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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - "I like what I do," said John Gon, speaking from his home and office at First North Productions.

Gon, a member of the Tlicho First Nations, started First North, a company that provides multimedia services, four years ago.

John Gon, left, owner of First North Production, received an award honoring his business from Raymond St-Arnaud of the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation last December. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

While he's been through a number of jobs and experiences on his way to opening his business, Gon has been driven by a love of multimedia from a young age.

"I've been interested in broadcasting and journalism for years and years," said Gon, who graduated high school in 1985.

He began training as a journalist at CKLB shortly afterward. Then he went to work for the CBC reading the news, reporting and producing documentaries until 1995.

One of the more memorable documentaries he did, he said, was on a girl born to a family with a history of Retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disorder leading to progressive sight loss.

But while he said he was enjoying his work, one piece of the puzzle in his professional life was still missing.

"I didn't officially have a journalism degree so I went back to school at Humber College," he said, spending the next three years at the Toronto institution.

Then came a sudden and surprising turnabout in Gon's life.

He decided to jump ship and work for what's commonly known in the journalism industry as 'the other side' - communications.

"Well, you know, everybody works for the government," said Gon, laughing.

He grew to dislike his job as a communications co-ordinator quickly, yearning to return to documentary film-making.

"I didn't enjoy the government people," he said nervously. "(The job) was limited. They have all these policies you have to follow. A lot of red tape."

But as so often happens in life, Gon didn't exactly go about chasing his dream but compromised, quitting the government and opening First North - a medley of communications and journalism.

At First North, Gon provides video and audio services for clients, hooking up sound systems for meetings and creating Power Point presentation and other multimedia shows for government, private sector organizations and mining companies.

Sometimes it requires him to make use of his old skills, filming footage in the field.

"I like my job," he said.

In May, Gon provided translation services for a convention held by the Public Service Alliance of Canada in Yellowknife.

Kim Bailey, assistant to the alliance's vice president, said she was impressed with the job Gon's company did.

"Everybody wore headphones and the (mostly Inuit) translation was sent simultaneously," said Bailey.

Gon's work has recently paid off. Last December, he won the Aboriginal Business of the Year award from the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation.