Excerpted from Premiere, a Central liaison bulletin and adapted for the web by Laval, Sept 2008

 

Rolf was born in Hamburg, Germany.

 

At the age of two and a half, his family moved to Edmonton, Alberta.

 

When Rolf was in high school, his father would bring home the daily newspaper and circle all the jobs for which Rolf was qualified. He applied for and got a job at the Hudson's Bay Company in Fort Smith, N.W.T. He held this position for two years, but he realized he wanted a better paying job.

 

So after some construction work, Rolf went to Electronics school, graduated , and went to work for the Department of Communications.

 

The rest is history.

 

Rolf started as a Radio inspector at the Fort Smith Monitoring station on September 14, 1973.

 

In the summer of 1977, he moved to be senior radio inspector at the Yellowknife District Office.

 

Rolf Ziemann, a Community-minded Coach, Says Giving Comes Naturally

by Darren Stewart

 

Argus is pleased to introduce you to Rolf Ziemann and his volunteering story, the first in a series of profiles about colleagues who contribute to the community through volunteer work. As part of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign, Industry Canada Team is collecting stories of voluntarism.

 

Rolf Ziemann never really thought about volunteering – it seemed natural to him to simply do what's needed. When he sees a need in the community, if a fellow Yellowknife resident requests help, he doesn’t ask questions. He just dives right in.

 

"I've been doing this all my life and never consciously considered the ‘should I or shouldn't I’ question," says Rolf, Director of Spectrum Management and Telecommunications in the Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut. Over the years, he has volunteered in many different areas in his northern community.

 

Rolf says he may have been influenced by his father, who volunteered at the local community hall, at Bingo fundraisers, for Boy Scouts and on ham radio.

 

Rolf followed in the footsteps of his father by volunteering as a coach in minor hockey. In the five year stretch between 1987 and 1992 Rolf coached six minor hockey teams and is now certified to National Level 3 coaching qualifications.

 

Outside of the rink, he has taught radio to 825 Elks Royal Canadian Air Cadets – both professional qualification (Radio Operator Restricted Certification) and amateur radio.

 

"Perhaps I developed the desire to volunteer in school or in scouts and cadets as a youth," he says. "It's probably a combination of those two factors mixed with my appreciation for all those people who were volunteers before me and contributed to my lifestyle as I grew up."

 

The list of volunteer achievements goes on. Rolf has been a manager for the NWT/Nunavut Amateur Radio community since 1979. The volunteer job involves sorting batches of cards and delivering them. The cards are verification of communication with ham radio operators around the world.

 

As well, the local Computers for Schools program wouldn’t be the same without his contributions on the job as a departmental representative and after hours as a repair technician, packer and shipper.

 

This year he’s on the membership committee of the Yellowknife Golf Club, dealing with member registrations.

Last winter, he was a member of the Communications Sub-committee for the 1998 Arctic Winter Games. He coordinated the distribution and use of radio equipment for various mission chefs from Russia, Greenland and Canada.

 

Rolf says volunteering in a number of areas has allowed him to see the diverse needs in the community, and taught him a lot of important skills. He has gained a new appreciation for his own unique community.

 

"The most significant experience that stands out is the remembrance of those people I've worked with," Rolf says. "On more than one occasion someone has come up to me years later and said, hey, I remember you, coach. Thanks."