Michael Vickers

He sits on the board of United Way, UCP for Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, and the Canadian Mental Health Association, is motivated by curiosity, and is grateful for love. YMM: What accomplishment are you most proud of? MV: I helped develop a mental health training course at work and I believe it has helped a lot of people normalize talking about their mental health. That’s pretty high up there for me, but the accomplishment I am most proud of is breaking down barriers between workers and supervisors to facilitate psychologically safe conversations that generate positive impacts for the worker and the company. YMM: What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? MV: Changing careers. In 2012 I was forced into a career change after a workplace incident. I needed to find something that fit well with me and who I was and wanted to be. Making that change from operating equipment to health and safety meant a lot of change, my income being the biggest change. What I learned about myself was infinitely more valuable than any amount of money. YMM: How have your priorities changed in the last 10 years? MV: I care more about people now than I ever have in my life. I am more thoughtful in my words and actions because I understand my impact more today than I did then. So I try and focus on how I am affecting the world around me more. I am still working on it as I expect I will always be. YMM: How should success be measured? MV: Success is a very intangible thing isn’t it? It’s hard to make a hard measure for success. For me, success is measured in how I feel about something. If I feel like I did everything I could have and something still failed I would consider that a success. If I feel like the work was put in and it was honest work done for the right reasons then I consider that successful. YMM: Who is your hero, and why? MV: My dad is my hero. He’s always been my hero. He never quit trying to make our lives better in every way. When work was scarce he could have given up and he never did. He had a rough upbringing and he swore he would never let that happen to us. He taught me to love, he taught me to respect people, he taught me all about hockey and he always showed me patience, even when I did not deserve it. He never complains, he never deflects responsibility, and he expects accountability. He is the greatest person I have ever known. YMM: What is something that people are always surprised to learn about you? MV: People are surprised to learn that my parents are very young. My dad was 18 when I was born and my mom was 16. They are both still madly in love with each other. The other thing might be that Lisa (my wife) and I started dating when I was 15, and at 41 we’re still madly in love with each other. YMM: What would you say to your 12-year-old self? MV: You’re going to meet a beautiful girl in May of 1998 outside a convenience store. Hold on to her. She’s the answer to all your questions.