Jest Dempsey Sidloski is one of the most intriguing, community-minded, and creative people I know, and his career path is quite a story. I've known Jest for over 17 years - we became friends in the 7th grade, and even back then, it was clear that he was destined to make an impact on the world.
When asked about his goals 17 years ago, he reflects, "Looking back, When I was a child, I wanted to be involved with community service of some kind. Most often, I leaned toward police office or paramedic - something where I could help people. Interestingly enough, I did go to college to start my career in the emergency medical field. We know today that isn’t the career path I’ve followed, however."
Today, Jest is the Director of Customer Experience, eCommerce & Marketing for Peavey Industries in Red Deer, Alberta. At 15 years old, he participated in a work-experience program and earned an entry level position at Peavey Mart in Lloydminster, AB. The store sells a mixture of hardware, outdoor equipment, and much more.
"I did everything! Cleaned toilets, mopped, swept, took out the trash, stocked the shelves and ran the cash register. I had no idea I would be with the company still to this day," Jest recalls.
He goes on to say, "Something clicked throughout my career with Peavey - I’ve always had fun and been respected, learned a lot, and grew with the organization. Throughout my career, I would be allowed to leave for education and travel purposes early on - giving me further opportunity to grow and explore and discover myself. Peavey was always there, in the background. Even as I had other jobs and went to school, I was always there part time."
Career Paths Travelled: You tried moving to the UK once. You also pursued EMT work briefly. Tell us about how these experiences shaped your future.
Jest: "I had high hopes for the UK. A friend and I decided to go after High School on work visas. The friend was not able to stay long and quickly returned home. This was my first time traveling, ever. Looking back it wasn’t ideal to attempt to move away for 6 months on my own at the age of early 18. I got a job with the British Heart Foundation in London, England where I was to campaign citizens against fast food franchises and attempt to raise money for the cause. I found a flat near Piccadilly Circus where I would live with 6 other young individuals - I shared a bedroom at a cost of 400 pounds per month. It didn’t last long, and I was back to Saskatchewan a few months later. I’m glad I went, I learned a lot about myself and the feeling of being vulnerable, a feeling I’ve now come to enjoy. It was the kick off to my travel filled lifestyle and I believe if I didn’t go - I may not have the sense of adventure I do today.
I did go to school and become certified in EMR- it was a dream career. I thought I would work for STARS Air Ambulance and become a paramedic savings lives every single day. We had a very hands on training in North Alberta. I never followed suit with further training to my path as a Paramedic as the recession would just hit in 2008 and the oilpatch, which allowed for EMR experience before becoming an EMT, was not hiring anyone in the industry. It was the same time that my District Manager at Peavey asked if I wanted to start a career in business, and if I ever saw retail as a career. I believe I was meant to learn these emergency skills, as they would come in handy a year later when I was presented with an emergency situation, which will always live in my memories."
Career Paths Travelled: Over the years, your career with Peavey Industries has grown exponentially. Walk us through these changes and how you’ve been able to do this.
Jest: "From work experience to a position where I report directly to the company owner. I love a good tenure story and I am learning my story is not as unique as I first thought. Many large company CEOs have started in the retail store or restaurant. I mentioned a little about the opportunity to learn business instead of the medical path that I thought I would go down. With each promotion I have received, I’ve been allowed an educational component. I started my path as a Manager In Training. I remember in this role I remained assertive and eager, always staying on top of opportunities and letting our organizational structure know (despite my age) that I was ready for my own store. It was shortly after we had a Manager move on and a store in Alberta was vacant - I didn’t apply, another DM reached out to see if I wanted the opportunity, I happily took it. That experience gave me a great sense of pride and fulfillment, but lasted 11 months as I was promoted into our home office by our companies new General Manager (Owner Today).
I was brought into Home Office to enhance the company's Training & Development Department - it might have been a department of one, for many years, but I was able to initiate several corporate initiatives including an official Manager In Training program, Employee & Manager Assessments, A Learning Management System, and Regional Training events. After doing that role for many years, I had the opportunity to become a District Manager for the company and look after 7 stores in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, I did both of those roles interim-ly while we searched for a new DM for the region. I loved the District Manager job, as I love dealing with communities, customers and our employees - that’s a passion of mine.
Career Paths Travelled: You’re very dedicated to giving back to the communities you’ve lived in. Tell us a bit about the initiatives you’ve founded and participated in over the years.
Jest: "I have always been passionate about community work. From a very young age, I started helping seniors with yard care and garden work, getting groceries for them and walking them to their homes. I have been so fortunate to have been raised healthy and happy with a very strong mother who instilled giving more than we take. When I moved to Lacombe, Alberta, I joined Big Brothers & Big Sisters - it was an opportunity to give back to children who needed a friend or a someone to talk to, I was honoured to receive the award for Big Brother of the year in Central Alberta that year!
Shortly after my time in Lacombe, I moved to Red Deer where I started an annual Movember Gala - it has raised over $60,000 for men's health since inception. I also founded an organization called 100 Men Red Deer, and while I am no longer running that group, it’s raised more than $100,000 for local groups and charities within Red Deer.
I am also proudly Board President of the Women’s Outreach Centre & Suicide Information and Education services - I have a board of 7 individuals who shape the organizations and what they do. Both of these organizations are incredibly massive in Central Alberta and are pivotal to helping vulnerable citizens - it’s life-changing work. The agencies are filled with the most incredible staff who work every day to change the lives of people around them.
Career Paths Travelled: What are some of the career challenges you’ve experienced over the years, and how have you moved passed them?
Jest: "Thank you for asking this, I was actually going to blog about it soon. Age. Nobody admits it and nobody will talk about it, but Age Discrimination is very real. I’ve always been one of the youngest people in the room, youngest manager, youngest director, youngest leaders, youngest board president, etc. I’ve had many situations in life where people don’t take me seriously or don’t give me the time of day. I would like to be able to type here and let you know how I’ve moved passed this, but at 29 years old, I still struggle with this every single day. I work through it by knowing the work I do is important and real and making a difference. I often get invited to speak to other organizations or at events - people invite me to hear what I have to say. I need to remember my achievements and what I’ve conquered and not let age discrimination bother me. I have a voice and I know what I’m doing, I just have to work harder to prove it. That’s part of life, that’s part of growing. There will always be road blocks and hindrances to everything we do in our careers, I firmly believe it’s how we overcome those hurdles that make us better."
Career Paths Travelled: What advice would you give to new graduates at the beginning of their careers?
Jest: "You don’t have to work for a company with a toxic leader. This may be different than most people's answers, but I am serious about this one. Far too often I hear from friends and family entering their workplace that their boss is toxic, bullies or lacks leadership. Try to manage up first, read the book Managing Up by Mary Abbajay- it can help you on your journey to effectively manage any type of boss. I hope you get a leader and an organization with a positive culture. A culture of great engagement, community spirit, giving back and a great work/life balance. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have nothing but great bosses along the way. All incredibly different with different styles, but my company's FABRIC and Culture allows leaders to lead this way. If yours doesn't, don’t stick it out - life's too short to become stressed at work and to hate what you do. Do not let one person ruin it for you."
Career Paths Travelled: Fun Question - Tell us your best travel story.
Jest: "I have now traveled to 14 countries around the world. I have some horrific travel stories and some tragically funny stories. Today, I am choosing one a little more intense than fun.
The year was 2016, and I was traveling to northern India and Nepal, after a week In India, we were descending on the northern Nepal border. I became violently ill, more ill than I've ever been in my life - I think I caught a bug of some kind. We stopped at the Nepal border and I ran outside of the van and threw-up at the border cross. The border crossing was a shack with an armed guard, a bunch of cows and chickens and no fence. Needless to say, We weren’t getting into Nepal, so we headed south the Agra - the city with the Taj Mahal. I could not make it, as I was only becoming more sick. I believe I lost 10 pounds in a matter of days. I couldn’t stand or sit, so my friends who were local Indians found a pharmacist and got me strong medication and a nice hotel room with air conditioning - I slept for 2 days straight. Remarkably good enough to go and visit the Taj.
Speed limits in India were notoriously slow as there are so many drivers on the road and so many obstacles. Once leaving Agra for a city called Jiapour, we were able to get up to 80 an hour on nice roads, the night came and without warning our van came to a screeching halt after a serious collision. Pieces of our van were laid all over the highway. I looked behind us, scrambling to figure out what happened - there was a cow on the road. We had hit a cow that was hiding in the trees of the meridien. It stepped into traffic without warning and totalled our van. We were in a very religious area, where cows are worshiped. The entire community came out. There was yelling and arguing and tense moments.
Jest's first 29 years have been remarkable, and in 2018, he and Marilou became parents to a son, Oakland. These days (from the East Coast), I keep up with Jest's travels and life-updates via Facebook, and I look forward to seeing what he'll do next.
And one more Jest-quote to end the article, "Earlier, I mentioned that I wanted to help people - I do that now, every day, it’s just a lot different than what I imagined it would look like. Just this week (Dec.2018) I am handing out $50,000 in cheques to community groups across Ontario. I am passionate about the work my company does and I am honoured to be a part of it."
*All photos submitted by Jest Dempsey Sidloski
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