John Redenbach is running in the School District 53 by-election to be a trustee for Osoyoos. (Contributed photo)
My name is John Redenbach and I believe I am a good candidate for school trustee as I would be an unwavering voice of support for our community revolving around education and in particular keeping our schools in place and protected here in Osoyoos.
I have a track record of fighting for our kids through grassroots and lobbying our government, including what I would consider a pivotal email chain with Linda Larson last May where I cornered her on her position and shortly afterward she flip-flopped to where she is now. (See SOS Facebook page to view email chain)
In the future I would like to foster programs in our curriculum that would bolster trades, agriculture and tourism, providing students with the ability to learn and experience first hand the diverse, complex and unique economy we share here in the South Okanagan.
And hopefully instill in them the desire to set their roots right here, where their business ideas, intellect and hard work can be harnessed into a lifetime of opportunity, at home.
With an ambitious and thriving base of blue collars, which I would consider myself, being an electrician, will draw other students home who choose higher education to better themselves and be proud to return as doctors, therapists, teachers, lawyers etc. to play part in our diverse and changing economic engine.
The endless beauty our valley has is the envy of all who visit and dream of being able to live here. The dream of working and living right here in paradise and for this to be tangible and worth working towards maybe even fighting for, when threatened.
I was raised in Osoyoos since I was 12. I graduated at OSS and moved away to tackle the world. I attended what you might call the school of hard knocks.
I attended OUC in Kelowna dropping out after nine months to run a painting business in Vancouver.
Next I was a steel factory worker, then a financial planner and eventually worked in software. I had whirlwind of experiences including losing my shirt in financials during the 1999 NASDAQ crash. After building a personal net worth of roughly 150k at 24, I ended up 40K in debt.
This loss God smacked me … I went from a bit of a roller to driving tow truck in Vancouver and selling cars in Penticton.
I had pursued and put money first in my life since I could remember and this is where my smarts had taken me.
God said … What are you gonna do now? You have nothing. And I didn’t. Two Christmases making presents for loved ones, as I was broke.
Finally a good friend introduced me to a software company that needed a salesman in Vancouver. I got the job and eventually made partner taking our company from a hole in the wall to a prestigious downtown office building overlooking the ocean and finally being bought out by a group of investors.
I had turned my life to the Lord and haven’t looked back.
I moved to Osoyoos, met a beautiful girl, and began raising a family. A family I couldn’t be more proud of. Two older girls and a boy. Ten, five and one.
Currently I am a journeyman foreman electrician working construction at a Suncor site.
Over the past eight years I have been working out of town for four of them, working two weeks on, two weeks off or 14/7 schedule. And the other four years, I have been home developing our business BCVPM.com and working on rental property we own over three provinces.
The only reason I may not be the absolute best choice for this position is due to my schedule.
We have a diverse and changing economic engine we need to protect and build upon.
I consider myself an integral part of this engine and am proud to live here and call Osoyoos home. If you put me in a position to represent our kids, I will use every ounce of myself and my unwavering love for our town to facilitate to our community a transparent and effective member of our school board that you can count on.
John Redenbach is a candidate for school trustee to represent Osoyoos and Regional District A on the board of School District 53 in the Nov. 5 by-election.
JOHN REDENBACH
Special to the Times
