For living in a small town, Doug Pateman has managed to accumulate a wide variety of work and volunteer experiences.
Currently he is the shop maintenance planner and forecaster at Copper Mountain Mine (CMM).
Pateman’s family moved to Princeton in 1976. After graduating high school he worked mostly in retail, was a carpenter’s helper, and did a stint at Eastgate Esso.
He was hired at Pro Automotive, where he earned his automotive mechanic ticket, and then accepted a position at Compliance Coal, a mine just outside of Coalmont, where he did maintenance and was a lab technician.
Eventually he worked for the general building contractor CMM for two and a half years, then was hired full-time by the mine in 2011.
For almost as long as he has been working, Pateman has also been giving back to the community.
He joined the Princeton Volunteer Fire Department when he was 20 and spent 12 years with that crew. During that time he also joined Highway Rescue, which shared space with the fire brigade.
“Highway Rescue had double the call volume and they only had maybe six or eight volunteers. I thought it would be a good way to help them out and I had a good number of friends on it.”
The work was highly satisfying, he added, as he spent 25 years with that organization.“You could actually, physically, see the difference you were making in someone’s life…”
Pateman has also volunteered with Christmas hampers, rodeos, fall fairs, racing days and other events. “Basically if there was something to volunteer for in town, and people were shorthanded and there was something I could do, I would do it.”
Presently he sits on the board of directors of the Princeton and District Museum, the executive board of the Princeton Posse. He is the team’s billet coordinator, a billet host and the on-ice announcer for home games.
Pateman made his first foray into local politics in 2012, when he was voted in during a by-election. Initially he decided to run because he had many concerns about maintaining emergency services and health care in the community.
Along with the entire council, and mayor, he was acclaimed in 2014 for a four-year term, but was not returned in 2018.
“I’m all about giving back to the community, and that’s pretty much why I am running now. I think I can give back to the community more, and I think what I can give back to the community will be successful.”
Doug and his wife Jenny have four children and four grandchildren. They enjoy leisure time that includes camping, fishing, kayaking, cycling, and ice fishing and skidooing in the winter.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com
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