#009 – In today’s interview with Roger Gillies, we discuss his life-long learning philosophy of educating one’s self far beyond the confines of the four walls of the traditional classroom environment. His curiosity with technology, and the chance opportunities that arrived at his doorstep via his teaching assignment in the Yukon, created the perfect combination for both his curious and creative personalities to flourish in the Website Design space.
After many years of teaching high school band throughout N.W.T. and Yukon, Gillies found his creative niche in what was to be the very beginnings of the electronic keyboard and computer technology era. As an early adopter of technology, willing to spend countless hours researching and perfecting code, he quickly allied himself with Skills Canada Yukon as a web-design coach. This relationship lasted many years and afforded him the opportunity to travel with his students to compete throughout Canada and internationally in the World-Skills Competition.
As a retirement “side hustle," Gillies remains as active as ever with his website design business called First Contact Design, where he creates websites, streamlines businesses existing webpages, and assists in branding and search engine optimization throughout the globe for a wide variety of clients.
First on the scene long before podcasting became “a thing," Gillies hosted The Deranged Moose” podcast which quickly gained its gangly legs (pun intended) and took off on the local and international scene. I’m delighted to pick up the reigns of his Deranged Moose and to bring some memorable Yukon moments to life on the M.A.Y.L. podcast, by featuring guests and their amazing Yukon life adventures.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen