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scrawfordbit's profile Stuart R. Crawford / Male / Member since February 2009 / Last seen 2 months ago

I struggled with what to write on this page, for many years I stood on my mountain pumping my chest like Tarzan, now I know that Tarzan didn’t live on mountains, but none the less, that is what I did. Sure I have a great list of accomplishments in the 11 years since I retired from the Canadian military that would impress any CEO looking to hire a young gun. But that is not what I am about anymore.

I have looked in the mirror and decided one day that I didn’t like who I became, maybe I morphed into this person that everyone wanted me to be however I was not happy with whom I became. This is when I realized that am I no longer fooling myself that I am in charge of my destiny and that God has much different plans for me. In 2007, some of my closest friends rescued me from the edge and saved me. They were just acting for a much higher power.

I lived a “rock star” life. I had superficial friends that only wanted me to hang with them because of my expense account, I drank (boy did I drink), I even went to point of putting a lot of unnecessary stress on my family. You know, living separate lives will eventually catch up with you, and that is what happened to me. My wake call happened in May of 2007.

Today, I am a devoted Christian (yeah, I know what you are thinking and that is OK), a husband to the best woman in the world, a father of two great teenage boys and a leader in the Calgary business community and the worldwide small business IT family. Simply because it is the right thing to do and because I love to help people.

Now, I just do what I do for the love of it. I love to see small business succeed and know that those that I work with or that I am friends with play a role in that success. I have a real passion for helping other IT partners win in this marketplace. You see that nice thing about being on the other side of the coin, I can easily relate and hope that I can help my friends in the industry avoid the same pitfalls that I once lived.

Today, I am in the middle of winding down my 7 1/2 years with IT Matters and looking forward to what the next step in my career is and how I can continue my passion of helping small business win with the right technology solutions. It is really about providing them the right information so they can make educated decisions and realize the true potential that is in their business.

I also volunteer a number of hours and work with a great team on the board of the IAMCP Canada Chapter. it was my calling this year to sit as their President, and the interaction that I have with our members is great. It is sure nice to see our members explode the growth of their firms.

The last thing that I help with is my peer groups, I facilitate HTG Canada, the 10th group in the Heartland Technology Groups. HTG brings me a completeness in my life. I have another opportunity to give back to the community that I love and I have learned so much from over the years.

Outside of all this, I invest some time locally working with entrepreneurs in and around Calgary. My good friends, David West, David Cree and I facilitate the Calgary Entrepreneurs Meetup Group which holds monthly meetings in Canada and Special Interest Groups. I also lead the Calgary Christian Business Club, a networking and business club for us that see more than simply profits and losses in business, but we see that we have a cause for being here.

I have a great family, starting with my lovely bride Janet and my two handsome and special boys. Without these cornerstones in my life, well let me say…I would still be living pre May 2007.