He was a teenager who loved to write. She was much older than him and Red Deer's first female councillor.

The unlikely partnership between then-14-year-old Lorne Daniel and Ethel Taylor began more than 40 years ago when she saw him make a presentation on writing.

Taylor, who was elected in 1961, recruited Daniel after he made an impression on her.

"I was going door to door with her and talking to people about community issues," said Daniel, now 55. "I was delivering political pamphlets with her before I was old enough to vote. My community involvement started with her."

Since then, Daniel has become a key player in several circles, whether it be as an award-winning writer, as a former college instructor or in his current capacity as a consultant.

Daniel is driven by the will to succeed. After all, he grew up in Red Deer with a family of high achievers.

All of his four siblings left the city, and so did he for a while.

He obtained a bachelor's degree in creative writing and a master's degree in communication studies before returning to Red Deer.

He and his psychologist wife Dr. Sandi Koop believed it was the ideal place to raise their three children — Eric, 33, Kate, 31, and Darren, 25.

Red Deer offered many opportunities for Daniel, who had already forged a reputation for being a solid writer for magazines, daily newspapers and other periodicals across Canada.

He won a number of awards for writing, including the Writers Guild of Alberta-sponsored Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Prize in 1995.

The author of three published books of poetry was also noted in Al Purdy's Storm Warning: The New Canadian Poets.

Daniel's passion for writing would carry him in so many ways.

He worked in public affairs for different organizations including Michener Centre and Alberta Social Services.

And his communication and writing skills helped get a number of people elected: Gail Surkan and Morris Flewwelling as mayor, Cal Dallas as MLA for Red Deer South and Lawrence Lee as public school trustee.

In 1989, Daniel began teaching written, oral and group communication courses at Red Deer College.

He enjoyed working at the college — a place he credits for encouraging entrepreneurship and creativity.

So when he started BizWerx Communication in 1997, he was allowed to cut back his teaching hours. Today, the college is a client of the firm, which is now called Grandview Consulting.

Initially, he started writing everything from newsletters to proposals for clients.

Daniel and a staff of six (including Lawrence Lee as operations manager) now do various tasks, including website development, marketing strategies and corporate training. Its largest client is Doctors Eyecare Network, which represents a number of optometry clinics across Canada.

Daniel is also a partner in Venture Central, a small company that has bought and renovated downtown office properties, including the building that Grandview Consulting occupies.

In 2000, his firm, along with architect John Hull and urban planner Ken Johnson, were awarded the city project to devise a development plan for the downtown. Based on that work, the team was invited to update the Greater Downtown Action Plan that will go forward to council for approval in January.

Daniel has enjoyed working on the plan because he is "personally committed to the downtown."

"I really hope that the majority of Red Deer's growth over the next 10 to 20 years happens in its downtown core, that that is where people really want to live," he said.

And he believes with greater public access to the Red Deer River and recreational and cultural opportunities, residents will come.

"A lot of (the downtown plan process) was getting the community involved," said Daniel. "We had a number of very well attended community sessions in June and we really got some good ideas on facilities, open spaces and so on."

Daniel sits on the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce's transportation and environment committees. And he's volunteered with about 20 different organizations over the years.

There's a sense from Daniel that he gets inspired by widespread public involvement and forward-thinking, even though he says he's an introvert.

"I am an ideas person," Daniel said. "I'm a thinking person, but at the same time I am very much interested in community. People will gain a lot of strength from their community. I really do believe that how we plan our communities makes a difference in how we interact."

Just before the October 2007 municipal election, he and wife Sandi formed Rethink Red Deer, a group encouraging smart urban planning.

"There were people who had similar concerns to us, regarding how the city was developing," said Daniel. "It was losing a lot of its character and it was really becoming a sprawl of big box stores . . . there really was a lack of attention paid to planning neighbourhoods for people, versus planning that was largely vehicle-focused."

The group has grown to 225 members. As part of its role, it sponsors speakers who share their expertise on developing regional trails to reducing garbage. Rethink Red Deer also encourages people to use alternative transportation to a vehicle.

Daniel regularly walks to work from his home in West Park Estates, about a 10-minute jaunt.

"We've gone from a two-vehicle family to a one-vehicle family," Daniel said.

He's impressed with Vancouver and New York City because they are so easy to get around on foot. He also likes Portland, Ore., voted one of "America's Best Walking Towns" by Walking Magazine.

"They tore down a freeway along the waterfront because they believed people ought to be able to get to the waterfront," Daniel said.

Wherever he travels, he checks out the running trails. He likes running for the stress relief, and it's also when he does a "lot of thinking."

In the coming years, Daniel and his wife will be spending more time in Central and South America because they love the friendly people and the unique resources and wildlife. They are learning Spanish.

And he hopes to write more in the future. But it will mean prying himself away from the many commitments he has in Red Deer.

"I like to get involved in things where you can make a difference."

Contact Laura Tester at ltester@reddeeradvocate.com