Who is Kim Siever?

If you are looking for someone to work in your marketing, communications or public relations department, please hire Kim Siever. Here’s why:

I can work with the press.

I’ve written dozens of press releases, and I’ve interviewed with television, radio, and newspaper reporters.

I can market online.

I’ve written for, designed, and developed websites for over 13.5 years. I’ve worked on sites in the retail, non-profit, health-care, post-secondary, and media sectors.

I have 4 years experience on Facebook, 3 years on Twitter, 4 years on Youtube, and I’ve written for blogs for over 7 years.

I coordinated the writing efforts for an award-winning article on Wikipedia, and I published an article on A List Apart, an industry magazine.

I can speak in public.

I’ve written and delivered dozens of speeches. I’ve provided training. I’ve taught classes. I’ve presented at conferences and to municipal governments.

I can organize events.

I’ve organized a mayoral candidate forum, a three-location open house, and dozens of social gatherings.

I can design.

I’ve developed logos, business cards, print ads, brochures, posters, and newsletters. I also have experience with brand identity.

I have real experience.

I was the communications director for the Allied Arts Council and the Southern Alberta Technology Council in 2001 and 2002, and I’m in my second year as the online  communications director for London Road Neighbourhood Association. I’ve been the marketing coordinator for Southern Alberta Home Schooling Supplies for the last six months.

Others love my work.

Consider these testimonials:

“We benefited from Kim’s contributions and expertise particularly in the area of communications, and his leadership . . . assisted in raising the professional standards of the organization. Kim initiated and managed the layout and production of [our] first three-year business plan and the development and implementation of strategies to better communicate with [our] membership. His knowledge of communications practices and technical skills ensured these initiatives were highly successful.” —S.L.

“Kim is  a fine write who focuses on the nuances of discussion, and he knows how to utilize new technologies to further communication. Kim’s many years working with . . . online communication give him the edge.” —E.J.

“One of Kim’s observed strengths is how well he interacts with other people. He speaks well and listens intently. I esteem him as a leader amongst his peers.” —S.K.

“Kim is an effective leader with a keen knack for delegation of tasks. I have seen Kim speak publicly on many occasions, and he is always well prepared and an excellent orator.” —P.T.

If you want to meet with Kim Siever to discuss anything above in more detail, contact him at kim.siever@gmail.com.

If there is one thing I hate about cycling in Lethbridge, it’s the drivers.

Don’t get me wrong. Most of the drivers by far seem very polite and accommodating to a cyclist like me, who rides on the road with traffic rather than on pathways or sidewalks. They don’t seem to speed past me in frustration, they patiently wait behind me at stop lights, and so on.

But every once in awhile, people show up who don’t like to or know how to share the road with cyclists.

Consider this week:

• Two occasions when I am stopped at a stop sign at a 2-way stop intersection motor vehicles travelling in the direction perpendicular direction to me and stop, waving me through. They have no stop signs, so they are stopping illegally. I am not anywhere near the crosswalk, and am located exactly where a motor vehicle would be if it were in my place.
• I was stopped at another 2-way stop waiting to turn left. At the stop sign across the street from me, five motor vehicles are waiting for perpendicular traffic to clear so they can each, in turn, travel through the intersection. As a vehicle myself turning left, I do not have the right of way. The driver of a motor vehicle parked behind me leans out his window and yells, “Why don’t you walk your bike across the intersection?” I wonder if I were driving my van and waiting to turn left, would he yell, “Why don’t you walk your van across?”
• I was third in line at a red light. When the light turned green, I advanced with the two motor vehicles in front of me, and clearly signalled I was turning left. The vehicle behind me passed me on my left as he was turning left, too.
• I am at a red light in the left-hand lane. A motor vehicle pulls up beside me in the right-hand lane. On the traffic light post in front of us are clearly marked signs that indicate my lane is a through lane and the right lane is a turn-only lane. I advance with the green light, and the vehicle in the other lane tries passing me on my right.

I think it will be a while before cyclists is viewed in this city as legitimate users of the road.