CARMA Board of Directors

The Central Alberta Rural Manufacturers Association is governed by a Board of Directors representing manufacturing companies and the supply chain in Central Alberta.

The Board of Directors is comprised of the following individuals:

Keegan McLevin, Director and President

Upon completion of high school in Red Deer, Mr. McLevin, a native Central Albertan, moved to Calgary to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Calgary.  With his degree completed in 2002, Mr. McLevin began working for Fluor Canada in their Pressure Vessel design group on projects such as the UE-1 upgrader expansion and the Opti Long Lake projects.  Following his experience with Fluor Canada, Mr. McLevin continued to develop his expertise working with Trican Well Service ('Trican') as a Coil Tubing Engineer.  Trican provided Mr. McLevin with the opportunity to gain field experience, working in places such as the North West Territories and United States.

In September 2006, Mr. McLevin returned home to Red Deer to take over the operation of McLevin's Welding, as the owners of the family-run business (McLevin's parents) were looking to transition toward retirement.  Mr. McLevin now serves as the Chief Operating Officer of McLevin Industries, a custom steel fabricaton and material distribution company based out of Red Deer, Alberta.

 

Brian Mercer, Director and Vice President

Graduating from B.C.I.T. in 1996, with a diploma in Operations Management Mr. Mercer has been working in the manufacturing sector ever since. Brian joined Quinn’s Oilfield Supply Ltd. in 1999 as their Industrial Engineer, and has had a variety of different positions and responsibilities within the organization. Currently in the position of Production and Inventory Coordinator, Brian strives to ensure Quinn’s meets the production requirements of a constantly growing and expanding world class organization supplying the growing global demand for oil and gas production equipment.

Mr. Mercer is also the co-owner and founder of Mercer Solutions, a small I.T. company providing custom database solutions and I.T. support to small manufacturers as well as numerous non profit organizations throughout Central Alberta.

  

Tony Carlson, Director and Secretary/Treasurer

Mr. Carlson has more than 30 years of experience in the custom manufacturing field, which includes over 25 years of experience in technical sales, marketing and business development to the international marketplace.  Mr. Carlson presently holds the position of Sales & Marketing Manager for GenTex Oilfield Manufacturing Inc.

Mr. Carlson is a leader, having a history of successfully coaching, managing and developing Sales/Application Engineers, Regional Directors, Dealers, Distributors, Agents and Strategic Alliances in a wide variety of industries including: Oil & Gas, Mining, Fire Fighting, Construction, Utility, Precast Concrete, and Environmental.

Mr. Carlson's significant previous positions include: Operations Manager of Executive Builders Group, Red Deer, AB; Sales Manager of E-One Canada Corp, Red Deer, AB; International Sales Director of Ultra-Span Technologies, Winnipeg, MB; Vice President Sales & Marketing (North America) of RATEC LLC, and Regional Sales Manager (North America, Latin America, Asia) of Foremost Industries, Calgary, AB.

Mr. Carlson's educational history consists of a Civil Engineering Honors Diploma (SAIT, Calgary, AB) and numerous courses relating to Sales, Marketing, Business Management, Spanish, COR Safety, and Computer Software. Mr. Carlson also has an extensive history in participating and supporting business/community associations and has held various positions in committees and in the directorship.

 

Russ Beaton, Director

Mr. Beaton has been with RBC Royal Bank as a Commercial/Corporate Banker for over 39 years, with his areas of expertise being the Oil and Gas industry, of which the providing of banking services and advice to manufacturers in that sector is key, along with wholesale, retail and the hospitality industries.

 

Ryan Gaunce, Director

Bio coming soon.

 

David Jakeman, Director

Mr. Jakeman, Manager, of Accu-Thread Machining Ltd., has 20 years experience in manufacturing and machining.


Mr. Jakeman moved to Alberta 5 years ago and has been with Accu-Thread from the time he moved, moving from Nova Scotia where he worked for 13 years with Pratt & Whitney Canada, in various positions within the company from working on the CNC machining equipment, Quality Control, & purchasing. Other experience also includes shop manager for Jobsite Inc. a manufacturing facility in Grand Junction, Colorado. 

 

Derrick Peterson, Director

Mr. Peterson, a veteran of the financial services sector since 1989, is a Partner in Silverberg Group Red Deer a Central Alberta based firm offering financial advisory services to affluent clients. He employs a highly personalized approach in helping affluent Canadian individuals, families and organizations preserve and grow their capital, and assists in carefully transferring their assets to future generations.
Aside from being dedicated and focused on his clients, Derrick always finds time to spend with his loving wife and three great children. Family comes first, then golf, hockey, friends, and hotrods.

Expertise
• Bachelor of Physical Education majoring in Administration from the University of Alberta
• Specializes in Farm & Small Business Succession Planning
• Completed the Growing your Business – Leader Round Table at Ivey School of Business, Canadian Investment Funds, and the Business Insurance Taxation course in 2004, 2002 and 1991 respectively
• Actively engaged in ongoing industry continuing education programs


Service
• Member of The Wealth and Estate Planning Group(WEPG)
• Member of Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU)
• Past President of the Central Alberta Advocis Chapter 2007, 2008 and part of 2009 (The Financial Advisor Association of Canada) – Active member since 1989. (Advocis is our industry’s governing body in Canada)
• Past President of the Red Deer South Progressive Conservative Association in 2006 & 2007

 

Dale Whiteside, Director

Mr. Whiteside is the owner of Outlaw Eagle Manufacturing Ltd.,  Mr. Whiteside had the determination and experience to take aluminum river board building to the next stage. Drawing 15 years of experience building board, racing and exploring the rivers, Dale had taken on and continued to advance the legacy.

Outlaw Eagle Manufacturing Ltd, wanted to stand apart from its competition because, in many ways, it has no competitors. Not only are we the only whitewater race boat manufacturer in North America, but they build a rugged adventure back country boat for rivers and lakes. Riverboat technology is a fast-paced market, and they set the pace. 

Mr. Whiteside started jet boat racing with Rob Chrunyk in 1996, and soon after started work in the Research & Development division of Eagle Powerboats. With Dale’s background in custom mountain snowmobile fabrication and performance jet boats, plus his 6 years of racing and pleasure boating throughout Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, and the United States, had him wanting more. In Feb of 2002 Dale took the next step and purchased Outlaw Marine from Alex Miller. Continuing the Outlaw tradition, Dale has followed the reputation of building the best backcountry, heavy duty commercial (or any style of jet boat in-between) that’s manufactured in Canada. The company still prides itself on having one of the most extensive inventory of parts for all brands of jet boats. Only a couple years later in 2004, Dale purchased Eagle Powerboats from Rob Chrunyk and merge the Outlaw line with the Eagle line under the same roof.

With Dale Whiteside at the helm, the company boosted its R&D capabilities and now prides itself on having the most cutting-edge boats in the industry. He says the company continues to change and improve its boats on a yearly basis. Outlaw Eagle's aluminum race hulls hold the most records and have won 16 out of the last 19 world championship whitewater races - two of which were won by Dale Whiteside himself.

With an owner who is not only an avid outdoorsman, but also an active river racer, it is no surprise that Outlaw Eagle is always pushing the envelope in the river boat industry. The sleek lines and aggressive performance of the Eagle line are paired to meet any adrenaline seeker's imagination. Outlaw's boat standard features are second to none and are the preference of many outfitters and commercial boaters. From the toughest bottom platform in the industry and heavy duty hulls, this line is designed to last a lifetime.