Our creative team
PUBLISHER
Cathy Glover
Cathy was recruited as Country Life in BC’s beef editor in 1996. By 2000, she had taken on ad sales, and when publisher Peter Wilding retired in 2016, she “bought her job” and took over as publisher. Her life — then and now — revolves around press deadlines, a handful of Paint Horses and life on the family farm.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Peter Mitham
Peter has written for Country Life in BC since 2001. He currently serves as associate editor, bringing more than 25 years’ writing experience to the role. A former staff writer with Business in Vancouver, he is co-author of three books on real estate and recipient of two awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation.
EDITOR EMERITUS
David Schmidt
David Schmidt was the face and voice of Country Life in BC for over 35 years and through three publishers, starting in 1985. A past president of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, he was the recipient of many writing and lifetime achievement awards including the coveted ScotiaBank Champion of Agriculture in 2018. David passed away in November 2023.
WRITER - fraser valley
Ronda Payne
A writer since she could hold a pen, Ronda Payne believes everyone should be forced to take Agriculture 101 taught on a rainy day by a Lower Mainland farmer. She feels closer to those she writes about when she’s fighting pests in her garden and eating sun-warmed raspberries.
WRITER - okanagan
Tom Walker
Tom writes part time from his home in Kelowna. He enjoys listening to producers’ stories and turning them into print when he is not looking for powder snow, trout in the river or trying to make his grapes grow like the big guys!
writer - kelowna
Myrna Stark Leader
If you’ve got a story to tell, Myrna thrives on sharing it. As an award-winning, experienced freelance writer/photographer, Myrna joined the team in 2017. Writing about agriculture continues to inspire her – particularly innovation and stories that focus on the people who make agriculture great. As past-president and a current director of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, she has strong connections with farmwriters across Canada.
WRITER - VANCOUVER ISLAND
Kate Ayers
Kate grew up on a beef and cash crop farm in Simcoe County, Ontario and completed a degree in agricultural science at the University of Guelph. Kate combined her passions for ag and storytelling by becoming a freelance writer. Now in Victoria, she runs track competitively, training for the Olympics.
WRITER - KOOTENAYS
Tracey Fredrickson
Tracey worked as a journalist for two decades before moving into economic development and business consulting in the Okanagan and Kootenays. In 2020, she returned to freelance writing, telling the stories about BC farms and businesses from her home in Nelson.
WRITER - north okanagan
Jackie Pearase
Jackie is a freelance writer and editor living and working in the North Okanagan
WRITER - gulf islands
Barbara Johnstone Grimmer
Barbara lives and writes from her mixed family farm in the Gulf Islands. She raises sheep and hay and has recently planted a hazelnut orchard.
WRITER - GULF ISLANDS
Sandra Tretick
It was her love of locally-produced food that first drew Sandra into a career in agriculture communications, and a passion for sharing farmers’ stories that landed her at Country Life in BC. When she’s not out boating and crabbing, Sandra writes and homesteads in the southern Gulf Islands.
COLUMNIST - back 40
Bob Collins
Bob is not only an award-winning humourist, his down-to-earth (and award-winning!) commentary on the issues facing BC farmers and ranchers in The Back Forty is a must read every month. He raises beef cattle and grows produce on his farm in the Alberni Valley.
columnist - jude's kitchen
Judie Steeves
Judie loves good local food, with maybe a stellar glass of BC wine alongside, and she’s willing to grow, cook and write about it, too. In fact, she’s been writing about BC agriculture for probably 50 years, but who’s counting? She’s also author of Okanagan Trips and Trails, Black Mountain Gold and Jude’s Kitchen.
COLUMNIST - OP ED
Kathleen Gibson
Fascinated by the world of food, Kathleen has been writing about it and working on related public policy issues for over 30 years. A fruit and vegetable garden in Victoria beseiged by urban wildlife daily reinforces her respect for farmers.
columnist - farm story
Anna Helmer
Anna has been farming long enough that she can make time for writing. She tries to keep it interesting, entertaining and even accurate. Sometimes that means she can only write about potatoes, which she grows in Pemberton with her family.
production designer
Tina Rezansoff
Tina began creating impactful advertising design for CLinBC in 2016. She harnesses 25 years of graphic design, branding and digital marketing experience. This highly skilled layout artist has rural BC roots, and a passion for remote outdoor adventure. She spends her down time spoiling her chickens, gardening and crocheting.
