Meet the Leaders!

Serge Arseneau

Site Supervisor, Kamloops & Sea to Ski Corridor

Serge Arseneau is Leader Silviculture’s project manager and site supervisor for our Kamloops & Sea to Sky Corridor jobs. He started his forestry work in 2000 as a planter with another company, and was introduced to Francois by his boss at the time. In 2001, he made the switch to become a planter at Leader Silviculture, and lucky for us, he’s been here ever since. Over the years, his drive, work ethic, and natural leadership allowed him to rise up the ranks to Foreman, Supervisor, and finally, his position now.   

Serge is a Whistler resident, and spends his winter off-seasons on the slopes with his family. The ability to work seasonally is what drew him to the job in the first place. Serge originally went to university for business. He applied to plant in the summer of 1999, but ended up picking fruit instead. After that first year, he ended up planting during his school breaks. After graduating from university, he continued his seasonal work as a planter. In the winters, he spent his time in Alberta creating ice-bridges for oil & gas exploration. After getting tired of the 15+ hour days that he often had to do in Alberta, he decided to leave the job and begin working for Leader Silviculture full time. In 2009, Serge met his partner while planting, and they’ve been together ever since, now with a five year old daughter! 

Now, Serge spends his days doing logistics and planning for his projects, balancing tree numbers, and ensuring that everyone has what they need on site each day. He also ensures that all of the sites are safe for work, and everyone the correct safety equipment, if needed. Serge describes himself as an approachable leader, and strives to be someone that takes on stress so that other people don’t need to. He has a way of keeping a positive attitude, even during tough or stressful times, which is how he has managed to adopt the nickname of “Smiley Serge” on the block. He truly loves what he does, and loves to share his love for the job with his team.

Jim Courchesne

Site Supervisor, Merritt

Jim Courchesne is Leader Silviculture’s project manager and site supervisor for our Merritt and Interior BC projects. He originally started planting for Leader in 1997 after his friend found a job posting in a laundromat in Prince George. He met Francois in 2000 or 2001 (one or the other… it was a long time ago!), and worked for Leader Silviculture on a planting job in Whistler. At that time, he also had a crew boss position at another company, and he continued working there instead for a few years. In 2004, Francois offered Jim a supervisor position, and now, Jim spends his summers in Merritt, BC coordinating teams, scheduling projects, and optimizing job sites.

Even during his time at the other planting company, Jim still seemed to be “Team Leader Silviculture." He didn’t think there was as much potential for high-earnings or career growth at the company he was at. That’s why when he found planters who were outperforming their peers, Jim would sometimes send them to Leader Silviculture, so that they could earn more competitive wages and have more room to grow.

Jim was also in University when he found planting. He was earning a degree in history with a minor in political sciences, and was playing on the varsity volleyball team and planting in the summers. He had plans to become a professor, and he didn’t see tree planting as a career until he was around six year into it. At that point, he realized that he was making good money planting, and had managed to buy a house and save for retirement from it. The rest is history!

Jim considers himself to be a collaborative, flexible leader. There are many variables that come with the job, and he believes that it’s important to be able to roll with the punches without adding undue stress on those around him. His favourite thing about working for Leader Silviculture is the people he gets to work with. If it weren’t for the incredible people that he got to meet each summer, the job wouldn’t be the same. His goal is to have the planters on his team have such good experiences that they come back the next year and bring a friend to join them.