Dave gets a hungry stare from one of his horses, while he feeds his pet llama, Lilly. Continued from page 3 “Thad every kind of animal you could keep in that environment,” he says, then adds with a laugh: “When. everyone else in my age group was buying motorcycles, I bought a horse!” He funded his acquisition with a pair of teenage jobs $cuGOG KITCHEN DESIGN in. hitchens designed with you iw mind... 180 Mary St., Port Perry * 905-985-9506 www.scugogkitchendesign.com 4 FOCUS - JANUARY 2014 which displayed growing manual skill. ‘My grandfather was a mason, and I helped him. That did interest me, but not as my life’s work. I also spent a number of years as part of, then leading, the maintenance crew at a local grocery store. That taught me ‘how things went together.” Equine ownership ueately but unexpectedly, pointed him to his true callin; “I was looking for a place to board my horse, and found a mentor,” he explains. “He said I had natural tal- ent with and encouraged me to pursue that line of study.” The instinct quickly proved to be sound. And for five summers following, Dave supplemented his formal edu- cation with practical experience at a dairy farm. “The farmer encouraged me to come to work for him full-time, but I had other interests which took centre stage. “The church had always been important to me, and I was drawn to missionary work. Guelph University had an association with a university in Ghana, so I started on fear —— Confidence! The oney ounsellor lea 8 ict} making money simple Janet Ries, RSSW * 905.442.8801 Port Perry & Durham Region nh 11 J