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A Coffee with Tim Shipton the EVP of the Oilers Entertainment Group · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

• 0:16
  Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome to another edition of the ABA Coffee In The Park.
• 0:21
  My name is Cam Milliken, and I am here with my co-host extraordinaire, Jennifer Herrick, the Executive Director of the Acheson Business Association.
• 0:30
  Good morning, Jennifer.
• 0:31
  Good morning, Cam.
• 0:32
  Well, it's another chilly day out there again today.
• 0:34
  Another Edmonton chilly day.
• 0:35
  It sure is.
• 0:36
  But a great day.
• 0:37
  Well, let's hope the sun shines like it did yesterday.
• 0:39
  Yeah, because you know what?
• 0:40
  I don't care, even if it's minus 30 and the sun's shining, makes it a great day.
• 0:44
  It sure does.
• 0:44
  It really does.
• 0:45
  Hey, and we want to let you know that we are coming to you from the Wall Coffee Roasters in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson.
• 0:53
  That's right.
• 0:54
  So if you hear some noises in the background, coffee machines whirring, people talking, kids screaming, all that kind of stuff, it's because we're here live at the coffee shop.
• 1:03
  And we want to thank Michael for always letting us do our deal here.
• 1:07
  Yes.
• 1:07
  Thank you, Michael, for not kicking us out.
• 1:09
  That's right.
• 1:09
  Because where would we do this podcast?
• 1:11
  We'd have to do it outside and that'd be mighty cold.
• 1:13
  Anyway, Jennifer, tell us about some very important people to this podcast.
• 1:17
  We would like to thank our gold corporate sponsors, which include the Myshak Group of Companies, Genics, Parkland County, and our newest gold corporate sponsor, Bow Valley Credit Union.
• 1:25
  That's right.
• 1:25
  Without them, we would not be able to do what we do.
• 1:28
  Jennifer, anything new we need to talk about on the ABA front?
• 1:32
  Well, there's lots to talk about, Cam, but I'm just so excited to get to our guest.
• 1:37
  Okay.
• 1:38
  Well, then, Jennifer, introduce our guest and let's get going.
• 1:40
  So, our guest today is Mr.
• 1:42
  Tim Shipton, who is the EVP of the OEG Communications and Gaming.
• 1:49
  So, tell us what that means.
• 1:50
  Tell us what your title means.
• 1:51
  I gave a lot of acronyms.
• 1:53
  For who, though?
• 1:53
  That's what I'm saying.
• 1:54
  Yeah.
• 1:55
  Well, first of all, it's nice to be here.
• 1:57
  It's fantastic to be in Acheson, as always.
• 2:01
  Anytime that I get a chance to come to Acheson, I just always marvel at the energy, the growth, the industry that's out here.
• 2:10
  You talk about that Alberta advantage.
• 2:12
  Yeah.
• 2:13
  I mean, we're right in the heart of it.
• 2:15
  So thank you very much for having me here.
• 2:17
  Well, let's talk about the OEG first of all.
• 2:19
  What is OEG?
• 2:20
  Probably the most important part of it is the first, is the O, Oilers, Edmonton Oilers.
• 2:28
  And that's the epicenter of OEG, which is Oilers Entertainment Group.
• 2:32
  Right.
• 2:32
  And so my job, basically what I tell people is they give me all the things that nobody else wants to do because my true title is about a mile long.
• 2:43
  So it's like, hey, let's give it to him.
• 2:47
  Are you one of those guys who has to change your business card like every six months?
• 2:51
  Because you got something to do.
• 2:52
  I know that feeling.
• 2:53
  You're doing something new.
• 2:53
  Or change it based on day of the week.
• 2:55
  Right, right, right.
• 2:56
  It's like, who am I again?
• 2:57
  Yeah, that's right.
• 2:57
  Whatever hat you got to wear that day.
• 3:00
  I guess the short story on it is I would do everything external to the company, let's call it.
• 3:06
  So I've got the corporate communications function, hockey communications, my team work with the players, coaches, management.
• 3:15
  I've got our broadcasts.
• 3:17
  Every time you see the Oilers broadcasts on Sportsnet, my group liaises with the great people at Sportsnet to bring the broadcasts, national broadcasts in the US, TNT, on and on it goes.
• 3:29
  What else do I got?
• 3:30
  I have the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, which is very, very proud to say that it is the most successful community foundation in the National Hockey League.
• 3:41
  A testament, of course, to our fans and the support that they give to the Oilers and the Community Foundation, of course, the world famous 50-50, which has gone to unparalleled.
• 3:52
  That's massive.
• 3:53
  I mean, it's unbelievable.
• 3:55
  You and I have gone to other sporting events around Canada and the US, and nothing compares to the amount raised at an Oilers 50-50.
• 4:03
  It actually amazes me.
• 4:05
  Every time either at the game or watching on TV, that number just keeps going up and up and up and up.
• 4:11
  it's a phenomenon.
• 4:12
  Yeah.
• 4:13
  Yeah, I never win.
• 4:14
  But anyway, you know what, if you don't play, you can't win.
• 4:21
  That's right.
• 4:22
  Now you sound like my mother.
• 4:23
  That's right.
• 4:23
  If you don't play, you don't win, but that's great.
• 4:25
  Yeah.
• 4:26
  Over 100 million invested now by our Community Foundation.
• 4:31
  That really is incredible.
• 4:33
  It all adds up to what the Oilers mean to the community.
• 4:37
  And you oversee all of this.
• 4:38
  And I oversee all of that.
• 4:40
  And I've got the alumni and on and on and on.
• 4:42
  So I've got a lot of really cool things that I get to do day in, day out.
• 4:48
  It certainly keeps me on my toes.
• 4:50
  For sure.
• 4:50
  It's very exciting.
• 4:51
  Okay.
• 4:51
  Okay.
• 4:51
  But let's take it back to the very beginning.
• 4:53
  Let's go to the beginning.
• 4:54
  They're going to start at the beginning.
• 4:55
  Well, not when you were born, but like a little further down the road.
• 4:58
  Maybe, because where was he born?
• 4:59
  Tim, tell us a little bit about yourself, where you were born and where you grew up.
• 5:04
  Sounds good.
• 5:05
  I am a proud Albertan.
• 5:07
  I was born and raised just west of here in a little town called Barrhead.
• 5:12
  Barrhead?
• 5:13
  No way.
• 5:14
  Okay.
• 5:15
  We have relatives all over Barrhead.
• 5:17
  Seriously.
• 5:17
  They're all farmers.
• 5:18
  That's what everybody says.
• 5:20
  Isn't that the truth?
• 5:21
  Everybody says they're from Barrhead.
• 5:22
  Everybody knows somebody from Barrhead.
• 5:24
  This is about wild.
• 5:24
  Yeah.
• 5:25
  Come on.
• 5:26
  Yeah.
• 5:26
  I grew up, my dad he's retired and he was a school teacher and a farmer as well.
• 5:32
  I grew up on a farm just south of Barrhead.
• 5:34
  And I mean, it was, you look back at it when you're younger, when you're a teenager and into high school, you want to get out of the small town.
• 5:44
  Oh yeah.
• 5:44
  We've talked about this.
• 5:46
  You got the world to see.
• 5:48
  That's right.
• 5:49
  And then as you get a little perspective, certainly you get married, you have kids.
• 5:53
  One of the best memories that we have is taking my kids out to the farm.
• 5:59
  For sure.
• 6:00
  The city kids out there, a little bit of freedom, a little bit of adventure.
• 6:04
  So it was a phenomenal place to grow up.
• 6:06
  All right.
• 6:07
  Where did you go to high school?
• 6:08
  Went to high school.
• 6:09
  It was called Lauren Jenkins High School.
• 6:11
  In Barrhead.
• 6:12
  Barrhead Composite high school.
• 6:13
  In Barrhead.
• 6:14
  In Barrhead.
• 6:15
  Yeah.
• 6:15
  Okay.
• 6:16
  Was your dad an elementary or a high school teacher?
• 6:18
  He was a high school teacher.
• 6:20
  So were you in his class and did that cause issues?
• 6:22
  How did that go?
• 6:22
  Yeah.
• 6:23
  Well, I tell you what, I was never in his class because they kind of tried to avoid that if possible.
• 6:30
  Smart move.
• 6:31
  Yeah.
• 6:31
  Smart move.
• 6:32
  I tell you what, the odd time in the hallway when maybe I wasn't on my best behavior, well, who comes walking around the corner?
• 6:42
  That's got to be tough.
• 6:43
  Dads at work, dads at home, dads everywhere.
• 6:46
  Well, and we would have get-togethers, barbecues and whatnot from time to time, and who comes, but all the teachers.
• 6:54
  So if it wasn't him, you knew the info would get there real quick.
• 7:00
  Oh my goodness, I never thought of that.
• 7:01
  I just kind of required you to, you know.
• 7:04
  Always be in your best behavior.
• 7:06
  Exactly.
• 7:06
  Wow.
• 7:07
  Which is a good rule.
• 7:09
  It is.
• 7:10
  I guess it's good, yeah.
• 7:12
  Okay, so high school's done, then you decided what?
• 7:16
  Yeah, high school's done.
• 7:17
  Yeah, I went to U of A.
• 7:21
  It was interesting at the time, I'd actually been accepted to both engineering and also political science.
• 7:29
  Oh, okay.
• 7:30
  Most people would say, well, that's a pretty easy choice.
• 7:33
  But again, my dad, being a social studies teacher, always really imprinted me with that desire to be involved in the community and be involved in what's happening.
• 7:45
  And so at the end of the day, I chose political science.
• 7:48
  It's a political science at the U of A and economics.
• 7:51
  You get a good foundation in the real world, let's call it.
• 7:55
  And I mean, it was a great time at U of A.
• 7:59
  This was kind of the mid-90s.
• 8:01
  I graduated high school in 1993.
• 8:03
  It was a pretty exciting time in Alberta, which I'm kind of setting up a segue.
• 8:11
  A fellow named Ralph Klein being elected in 1993.
• 8:15
  And very quickly after graduating university had another choice, either to go to Europe to work at a think tank in Sweden, of all places, or I had met a fella who was the MLA for Barrhead named Ken Kowalski.
• 8:35
  Actually, yes, we know Ken well, yep.
• 8:37
  Ken and my dad taught high school together in the 60s.
• 8:42
  And so they knew each other, and Ken invited me to his office.
• 8:46
  He was Speaker of the House at the time.
• 8:49
  Longest serving?
• 8:50
  Yeah, Longest Serving.
• 8:51
  That's right.
• 8:52
  Yeah, yeah.
• 8:54
  Just a great builder of the province.
• 8:57
  And I talked to him about Sweden, and said, ah, you know, again, spread your wings and try something different.
• 9:04
  Yeah.
• 9:04
  And he said, well, there's an opportunity here at the Alberta Legislature to be a researcher.
• 9:12
  You're a smart kid.
• 9:13
  So why don't you try that out?
• 9:14
  You probably need some money.
• 9:15
  I had student loans because, hey, when you grow up in rural Alberta, that's it ain't nothing for free.
• 9:21
  That's right.
• 9:21
  So so I I did that, did that for about a year.
• 9:27
  And then Ralph Klein, who is the leader of the PC party, they asked me to come over and I did, jeez, the better part of six years under Ralph, for the PC party of Alberta in the late 90s.
• 9:43
  There's got to be some stories.
• 9:47
  And it was a heady time.
• 9:48
  Yeah, we both read, there's a biography out there about Ralph.
• 9:55
  And it's fascinating.
• 9:57
  I can't imagine what it was like to work for Ralph.
• 10:00
  Well, I was a very young man and it was very interesting.
• 10:05
  I was, you know, wet behind the ears coming into this.
• 10:09
  But the one thing I'll tell you with the PC party, you know, they gave opportunity.
• 10:15
  So I was started out as a political organizer in northern Alberta during my time with the party.
• 10:24
  After that, became director of finance for the PC party and I was actually interim executive director for a period of time in my, jeez, kind of late 20s.
• 10:33
  But the big lessons throughout that window were being able to spend time with Ralph.
• 10:41
  And one of the cool things I got to do was travel the province with him.
• 10:46
  So if he was going up to Lac la biche, St.
• 10:49
  Paul or Grande Prairie or Fort Mac or White Court or wherever on party business, I would be able to travel with him and advance him.
• 10:59
  And all those stories about him just being a normal guy.
• 11:05
  I mean, he would much rather hang out in the parking lot, have a smoke with the guys, with the guys, with the guys, than go in and talk to the muckety mucks inside.
• 11:17
  And so you really got a sense of his charm and what made him tick.
• 11:23
  That's an era that's gone, isn't it?
• 11:25
  Like there's just not politicians like that anymore.
• 11:27
  You and I have talked about that.
• 11:28
  We have talked about that.
• 11:30
  And I was dabbling a little bit because I'm involved with the party a little bit.
• 11:35
  And I thought maybe it'd be great to run.
• 11:37
  And I had just read Ralph's biography.
• 11:40
  I want to be like Ralph, but I don't think that could ever happen again.
• 11:44
  It was just amazing.
• 11:46
  It was a much different time.
• 11:47
  It was, wasn't it?
• 11:48
  Yeah.
• 11:48
  Pre-social media.
• 11:50
  Yes, yes.
• 11:50
  Oh, yeah.
• 11:51
  Oh, could you imagine Ralph Klein in the?
• 11:54
  In the takes of social media?
• 11:57
  And pre-smartphone camera videos on your phone.
• 12:01
  We'll leave it at that.
• 12:03
  We'll just go.
• 12:04
  So, here's my question though.
• 12:06
  In all of that, Tim, did you ever think you would want to run for elected office?
• 12:10
  Was there ever that thought that you would?
• 12:12
  Yeah, certainly when you're in the middle of it, you get that passion and get that excitement.
• 12:18
  I think you hit it, Cam, that politics is very different.
• 12:24
  I think very challenging nowadays.
• 12:27
  For anybody who wants to have an informed conversation on any issues, it just seems like you have to stake pretty hard positions early and you have to get out there again in social media and just pound the drum.
• 12:42
  So, politicians aren't perfect, but you got to respect people who seek a career in public service.
• 12:52
  So, you were in politics, you were in the thick of politics.
• 12:55
  With Ralph Klein.
• 12:56
  With Ralph Klein, no less.
• 12:59
  What changed?
• 13:00
  When did you make a shift?
• 13:01
  Yeah.
• 13:03
  So, the next sort of pivotal moment was the leadership to replace Ralph in 2006, I guess that would be.
• 13:16
  And so, I'd done my stint at the PC party and again, through that process, I got to meet a lot of really interesting people and people building across the province.
• 13:28
  So, the next person that was instrumental in my career was a fellow named Cal Nichols.
• 13:34
  Cal Nichols, yep.
• 13:35
  Cal in 2006, through the leadership process, and in fact, Cal had backed a candidate in that leadership from Edmonton, a fellow named Mark Norris.
• 13:45
  Right.
• 13:45
  And Mark was an Edmonton area cabinet minister, a business person of himself.
• 13:50
  And Cal's sole premise in the group that he brought together was under the philosophy that business people, you know, creators, people who build companies, build lives and build prosperity needed to be more involved in politics.
• 14:08
  Yeah.
• 14:09
  And so he got a big group of folks together.
• 14:12
  That leadership was not successful, which again, a good lesson to people that, hey, your career is not going to be sunshine and roses.
• 14:20
  There are challenges and even failures along the way.
• 14:22
  But out of all of that, that same group of folks, largely the same group of folks who got involved in that leadership after it was done, said, you know what, we want to stay involved, but we want to become less political.
• 14:36
  Right.
• 14:37
  And we want to focus on the things that matters, the issues that are important to Alberta, the things that will set Alberta up for prosperity.
• 14:44
  And that was the foundation for Alberta Enterprise Group.
• 14:47
  Yes.
• 14:47
  For Alberta Enterprise Group.
• 14:48
  And so, we, Cal and myself and a few other folks in 2007, we came together and we formed Alberta Enterprise Group.
• 14:58
  I did not know that.
• 15:00
  I probably should know that.
• 15:01
  You probably should know this, but now you're learning something.
• 15:03
  I know you, you know that organization very well.
• 15:06
  This is a history lesson for me.
• 15:10
  Yeah, that was the old days.
• 15:11
  And it was really cool.
• 15:13
  So the first member of AEG was Cal Nichols.
• 15:17
  The second member was a fellow named Murray Edwards, obviously the chairman of CNRL and the Calgary Flames.
• 15:25
  And then a lot of great business people came on board in the early days.
• 15:30
  Mike Myshak, Ron Hodgson, Bob Bentley, on and on the list goes.
• 15:39
  And we knew we had something early because the members, the business people said, you know what, this is the first time I actually feel like I can.
• 15:49
  One, I'm knowledgeable on these issues, but two, I have a vehicle to actually do something.
• 15:55
  Yeah, exactly.
• 15:56
  So we should just clarify for people who are listening, AEG is the Alberta Enterprise Group.
• 16:03
  And like Tim said, it's a great group of people, businessmen from all backgrounds, all size businesses.
• 16:10
  Common, I guess the common thread in it all is yes, they just want to support government, they want to support business mostly.
• 16:19
  And through the AEG, they're a conduit to government.
• 16:23
  And so I think they're a fantastic group.
• 16:25
  Yeah, and helping inform government on issues that matter.
• 16:29
  Issues that are happening, yeah.
• 16:30
  And again, focusing on the prosperity of our province.
• 16:33
  So founded that organization 2007, and then very quickly, and it's interesting, the times that we live in now, because during that era, this hole concept of market access, the oil sands, the public acceptance of the oil, the whole oil sands, tar sands thing, that was raging at the time.
• 16:55
  And so we organized our very first big event was a trade mission to Washington DC January of 2008.
• 17:05
  And that led to, I was with AEG from 2007 to 2013, and we did trade missions.
• 17:13
  We did two missions to DC.
• 17:15
  We did missions to Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, to Europe.
• 17:21
  Fantastic.
• 17:22
  And really, it was talking about doing business in Alberta, the great things happening in Alberta.
• 17:28
  And all those trips to Washington DC, we sure found out that, hey, there was a welcome audience for Canadian products, for Alberta products, but that it could not be taken for granted.
• 17:42
  Yes.
• 17:42
  Could not be taken for granted.
• 17:44
  Because the interest groups against all those things are very well organized and very powerful.
• 17:49
  Those, Tim, are very prophetic words, especially in today's climate.
• 17:54
  Very prophetic words in today's climate.
• 17:56
  And so, yeah, what you found out then, I think, you know, we can't take that for granted.
• 18:01
  Well, and it's interesting.
• 18:02
  I remember we met one of the guys that helped us on the first mission, was a former governor of, was it Maryland or Virginia?
• 18:13
  his name was Bob Erlich.
• 18:15
  And a really bright guy.
• 18:18
  And we had a briefing session with him before we went.
• 18:20
  We had all these meetings on Capitol Hill with congressmen, senators, and we did our thing.
• 18:26
  And he said, listen, there's two things you need to know about American politics.
• 18:32
  One, can you vote in a US election?
• 18:36
  And he asked the Canadians whether they could.
• 18:39
  And everybody's like, well, no, we're Canadian.
• 18:41
  And then two, he said, can you donate to political campaigns?
• 18:46
  And everybody has foreign nationals, I guess you could call it.
• 18:50
  You can't do that.
• 18:51
  And so he said, you already have two strikes against you when you're going in and trying to do politics in the US.
• 18:59
  So he said, never forget how politics operates.
• 19:02
  And I thought that that was maybe tough advice, but it was good advice.
• 19:07
  Okay, so politics, big party or world?
• 19:10
  Yeah, so we did that, 2013.
• 19:13
  I kind of got my fill of politics on the one hand and then, you know, the business advocacy.
• 19:19
  Yeah.
• 19:20
  And then the next, you know, kind of great thing that happened, very fortunate, was Daryl Cates was launching his vision for what would become Ice District.
• 19:34
  Right.
• 19:35
  And Daryl had acquired the team.
• 19:36
  So sorry, what year was this?
• 19:37
  This was?
• 19:38
  This was 2013 that I came on board.
• 19:40
  So it goes back all the way?
• 19:42
  So it goes back quite a ways?
• 19:43
  Yeah.
• 19:43
  Yeah.
• 19:43
  Yeah.
• 19:45
  Daryl, when he acquired the team in 2008, had started the land assembly downtown Edmonton for Ice District.
• 19:54
  Because Daryl knew very, very wisely that the sustainability of the Edmonton Oilers was contingent upon taking the arena downtown and having the arena as the anchor for something much bigger.
• 20:10
  Good old Northland.
• 20:11
  Way out there.
• 20:12
  Yeah.
• 20:12
  It just couldn't.
• 20:13
  And we all remember Northland.
• 20:14
  Say, listen, Stanley Cups.
• 20:17
  Yeah.
• 20:17
  One in Northland.
• 20:18
  Lots of great memories.
• 20:19
  Lots of history.
• 20:19
  Absolutely.
• 20:20
  But when you went to a game at the Coliseum, you timed it to get there as close to puck drop as possible and to leave as soon as possible.
• 20:30
  There was no hanging out.
• 20:32
  There was nothing to do.
• 20:35
  So, yeah, 2013, I came on board as Darryl was really ramping up what would become OEG.
• 20:41
  Right.
• 20:42
  And again, what would become ICE District and the business that you see today.
• 20:47
  So, at that time, was the vision for ICE District as big as it is today, or has it evolved over time, or like?
• 20:54
  I'll tell you this.
• 20:55
  It's pretty spectacular.
• 20:57
  It is.
• 21:00
  The vision has always been big for ICE District, and Daryl, he always thinks big, right?
• 21:05
  Yeah, for sure.
• 21:06
  That's one of his absolute strengths, is to see the big picture and understand the pathway where everybody else might be, how do we even do that?
• 21:16
  And he says, no, this is either the right decision or this is a decision that is going to pay off.
• 21:22
  So, I would say there has certainly been, hasn't been a straight line.
• 21:28
  Right.
• 21:28
  Obviously, that little thing called the pandemic.
• 21:31
  Impacted our business in a big way.
• 21:33
  But we did have a vision of the arena being the anchor and having this sports and entertainment district, which is phase one.
• 21:41
  And we also had the long term vision of phase two being residential focus.
• 21:46
  Okay.
• 21:47
  And so that's where we're at today, that we have...
• 21:50
  Maybe we should bring Daryl out here.
• 21:54
  As we develop downtown Acheson.
• 21:57
  Just the rabbit trail there anyway.
• 21:58
  Ice district.
• 22:00
  Exactly.
• 22:02
  Anyway, if you can set us up, that'd be great.
• 22:04
  But anyway, sorry.
• 22:05
  Cam, that's not a bad idea.
• 22:06
  Sorry, Cam.
• 22:07
  Just, you know, I just off on a tangent there.
• 22:09
  But anyway.
• 22:09
  Well, I see land.
• 22:11
  We have land.
• 22:12
  We do.
• 22:12
  Yeah, that's one of the most important things.
• 22:14
  So yeah, so you got going downtown, which is great.
• 22:17
  It's been a journey.
• 22:18
  And anything that is of this scale and scope, you know, we've invested over 2.5 billion to date in downtown Edmonton.
• 22:26
  We've developed 16 of 25 acres.
• 22:30
  We've opened the arena.
• 22:32
  We've opened three office towers.
• 22:33
  We've opened a plaza.
• 22:35
  We've opened hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail, a skating rink and on and on it goes.
• 22:43
  And as I said, a pandemic in the middle of this, which, I mean, was a good experience for our business to be able to pivot through crisis.
• 22:53
  Right.
• 22:54
  And again, something that...
• 22:55
  And a major crisis at that.
• 22:56
  Yeah.
• 22:57
  Was it ever?
• 22:58
  I mean, we all just think about those days.
• 23:00
  Yes.
• 23:00
  It wasn't a local crisis.
• 23:02
  Thank goodness we're past that.
• 23:04
  But through that, we were able to host the NHL playoffs, the NHL Hub or Bubble, as they call it.
• 23:12
  And that was, again, one of the things that put our organization on the map, the ability of all the teams in the National Hockey League, the NHL entrusted us and our region to do it.
• 23:27
  So it's been an interesting journey.
• 23:29
  It's been a wild ride along the way.
• 23:32
  You know, it's funny.
• 23:33
  I mean, we go to the games, we're fans, we love the Oilers and all of that.
• 23:38
  Nobody really fully, well, I think nobody can really understand what goes on.
• 23:45
  Behind the scenes, no.
• 23:47
  We just go watch hockey and think, this is great.
• 23:50
  And yet it's huge.
• 23:51
  It's massive.
• 23:52
  It's its own machine.
• 23:53
  Yeah.
• 23:53
  Well, and that's as it should be.
• 23:55
  Because it's more than just a team, obviously.
• 23:58
  Well, hey, we want people to have the best experience possible when they come down to ICE District, whether it's a hockey game or a concert for something else.
• 24:08
  So there are literally thousands of people employed in our company, full and part-time to deliver that.
• 24:16
  So it is a machine, but it is something that we're proud of.
• 24:24
  You have to have a passion to work in sports and entertainment, because the hours are not a nine to five.
• 24:30
  Not a nine to five?
• 24:31
  No.
• 24:31
  Honey, I'll be home at five.
• 24:32
  But if you do have that passion, it can be so incredibly dynamic, because it's not the same thing day in, day out.
• 24:43
  OK, so that being said, tell us a little bit about the Shiptons.
• 24:49
  Who's all on that team?
• 24:52
  Team Shipton.
• 24:54
  Like you say, it's not a nine to five job.
• 24:57
  So tell us a little bit about that.
• 24:59
  Yeah.
• 24:59
  Well, you know what?
• 25:01
  That's a good question too, because it is definitely a family commitment, right?
• 25:06
  And it's one of those lifestyle jobs, right?
• 25:10
  So yeah, I've been married, gosh, over 20 years now.
• 25:17
  Come on.
• 25:17
  I have a lovely wife, Jody, 24 years.
• 25:19
  We have two boys.
• 25:20
  We have a 19-year-old son, Maddox, and a 17-year-old son, Theo.
• 25:26
  Okay.
• 25:26
  And yeah, we're chugging along.
• 25:29
  When you got a 19 and a 17-year-old, you're...
• 25:34
  Well, first of all, congratulations on surviving the teenage years.
• 25:38
  Just barely, Cam.
• 25:41
  Just barely.
• 25:42
  It's okay.
• 25:42
  I have a 30-year-old daughter.
• 25:44
  Jennifer's son's just coming into it.
• 25:46
  Tomorrow, he's a teenager.
• 25:48
  That's right.
• 25:51
  And if you remember, just text Jennifer and tell her, keep going.
• 25:54
  You'll make it.
• 25:55
  That's right.
• 25:55
  That's right.
• 25:56
  It's only seven years.
• 25:58
  Yeah.
• 25:59
  Yeah.
• 26:00
  Well, that's kind of cool.
• 26:01
  Yeah, it's really cool.
• 26:01
  And they're working, going to school.
• 26:05
  My oldest son is at U of A.
• 26:06
  He's taking economics, looking at a law degree.
• 26:11
  Oh, okay.
• 26:12
  Real smart kid.
• 26:12
  And then my youngest son, he's in grade 12.
• 26:15
  Okay.
• 26:15
  So, he's a baseball player.
• 26:16
  He's really fantastic.
• 26:18
  That's great.
• 26:19
  Good baseball players.
• 26:20
  So, his dream is to pursue US college baseball.
• 26:24
  Okay.
• 26:25
  So, he's kind of on that fast track.
• 26:26
  Good for him.
• 26:26
  I went to a great place called, I'll give it a plug, AHP, Absolute Human Performance in St.
• 26:31
  Albert.
• 26:32
  Yes.
• 26:32
  The Burns Boys.
• 26:33
  Yeah.
• 26:34
  I've been helping him out.
• 26:35
  So, yeah, doing well.
• 26:36
  Really well.
• 26:37
  So much runs in the family.
• 26:38
  That's fantastic.
• 26:39
  Yeah.
• 26:39
  Well, and that, you know what, when they play that caliber of sports too, that also adds another dynamic of busyness, doesn't it?
• 26:45
  I mean, thank goodness, he probably drives himself now, but I'm sure there were days.
• 26:50
  Game changer for my wife when he got his driver's license.
• 26:53
  We were like, you got to get this thing, buddy, because mom chauffeur has a shelf life.
• 27:00
  She's done.
• 27:01
  It's over, yeah.
• 27:02
  But you're right.
• 27:04
  He trains six days a week with baseball.
• 27:08
  All throughout the winter, there's no off season nowadays.
• 27:10
  And he's heading into, obviously, when the weather smartens up a little bit here, he's heading, they play games in late March, early April in BC, and then start the season in Alberta.
• 27:21
  And it's amazing.
• 27:21
  Off they go.
• 27:22
  Yeah.
• 27:24
  Crazy.
• 27:24
  It is.
• 27:25
  So just a question.
• 27:27
  When your kids were growing up and you worked for the Oilers, did they think they had the coolest dad in the world because of his job?
• 27:34
  Like, was that the coolest?
• 27:35
  Probably before the teenage years.
• 27:37
  Yeah.
• 27:37
  That's right.
• 27:38
  And then it's like- That's right.
• 27:41
  The teenage years, it doesn't matter what you do.
• 27:43
  You just ain't cool.
• 27:45
  No.
• 27:45
  No matter what.
• 27:46
  I remember seeing a picture online.
• 27:48
  It was like of some rock star, like Dave Grohl or somebody.
• 27:52
  Yeah.
• 27:52
  Yeah.
• 27:53
  Yeah.
• 27:53
  And one of his kids.
• 27:55
  And the kid was looking at him sideways.
• 27:57
  And it's like, even if you're Dave Grohl or a teenager.
• 28:01
  It really doesn't matter.
• 28:04
  So what was it like?
• 28:07
  You need to ask this question.
• 28:08
  We were talking about this the other day, about the not so great years of the Oilers.
• 28:12
  Yeah, of course.
• 28:13
  So, you know, it's pretty easy now.
• 28:15
  I mean, the community comes together.
• 28:17
  It's a big celebration.
• 28:19
  The Oilers pull community together.
• 28:21
  But what about the days when it was not so rosy?
• 28:25
  It wasn't so good.
• 28:26
  Yeah.
• 28:26
  Well, I was with the team during many of those years.
• 28:30
  What's that like on the inside?
• 28:32
  Like, is that?
• 28:34
  Oh, yeah.
• 28:35
  I mean, it certainly was a challenge when you're rebuilding, right?
• 28:39
  But again, I take a step back that when Daryl acquired the team, he really had a master plan of what it would take for us to be an elite organization in the National Hockey League.
• 28:54
  And that was obviously tied one to the sustainability and the survival of the Oilers in this market, because, you know, in that era, there were teams that had left.
• 29:05
  We all remember Winnipeg.
• 29:08
  And so that process took time.
• 29:12
  And maybe it took longer than we had expected.
• 29:17
  But that process took time.
• 29:18
  So it started again, world class arena, world class district, facilities that would be the envy of any team in the National Hockey League.
• 29:28
  And we have that at Rogers Place.
• 29:30
  We have that with our hockey operations facilities.
• 29:33
  It is the best in the NHL, bar none.
• 29:37
  And so now, if you're a free agent, and you're interested in going to a market, you know, we can say, hey, maybe we don't have the same weather as LA, but I tell you what, when you're in this market, we're going to treat you well, we're going to take care of you.
• 29:53
  And that has changed, hasn't it?
• 29:55
  We're going to take care of your family.
• 29:57
  And then the next bucket, of course, was a successful team.
• 30:00
  For sure.
• 30:01
  And so that's taken the time it's taken.
• 30:04
  But again, the vision was not to scratch and claw every year, to try to squeak into the playoffs and kind of see what we could do.
• 30:16
  Sure.
• 30:17
  It was to build an elite organization.
• 30:19
  And again, it took time and it's never perfect along the way.
• 30:23
  But we now feel like, and again, very fortunate, obviously, being at Draft and Connor 2015, winning the draft lottery and Leon the year before.
• 30:36
  Really fortunate to have those two guys.
• 30:38
  And when you have those two guys, that lays the foundation.
• 30:40
  But it's bigger than that, that we now have a culture with the Edmonton Oilers that people want to come to.
• 30:49
  And that culture, of course, is driven by Connor and Leon and the core guys, Ryan Rees and Hopkins.
• 30:54
  But it is also driven by ownership and the commitment to the team and the commitment to the market.
• 31:00
  And that's something that I'm proud to be a part of.
• 31:02
  It's something that, you know, Daryl is driven by every day to say, you know what, again, we're not an also-ran in this league.
• 31:10
  You know?
• 31:12
  There's Edmonton is a phenomenal market.
• 31:14
  We're so fortunate to have fan base.
• 31:16
  Our building's packed every day.
• 31:18
  Yeah, it's great.
• 31:19
  Let's have an organization that reflects the market, and that's where we're at today.
• 31:23
  Yeah, you do a great job.
• 31:24
  Yeah, you do a fabulous job.
• 31:26
  Absolutely.
• 31:27
  Wow, has 30 minutes flown by.
• 31:30
  I could keep asking Tim a lot of questions.
• 31:32
  For sure.
• 31:34
  But Tim, this is a question we ask all of our guests.
• 31:38
  Give us the best piece of advice that you've been given, either personally or professionally, that you carry with you to this day.
• 31:46
  Well, my father said, don't mess up and don't embarrass the family name.
• 31:53
  That's the best one yet.
• 31:55
  That's the best one yet.
• 31:56
  That's sort of like brass tacks of it.
• 32:02
  I love it.
• 32:03
  That's the best one yet.
• 32:04
  Yeah, that's good.
• 32:06
  To me, when I think about my own career, the few things resonate with me.
• 32:14
  One, surrounding yourself with good people and finding organizations that share your values, because not all organizations do.
• 32:26
  I'm not saying they're good or bad, but if you're able to find a group of people that share your values, whatever they may be, that will give you a lot of the things that you need to succeed.
• 32:40
  And then I think the second thing is that, you can say it, but not everybody can walk it, but failure does happen in your career.
• 32:51
  Absolutely.
• 32:51
  And you can't be afraid to make mistakes.
• 32:54
  No, that's right.
• 32:55
  And so I look at the biggest growth moments in my career were mostly at times of adversity, and then the lessons you learn, and you have to have the humility to be able to say, hey, maybe you don't have all the answers.
• 33:09
  So, I mean, again, when you come from the country, I think you just have a bit of that humility in your DNA, that hard work in your DNA.
• 33:17
  I agree.
• 33:18
  I mean, you find good people work hard.
• 33:20
  Success usually follows.
• 33:21
  The farm girl over here.
• 33:22
  All right, here we go.
• 33:23
  Nodding everything you say.
• 33:25
  I like it.
• 33:26
  I think it's true.
• 33:27
  It is true.
• 33:27
  I like it.
• 33:28
  Well, fantastic.
• 33:29
  That's absolutely fantastic.
• 33:30
  Tim, I think the Oilers are so fortunate, or let's call it the OEG because it encompasses so much.
• 33:38
  So fortunate to have you.
• 33:39
  I think, you know, everyone I know talks so highly of you.
• 33:43
  Thank you.
• 33:43
  And talks highly of the job you do.
• 33:45
  And I think that's fantastic.
• 33:47
  I'm sure in that world, there's competition all over the place.
• 33:52
  But everything I hear about you is just top notch, 100%.
• 33:57
  So the Oilers are very fortunate to have you.
• 33:59
  Thank you.
• 33:59
  Thank you very much.
• 33:59
  And we're fortunate that you took time to come out here.
• 34:02
  Come on this podcast.
• 34:03
  Yeah.
• 34:04
  I appreciate that.
• 34:04
  That's a blast.
• 34:05
  A bit of a drive for you.
• 34:06
  But we're so glad you did.
• 34:08
  And I know our listeners, they're going to love this podcast.
• 34:12
  So thank you very much.
• 34:13
  Thanks.
• 34:14
  Thank you.
• 34:15
  What's going on within the OEG and the Oilers?
• 34:17
  There sure is.
• 34:18
  It's fantastic.
• 34:19
  What a great guest.
• 34:20
  What a great guy.
• 34:20
  Great guy.
• 34:21
  Super guy.
• 34:22
  And so fortunate that he agreed to be on this podcast.
• 34:24
  Yeah.
• 34:25
  Thank you, Tim.
• 34:26
  Really appreciate it.
• 34:27
  And man, I know people are going to love this one.
• 34:30
  So hey, tell us anything new and exciting coming up with the Acheson Business Association?
• 34:35
  Yes.
• 34:36
  Well, Cam, we're doing a special edition, Coffee In The Park.
• 34:38
  That's right.
• 34:39
  The live event here at the Wall Coffee Roasters on February 24th, where we're talking all things tariffs.
• 34:45
  Yes, that's right.
• 34:46
  Big topic.
• 34:47
  Liam Stone coming, who's the Assistant Deputy Minister in trades, jobs, economy and tariffs.
• 34:54
  Yes.
• 34:55
  And he's going to be here giving a presentation.
• 34:57
  Talking about, you know, the industry sectors in Acheson and Alberta that are going to be potentially affected.
• 35:02
  So you won't want to miss it.
• 35:03
  Space is limited and you have to be an ABA member to attend.
• 35:07
  That's right.
• 35:07
  So it's you can go to the website to register.
• 35:11
  And I think it's going to be great.
• 35:12
  I've heard Liam speak and he does a fabulous job in basically just explaining this whole thing and what's going on.
• 35:19
  And in light of even the conversation we had with Tim, wow, how things come around, right?
• 35:24
  Yeah.
• 35:24
  Wow.
• 35:25
  Fantastic.
• 35:25
  Well, that's it for this week.
• 35:27
  Thank you, everybody, for listening.
• 35:29
  Make sure you tell your friends.
• 35:30
  Make sure you tell your neighbours.
• 35:32
  Make sure you tell your enemies.
• 35:33
  Make sure you tell your business people.
• 35:34
  If you don't have any friends, make one just so you can tell them about the ABA Coffee In The Park podcast, wherever you get your podcasts, or you can go to www.Achesonbusiness.com and download it from there.
• 35:48
  And subscribe.
• 35:49
  And then you won't miss an edition of the podcast.
• 35:52
  That's right.
• 35:52
  You'll be notified every time a new one comes out.
• 35:55
  Important.
• 35:55
  That's right.
• 35:56
  Really.
• 35:56
  You know, can I just say before we close here, can I, how many people, especially in the last little while, they've told me that they weren't listening, but now they're listening and they're catching up.
• 36:05
  I know.
• 36:05
  Because they thought they were so good.
• 36:07
  They're just catching up.
• 36:08
  They're catching up.
• 36:08
  It's so exciting.
• 36:09
  It is exciting.
• 36:09
  So anybody, everybody, hey, gotta listen to them all.
• 36:13
  They're fantastic.
• 36:14
  Anyway, thanks everybody.
• 36:15
  Thanks everyone.
• 36:15
  Have a good week.