Spring Creek’s Site Supervisor has worn many hats throughout his life.
As a construction site supervisor, Pete Fordham joined the Spring Creek team in spring 2017. But he owes his fortuitous relocation to the Bow Valley to a group of Kiwis he met travelling to Canada in 1987.
Having just finished a degree in accounting at the University of New England in Australia’s high country, Pete says he chose a 12-month student work visa in Canada over a six-week summer holiday visa in the U.S. The upcoming winter Olympics also enticed him to visit Western Canada.
“They said come with us, let’s go to Banff,” he says. “I was hesitant because I wasn’t a skier, but they told me there would be tons of work.”
He ended up in Lake Louise working in the hospitality industry, where he met and married his wife Paulie and they “had a few kids” – Matthew and Eamon. Pete was working as a restaurant manager when they moved down valley to
Canmore in 2000. He saw an opportunity to work as a hiking guide, which offered employment in the summer & winter months. Construction work began to fill up the off-season, beginning with framing. Development in Canmore was on the upswing and construction soon became a full-time job, including owning his own company.
“I was fortunate to be involved in all kinds of construction processes,” he says. “That was the learning to give me the knowledge base to join Spring Creek as a site super.”
In 2013, Pete was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He feels lucky that it hasn’t affected his life, but one of the best things he can do for his health is to stay active.
He started a 200-day fitness challenge to raise money for MS research in 2015. It wasn’t difficult for him to find things to do in the mountains to stay active as an avid hiker, biker, and climber. Instead of hearing him brag of his adventures, like bike packing, you’re likely to find him sharing his knowledge, insight, and encouragement to help others do it too.
Nevil Stow, Spring Creek’s client care superhero, counts himself blessed to know Pete as a friend and co-worker.
“Pete occasionally gets up to some pretty crazy exploits, but he won’t brag about it and if he does talk about it, it would be with a sense of humility. And a sense of encouragement,” Nevil says.
“One of the pillars that makes up Pete as a friend and it is very reflective in work, is how he treats people,” Nevil adds. “It is a fairness; it is a base level fairness across the board. Everybody has a job to do, and it really is a question of treating people on a fair and even keel right across the spectrum.”
THE PATH TO CANMORE
“We came to Canmore in 2000. We were living in a trailer court in Lake Louise and they were trying to get rid of it. We were being proactive and didn’t want a knock on the door – ‘Oh, by the way, you have six months.’ Canmore had more to offer, I felt, than Golden.”
THE PULL OF CANMORE
“I think the reason why I have stayed in this valley is that I have been fortunate the people I have hung around have been very much into mountain activities. Over the years, I have been fortunate to do quite a few activities. Biking was only something I took up in 2014, I was slow on the uptake, but since I started biking, I have created new friendships & endless adventures.”
THE PATH TO SPRING CREEK
“I watched the papers for a bit and kept an eye out. They were at a big development stage. There was Creekstone Mountain Lodge on the go. There was the Malcolm Hotel on the go, Creekstone Villas and River’s Bend out at Dead Man’s on the go. They desperately needed a site super. I think it may have even been Nevil who gave me the tip that Spring Creek is hiring. I put a resumé in and got the job.”
THE PULL OF SPRING CREEK
“It is a good crew to work with; you feel like you are working with people. I was impressed by the fact Frank has always known my first name, although he doesn’t really know me. It is not just ‘hello.’ It has always been ‘Peter,’ right from day one. That struck me as above and beyond what some other bigger outfits might be like. It’s steady work and it’s close to home. And I have had a lot of fun doing some really miserable jobs with great guys to joke and laugh about.”
