Hmmm…. were do I start???
My name is Chris O’Neill. I was born and raised in southern California, and immigrated to Canada in the mid-1970’s. I married in 1981 and have 4 children who are now grown up and on their own. I have lost count of the number of grand-kids I have but it is north of 10, and I have 1 great-grand-kid. I divorced my first wife in 2000 and married my current wife, Cori, in 2003.
I spent 30+ years working as a health care administrator in health facilities in Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Ontario. As well, I worked as a project director for the Government of Manitoba, managing a province-wide health technology project. I also worked for IBM Canada in Alberta as a Consultant to Alberta Health for their province-wide health information network. Finally, I started my own consulting practice and worked on various contracts for both governments (Alberta and Nunavut) and large, multi-facility health organizations (Ontario).
In 2003, Cori and I decided to take a sabbatical and travel. We sold almost all of our possessions, bought a motorhome, and spent 7 years travelling all over Canada and the United States. We spent summers in Canada visiting family and friends, and winters in warmer climes such as Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. We helped finance our wonderlust by working as demonstrators doing “road shows” in Costco.
In 2008, while we were travelling, I started twisting balloons as a fun diversion in my spare time. What started as a hobby soon turned into a passion (Cori would call it an “addiction”). I have done balloon entertainment in Florida, Arizona, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
We finally retired in 2011, and Cori and I now enjoy living Calgary, Alberta To help supplement our retirement income, I now do balloon art and entertainment throughout the Calgary region.
My main focus is doing live, on-site entertainment at private parties (birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, family BBQ’s, etc.), corporate events (grand openings, customer appreciations, staff BBQ’s and Christmas parties, etc.), and community events. I also do balloon decor – columns, arches, table centerpieces, etc. – for a variety of events.
So, there you have it… the Reader’s Digest version of the story of my life. If you would like more information, or would like a free quotation for balloon entertainment or decor for your next event, please feel free to contact me.