring in English with a focus on professional writing.

He keep his head down and his options open and despite getting dumped into the 'real world' at a time of global economic collapse, he landed on his feet. But not before giving it a go down south, living in Burnaby for two years and working odd jobs.

"I think I was better situated than a lot of people I graduated with," Earl said. "I mean arts is weird now compared to how it was 20 years ago [when] it was kind of a guaranteed foot-in-the-door. That was kind of the stepping stool to a career where as now people are looking for more than just a piece of paper.

"I wouldn't have guessed ten years ago that I'd be doing a job like this. It's a cool job. Certainly you get to see parts of concerts ... it's a good vibe and its cool for the community."

Growing up in north (Mackenzie, B.C. to be exact - that's where his parents moved to from Saskatoon when he was six months old), Earl has a particular passion for the work he does at the Encana Events Centre because he says, it sets Dawson Creek apart.

"Just having grown up in the north and not being really a big winter sports guy, actually being into music, I would loved to have had something like this. I think a lot of people maybe that have lived here their whole lives don't appreciate that it's not the norm. A lot of towns don't have this kind of stuff."

Jerimy didn't get to where he is alone. The Chamber of Commerce helped him, and he is happy to pay it forward by helping local businesses as the president of that organization.

When he first moved up to Dawson Creek in the summer of 2010 it was to be close to family. But growing up in Mackenzie made Dawson Creek feel like a place where Earl could be in his element.

If you come to Dawson Creek from another province and your family lives away, or if you are moving up from the Lower Mainland, it can be quite a culture shock adjusting to a northern and mainly rural community, he says. But with another one of his trademark chuckles, he adds "If I wasn't happy I wouldn't have stayed."

Earl's first position in town was as Executive Director of the Dawson Creek Hospital Foundation Board. He got involved with the Chamber of Commerce from there.

"You learn very quickly when you do that kind of [work] that you get back way more than you put in with respect to relationships and knowledge," he said.

Working a job that forces you out and into the community means "you see the different facets of the town," he explained. "You go down to meetings at the Arts Centre, you are at the Events Centre for this and that, you get to see Co-op's fundraiser here, Lakeview's fundraiser there ... you see how all the little component parts of the community compliment each other and interconnect and build this place where people for the most part like to live. I think some of the people moving in here who don't have jobs that put them in touch with people in the community, don't get to appreciate that to the same level that I have."

Part of the challenge of doing business in the north -- something that is true across the board no matter what industry -- is keeping a workforce here that doesn't simply want to fly-in-fly-out, or spend a few years gaining experience before moving on.

"It is kind of a tumultuous professional culture here," he remarked. "It is very hard for people to find the time to volunteer," which makes keeping a stable board of directors at the Chamber of Commerce a tough task.

But despite the city's growth, it maintains that small town feel and that connection to the community which is something that the city can seize on to draw in even more business, Earl thinks. that That small town feel is what keeps him here.

"You can't hit a bank machine without running into three people you know and their cousins," a twenty minute errand can easily turn into a forty minute one because you meet people you know and you start chatting.

"It's a good problem to have, unless you are in a hurry," he said with a laugh.