JE Anderson

Boom times in the construction industry can be a mixed blessing:  everybody is busy and we hire staff to meet the demand, but work space can get cramped, and there’s no time to work on a solution to the space problem.  Finally, with the work load back to normal, we have been able to plan the expansion to our Glanford office that we’ve needed for years.

Jeff Tomlinson, Manager of Engineering at the Nanaimo office, says about the Victoria expansion, ” [It] will create desperately needed office space which will allow for better work spaces and additional space for increasing our technical staff. The office was never meant to have as many people as it has over the past 7 years due to the increase in business.”

We started the expansion in March, and it is due for completion this summer.

At J.E. Anderson we’ve long believed in supporting the communities where we live, whether it is through sponsoring local sports teams, working with service organizations or putting resources toward a good cause.  So when Lori Baxter, one of our Victoria technicians, told us that she and her husband were moving to a small community in Belize to “grow tomatoes and run a local bookstore”, we decided to send with them a parting gift in the form of a donation for their new community.

We put the word out amongst the J.E. Anderson staff and before long we started collecting a large amount of sports equipment.  Soccer balls, baseball gloves, bats and balls, and more equipment came together, for Lori and her husband to put in a container with their own household items. They made it to Belize safely last November, and the sports equipment has found its way into the hands and homes of the people in their new town.

Lori’s talents will be missed, but we’re glad to send her to her new home with a spirit of generosity and community!

Our Victoria office has a new Senior Engineer!

Ross Tuck, P.Eng., began working with us December 7th, and brings both professional expertise and local knowledge to J.E. Anderson.  Another “Island boy”, Ross attended Glenlyon-Norfolk School, and left Victoria to attend Ohio State University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) in 1996.  Following his education, he returned to Victoria, and 14 years later, he has excellent experience in civil engineering projects around the region, and a desire to start mentoring junior staff at JEA.

Ross is looking forward to continuing work on municipal engineering projects, and to representing JEA at local industry association meetings, which he finds important both for networking and for continuing professional development.  He says that he gets a sense of satisfaction any time he can bring about a solution to a problem, whether it’s for a client or for one of the junior staff.

In addition to working on municipal projects and mentoring at work, Ross is a devoted father, and loves to spend as much time with family and his two children as he can.

We are glad to have you on the team, Ross!

To the average Canadian, when the ink is dry on a First Nation land claims settlement, that is the end of it.  It is no longer news.  But for BC Land Surveyor Ken Kyler and his crew, it is what comes next that makes a land surveyor’s life interesting.

Kyler is with JE Anderson & Associates, a surveying and engineering firm with offices in Victoria, Nanaimo and Parksville, British Columbia.  They won the contract from Natural Resources Canada to head to Vancouver Island’s remote north-west coast to undertake the legal survey of 23 existing Indian Reserves that will be deeded to the Kyuquot Checkleset First Nation (KCFN) as part of the first land claim to be settled on Vancouver Island.

His survey team included Party Chiefs Holland Vieaux & Rob Leiper, survey assistants Dan Meutzner & Jake Augustine and a young apprentice from Kyuquot, James (J.R.) Short.

Jeff Tomlinson & Ken Kyler came up with the idea of involving the whole Village of Kyuquot in placing a ceremonial survey post to replace an old Dominion Land Survey post explained Kyler.

The distinctive new brass cap boasts the engraved KCFN logos and the works “KCFN LEGAL SURVEY” where the Crown and provincial name are usually found.

September 15, 2010 representatives from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation negotiations teams flew in for the ceremony to meet many of the individuals they had worked with on this historic agreement in their home territory.

Kyler and his crew feel very privileged to have walked these traditional lands with village elders.

“We heard many bits of their history and culture, and of their younger days when they lived on some of the more remote reserves.  We surveyed in areas of spectacular scenery, and during our many trips in the water taxis, operators Leo Jack and Peter Hanson entertained us with their knowledge of the area.  A special moment was during the survey of the remote Hub-Toul Reserve where young J.R., for the first time, was able to visit his father’s grave site”.