Jason Heistad was elected as Vice-President on Oct. 21, 2005, during the 29th annual AUPE convention.

At the time of his election, Heistad, a long-time activist in AUPE’s Education Sector, was serving as Chair of Local 071/002, which represents non-academic employees of Olds College, and was a member of the union’s Committee on Political Action. Heistad, 34, works as a Instructional Assistant at Olds College.

In addition to his many AUPE activities, Heistad was elected to a second term as a member of the Innisfail Town Council on Oct. 18, 2004. He is a member of the council’s committees on general government development services, transportation services and recreation, culture and education. He served as Innisfail’s Deputy Mayor in May, June and July of 2004 and 2005.

As well as his formal duties on the town’s council. Heistad is a member of the board of the Parkland Regional Library and the Innisfail Chamber of Commerce. He coaches minor soccer and is a team manager in the Innisfail Recreational Men’s Hockey League.

Jason was raised in a union family. His grandfather, Stan Horodyski, was an official of the Canadian Auto Workers union. His wife Sharla is a member of AUPE Local 003. Jason and Sharla have three daughters.

j.heistad@aupe.org