Fort Smith (Jul 03/06) - Mike Keizer is living his dream in Fort Smith.

Keizer, the communications and visitor services manager with Wood Buffalo National Park, says he hoped to work for Parks Canada when he was growing up.

"I always thought Parks Canada was the coolest place," he says.

Keizer attributes that belief to exploring parks and historic sites in Nova Scotia, where he grew up after his navy family moved from B.C. when he was an infant. In fact, he took a pay cut about eight years ago to move from human resources to communications at Wood Buffalo.

The change was simply following his dream, Keizer says, explaining he always wanted to work with people in the community and tourists from all over the world.

Keizer, 43, has been a federal public servant for almost 21 years. When he graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in physical geography in 1984, he unsuccessfully applied for positions at parks across Canada.

Eventually, he became a human resources officer with the then Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, but transferred to Parks Canada 15 years ago in Ontario. About 13 years ago, he moved to Fort Smith to work in human resources with Parks Canada with responsibility for the NWT and Nunavut, before moving into communications.

"I'm actually applying my degree in a very practical sense for the first time in my career," he says, noting a national park is like one big laboratory for a geographer.

Keizer notes he can also get to know many of the tourists at Wood Buffalo, since the park attracts only about 1,000 out-of-town visitors each year.

The number of visitors will hopefully grow over the next 10 years as new strategies for tourism are developed, he says.

"I plan to be around to help implement them."

Keizer says he and his family - his wife, Ann, and their two teenage children - love Fort Smith.

"Fort Smith has been very, very good to us," he says.

Keizer has also given back to the community, where he is chair of the tourism advisory board, vice-chair of Northern Life Museum, and a volunteer in many activities.

"My Mom and Dad always taught me you have to give back," he says. "The big motivation is I feel I owe Fort Smith something."

Keizer says he loves the small-town atmosphere of Fort Smith, especially the fact there are no traffic lights, plus the community's cross-cultural mix of people and natural wonders like the Slave River rapids and pelicans.