When the leaders of our church sat down to craft our vision statement they all agreed that one area we need to focus on is living out the truth of Christ in our work place. We believe that our vocation, whether it is heading up a household or working in an office tower, is a gift from God in which he has called us to be a blessing.
So this Sunday as we conclude our mission month Don Simmonds, former CEO of AirIQ and Crossroads Christian Communications, will be sharing his experience as a Christian in the world of business. His text is Philemon 1:1-7.
Please be in prayer for our worship together. Pray that the truth that we learn on Sunday will be a reality in our lives on Monday. Ask God that our mission focus will not just be a month in the year but a daily commitment to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Pray for Don and ask God to speak to him as he prepares and as he delivers God’s message to us.
Our guest speaker – Don Simmonds
Don is best known as a serial entrepreneur having been involved in starting more than 30 business ventures. He currently oversees the Blyth Group, the Simmonds family office.
Don serves as the Chancellor of Crandall University, a Christian liberal arts university in Moncton, New Brunswick; is a board member of a TSX publicly traded company; participates on the International Advisory Board of Unashamedly Ethical; a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee medal; and in 2008 was inducted into the Canadian Telecommunications Hall of Fame. He has held Executive positions in entities spanning renewable energy, technology, telecommunications, financial services, agriculture and media.
In 1977, Don began his management career as a founding partner of The Lenbrook Group, a private business incubation company known for having created Clearnet, one of Canada’s 3 wireless networks which was sold to Telus in 2001. He also founded AirIQ, a company that pioneered the wireless GPS tracking industry, providing remote location and control of vehicle fleets and marine vessels throughout North America. While serving as CEO, AirIQ was recognized as one of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies.
More recently, Don was the Chairman and CEO of Crossroads Christian Communications, where he helped re-imagine how messages of faith and values can be incorporated into our modern, digital media.
Don and his wife Fay live in Uxbridge where they met in high school. They have been married for 43 years have 4 adult children and 3 grandchildren. Don is the head coach of the Uxbridge Secondary School Tigers, having coached hockey in Uxbridge for 30 years.
With thanksgiving for you, Pastor Tom.