By: Gayle Dendinger Issue: Sports Section:Inspirations
A Lesson in Continued Growth and Perseverance
Dale Eisler – Consul General of Canada
Everyday I am reminded of personal ingenuity and the will of people. A sincere uncontrived desire people have to push themselves to their limits, to better themselves and those around them. We are all people with faults and hidden scars but at the end of the day it is what we do for others that brings out the one innate human quality that constantly perseveres - goodness.
ICOSA is a team. We are constantly changing issues and meeting new players in a quest for knowledge, connection and collaboration. We seek players who inspire us with their vision and take our team to the next level.
So when we decided to focus this issue on sports I tried to think of a leader who inspired me. A key player not only out on the field, but on the frontlines in the game of life. Someone who spends their days to better themselves and those around them. The person who came to mind might seem like one of the most unlikely of players for this issue but is an inspiration nonetheless. That person is Dale Eisler.
Dale Eisler’s life and career is a juxtaposition of sorts. He is a leader but he is also a servant. Whether he has chosen this life or it has chosen him, his placement between the two is where he resides. His position reminds me of a story a member of my staff recounted to me about a group of elementary school children trying to understand the idea of eternal reward. They were reading a morality piece which said, “Whoever wants to be first, he must take last and be the servant of all." The kids couldn’t understand how being last could be fulfilling, or how living life as a servant, devoting time and service to others, could bring true greatness wrought in humility. The kind of humility learned over time, and brought about through wisdom and experience.
But experience is a funny thing, if you don’t understand how to use it for good it is a waste of time spent on fruitless hours of learning for the benefit of no one, and what good is that? If you can use your experience to benefit the whole you are a wealth to society, a key player. To understand Dale and his experience as a leader, you have to first understand Dale as a servant. He’s spent most of his life writing about politics, policy and government as it pertains to his endless devotion to the province of Saskatchewan, its people and its way of life.
He’s lectured at his Alma mater, the University of Saskatchewan, bringing his experience back to students at the same school that ushered him into the life he now leads. He has written for the local Saskatchewan newspapers as a voice for the people of the region. Dale’s also written books that have instilled political vigor in the province and inspired an understanding into the history of its past, not only as Saskatchewan’s but as Canadians. His writing’s have used politics as a motivation for the people. He knew that to be a public servant you needed to inspire a community to dream that the policies to be laid out before them were something that they could believe in.
Dale’s always been at the core of anything Canadian. His sense of pride for the people, the province and the country is incredible. I truly believe the second half of Dale’s life was born out of his love for his country and the idea of its true potential. When he was hired to occupy communication spots within the highest levels of the Canadian government, he once again became a public servant. Except this go round was much different then his day’s writing of politics and myths. For the first time Dale got a chance to root himself into the one government he knew so much about.
It was shortly after he was hired that Canada established an on-going effort to grow the nation; innovating Canada to be one of the world’s best through, knowledge, technological skill, financial growth, positive labor trends and immigration.
A list that could be daunting to some countries but not to Dale and not to Canada; it’s a program being taught and accepted daily by the people. It is a blue print economic and social model that if implemented correctly, could prove to be an ostentatious advantage to the Canadian people. I believe it is a blueprint that could be studied and replicated.
I am awed by Canada’s sense of pride and determination. It is incredible. The effort they are exuding to be a competitor and collaborator on the world stage is motivating. Even while being an ally to the United States and our number one trading partner, Canada’s sheer ability to gain autonomy throughout the world, and setting precedents for the Western hemisphere is noble. It is indicative of the nature of the people to stand behind a government who supports its people and rallies behind their well-being.
As the appointed Counsel General of the region, Dale is granted the privilege of helping the Canadian government team up with local U.S. businesses like ICOSA and some of our partners to bring assistance to the war theater of Afghanistan, to once again serve the people of Canada and further relationships within the U.S and to set in motion a sustainable regional relationship that can be replicated across the country.
Dale consistently works hard for his citizens. Whatever team Dale plays on, he plays to win. He motivates his team with the hopes of winning and attaining a final goal, a goal that will ultimately better everyone. Whether you have worked with Dale directly, or been a part of a team where he has served, you know this man is not just a mere servant to the people - he is their confidant, their friend and their leader.