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Locals make Top 50 list

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This week Alberta Venture Magazine released its 2011 list of “Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People” and four — eight per cent — of the movers and shakers in this province hail from St. Albert.

The four locals include Don Thompson, Keith Wilson, Ken Bautista, who all live in St. Albert, and Jonathan Christenson, now of Edmonton, who grew up here.

“The one thing they [the 50 individuals] have in common is that they are pivotal individuals in their respective communities and they compel people to follow their story,” said Alberta Venture editor Michael Ganley.

St. Albert’s fab four are striking because each and every one appears to be on a mission to “compel” others to join with them in making change.

Businessman Ken Bautista started his career 10 years ago at St. Albert’s Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI) when he launched Hotrocket Studios, which he later sold. His current business is Rocketfuel Games, which is an educational computer game for children. This year he launched the Champions Project, which in many ways goes back to his own NABI roots and is a business accelerator for a number of young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas.

“This award means what we are doing is having an impact and Edmonton is a hotbed for entrepreneurship,” he said.

Lawyer Keith Wilson specializes in representing landowners in legal matters regarding property rights, agriculture, oil and gas and environmental law. In 2009, at the request of the Legal Education Society of Alberta, Wilson volunteered to write a paper about provincial legislation, which he believes will have a huge impact on the government’s right to expropriate land.

Listed by Venture as a “Quiet revolutionary,” Wilson is anything but and will spend the next several months speaking throughout the province about landownership rights, specifically in regard to changes in Bills 19, 36 and 50.

“My job is to help people understand this complex legislation that is already changing how we do business in Alberta. I’m encouraged by this award from >Venture Magazine because it may assist me to make people understand that these three pieces of legislation have significantly changed the power of government,” he said.

Don Thompson worked as general manager of Environment, Health and Safety for Syncrude for some 18 years. Now officially retired, he is under contract by Syncrude as a spokesperson. He is passionate about the importance of the industry.

“The oilsands industry will contribute $2.1 trillion to the Canadian economy over the next 25 years and in that time will employ 900,000 Canadians,” he said as he explained he is on the road three to four days per week speaking about Syncrude and its impact on the environment. In the last two years, he has given more than 250 speeches.

“I will keep being a spokesperson as long as people continue to listen to me,” said Thompson.

Jonathan Christensen, listed by Venture as a “Creative Catalyst” is the artistic director for Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton’s Old Strathcona district. Christensen wrote and directed the award-winning plays, Hunchback and Nevermore and co-directed Frankenstein.

His innovative direction and artistic input has been key to the success of Catalyst and its ability to take these three plays on tour to Europe, the United States and across Canada.