Inuvik (Mar 03/03) - He has an interesting surname and a big title, but Vince Schlachter is just an ordinary Southern guy who fell in love with the North.

At the ripe young age of 21, Schlachter moved from the Edmonton area to Tuktoyaktuk with his stepfather in 1985. He first worked as a cook's helper at a bush camp near Tuktoyaktuk. "It was my first job and the opportunity was here -- the money."

Schlachter spent seven years in Tuk and worked at a variety of different jobs in Inuvik. In 1995 he was hired as the town's director of finance, a job he gave up last month to become New North Networks' chief financial officer. He has now made Inuvik his home.

"Inuvik is a great place to be. If you're okay with eight months of winter and a lack of certain items being on the shelf, Inuvik is a pretty good place.

"And the people are great. There is a real sense of community and I really like the small town atmosphere," he said.

Schlachter spends most of his valuable free time with his three young daughters, Kayla, 10, Meghan, 6, and Katherine, 4. In the summer he and his wife, Sandra, usually take them out on Campbell or Airport Lake in his 18.5-foot speedboat.

"They are really good kids. They really aren't much of a handful.

"So usually we'll dock at the boat launch, go down the river and usually have a picnic, throw a line in the water and after a few hours they've usually had enough," he chuckled.

In the midnight sun Schlachter fishes all through the night sometimes. And once a year he makes a special boating trip out to Ya Ya Lakes near Tuktoyaktuk.

"It's very cool out there," he said.