Sean Towers - Serious about work, life and love.

For Sean Towers, a Civil Technologist in our Kelowna office, “Life is like a big pie. How you divide your life’s pie is up to you. One third of your day is spent sleeping, one third is spent working, and that leaves only one third of your day for yourself and your family.”

Joining Associated Engineering’s Kelowna office in 1995, Sean has pursued his career and found harmony in his home life with this philosophy in mind. “I fully believe that we should love our work and our life. If you do not enjoy your work, then you will be unhappy one third of every day!”

When deciding what career path to follow, Sean was torn between two areas he loved: teaching and engineering. Both areas allowed him to pursue his desire to build and create. “I had a math teacher in high school who had a BSc in engineering,” Sean recalls. “He suggested engineering rather than teaching. I followed his advice.”

Starting as a junior technologist in the Kelowna office, Sean recalls getting a lot of attention from his mentors Ed Bird, Ken Yetman, Alan Emery, and Andrew Ambrozy.

Andrew got Sean involved in site development for the Canadian Tire development projects. These projects have been one of his career highlights. “Canadian Tire is a well known corporation; they are very good clients to work for. Each development is a challenging and rewarding experience,” Sean advises. “Associated Engineering and the Canadian Tire Corporation have worked together for 11 years. Over that time, we have forged a trusting alliance that has led to many successful projects.” Sean now manages site development for Canadian Tire projects across Western Canada.

Currently, the Kelowna office has over 40 commercial developments in various stages of design and construction.

While it could be difficult to keep all of it straight, Sean attributes the success of the Kelowna office to the strong team in the office. Sean says, “Successful project management begins with a clear plan. After that, having the right people for the job is essential. We have a very strong team; everyone pitches in, which makes it easy to manage projects.”

Reflecting on the success he has experienced to date, Sean states, “I had a lot of opportunities as a young technologist; I believe that was the key to my success. Having opportunities allows one to define your life and career path.”

Sean also “gives back”, taking time to mentor junior staff. “I enjoy mentoring young staff. My goal is to train them to be better than I was, or am, or will be!” In the “other waking third” of Sean’s life, he enjoys fixing or renovating things around the home he shares with his wife, Denise. In the winter, Sean likes to work on his Corvette, getting it ready for the summer and the ensuing car shows. Sean and Denise also enjoy camping in the spring and fall, and spending time on the beach or on the water in the summer.

Summing up what makes life great, Sean puts it this way: “Be serious about work, be serious about life, be serious about love.”