HAY RIVER - Mansell Grey says he's never had a drink in Hay River, and that may be part of the reason he's come to call the town home.

"Sobriety, as far as I'm concerned, is a gift from God," he said. "The best thing you can be is an example."

After struggling with his own addiction, Grey came to the North to work with alcohol treatment programs in various communities and reserves. He said he hasn't had a drink in more than 35 years and he's helped countless other individuals confront their own dependencies.

"People had respect for me. I had to be tough with them," he said. "It was certainly my profession, so to speak."

He continues to be very involved in Alcoholics Anonymous, attending an average of four meetings a week. Grey said sobriety isn't something people can ever take for granted, even after decades.

"I like working with new people, I know how hard it is. I never turn anyone away," he said. "If you catch them at the right point, when they're sick enough, you might succeed."

The 84 year old now lives in Riverview Lodge, but for years he worked for Rowe's Construction driving a shuttle in Hay River.

"I fell in love with it right away, it's beautiful," he recalls of his first trip to the town. "It's the land of my childhood."

But Grey didn't start out in Hay River, and it took years for him to find it. He grew up in Stewart, B.C., which he describes as a gold mine town where one could ski in September. He moved to Vancouver and signed up for the Air Force the day he turned 18. Instead of becoming a pilot, he ended up a sailor.

"Not many can claim that," he joked.

Grey married and had four daughters and one son. He had a successful construction company but fell into rough times as he struggled with alcoholism.

"I was living on skid row in Vancouver ... I'm lucky I'm not still in jail," he says. "Those things happen, they're not easy to get over."

Get over them Grey did, and he became a well-known part of the Hay River community.

He served on town council for three years and, in the 1993 federal election, ran for the Reform Party in the Western Arctic riding. Grey earned 2,000 votes but came in second to Liberal Ethel Blondin-Andrew, who held the seat for 18 years.

Mansell's political drive may have come in part from his daughter. Deb Grey was elected the Reform Party's first Member of Parliament in 1989. She held her seat through the next four elections, staying in Parliament for more than 15 years and becoming the first female leader of the official opposition in 2000.

"When she was elected, the only thing I told her, do your homework. Know what you're going to say," said Grey.

"I watched Deb on TV every day ... I wouldn't want to be tackled by her, she did her homework."

Grey's three daughters, Alexis (Skip) Celona, Alison O'Connor and Deb flew up to visit him for the weekend on Oct. 2.

The family and around 60 people celebrated Grey's 35 years of sobriety and his contribution to the Alcoholics Anonymous community at a potluck dinner. It was the first time his daughters had been to a meeting with him.

It was also the first time the three women visited Hay River. "It was wonderful," Grey said of the visit.

Deb Grey said she enjoyed the chance to catch up with her father and sisters.

"He's been here so long, he's a part of the fabric of the town," she said.