Blain's career at the Camrose Booster began as a carrier in 1952. That was when the snow was deeper, the winters colder and the summers miserably hotter. Since that time, he has literally worked in every position in the business, from attending to custodial duties through every detail in the production department, to accounting (including collections) and the sales department and finally to the management level. At this point in time, he is the sole owner of the enterprise and is regarded as the Chief Cheerleader. And yes, he still shovels snow and handles delivery on the odd paper route. All we do is for nothing if the paper and the inserts we carry do not arrive safely on the kitchen tables where buying decisions are made!

He is known as an industry leader throughout North America, having served two terms as a Director of the Association of Free Community Papers and Director, President and Life Member of the Independent Free Papers of America.

As Publisher, Blain is proud of the dedicated team that has been assembled at the Booster and the international recognition for excellence in publishing that has been received as a result of their professionalism. Notably, The Booster has received the Circulation Verification Council Gold Standard Award for the last six consecutive years for being in the top 1% of audited publications in North America, when considering receivership, readership and ability to influence buying decisions. In addition to receiving numerous awards for graphic design, editorial content and original photography, The Booster has also received the IFPA Award for General Excellence on thirteen occasions in the last sixteen years.

All of us on "The Home Team" are ready, willing and able to be your enthusiastic marketing partners in our rich East-Central Alberta market. Let us go to work for you!

Upon graduation from journalism school in 1979, Mike took a $99 one-way flight from Toronto to Calgary. He bought a red Ford station wagon at a used car lot and rumbled his way across the golden prairie northeast to Three Hills where he was hired to be editor of the Three Hills Capitol. He stayed for a couple of years before moving on to work in Crossfield, Airdrie and Cochrane, which saw him editing those papers, doing layout and design, writing, taking pictures, assigning stories, learning the newspaper business from the ground floor. Then his world changed dramatically. He got married, got a new job, moved to Camrose and had a son, all within one year. That was 34 years ago. He enjoys living in Camrose and really likes representing the Booster, where he works personally with clients, writes advertisements, advises on commercial printing, on advertising specialty products and coordinates flyer distribution in this market for many of Canada’s top retailers. He’s a communicator with a sharp eye on what’s current and understands that print media remains powerfully relevant in smaller communities such as Camrose. “A significant amount of Information important to people in this region can’t be found anywhere else except inside the pages of the Camrose Booster,” he says. “It’s still required reading if you want to know what’s happening here.”

Jeff is proud to be a third generation Booster man. As long as he can remember, he has wanted to be part of the Home Team. At the age of 10, he began coming down to the office with his dad on the odd Saturday morning, emptying trash cans for our graphic arts department, and tidying up around the production area – thus freeing up valuable time for other members of the team. Then as a teen, working regular afterschool hours on most weekdays, Jeff became involved in the production side of the business, particularly in finishing – perforating, stitching, cutting, manually collating multi-part forms, and wrapping packages of printed materials for delivery, along with other duties as needed. Later, working full time during summer breaks throughout high school, Jeff learned to operate a letterpress, and also became involved in circulation. Moving through the various departments, eventually led to a position as a sales assistant, when he began to have more contact with The Booster’s loyal customer base. Building friendships with our extended family among the Camrose business community is something he immediately became fond of. When an opportunity arose to join the sales department as an account executive in 1997, Jeff jumped at the chance.

Lori joined the Booster team in November of 2015 and is delighted to combine her passion for writing and photography with meeting new people and discovering their stories. She has her Masters in Education and Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and a diploma in Law Enforcement. She taught at Lethbridge Community College in the Law Enforcement Program, Northern Lights College in Business and Land Management and Red Deer College in Business and Hospitality. During almost 18 years of post secondary teaching she had the pleasure of meeting and working with hundreds of college students enabling her to grow and develop her own skills in classroom presentation, interviewing, curriculum design and research.
Lori has been a hobby photographer for over 30 years with a focus on wildlife and closeups. She completed courses in both photography and advanced photography.
She has been married to her husband John for 34 years and has two grown children – a son and daughter. In her spare time Lori enjoys spending time with her family including mountain trips with their four saddle horses, painting and gardening.