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John Garnet Russell Barlow (born October 13, 1971) is currently the Associate Publisher of the Okotoks Western Wheel newspaper. He is running as a candidate for the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party for the constituency of Highwood in the 2012 Alberta provincial election.

Early life
John Barlow was born on October 13, 1971 in Regina, Saskatchewan, the oldest of three children. His father William worked for the insurance business that his great-grandfather started while his mother Denise was a stay-at-home mother and was involved in their church. Growing up, John was very active in hockey and when the family moved to Yorkton, Saskatchewan when John was in high school, he played on the Alliance Church hockey team.

Family life
Barlow is married to his wife Louise and they have three children: Graeden, Kinley and McKenna. He and his family currently reside in Okotoks, having previously lived in High River for 10 years prior to moving to Okotoks 8 years ago.

Education
Barlow attended university majoring in Political Science, as his lifelong interest in politics stemmed from his grandfather working closely with Tommy Douglas and his grandmother having served as Douglas’ secretary.

He then graduated from SAIT Polytechnic (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) with a diploma in journalism.

Business career
Barlow is currently the Associate Publisher of the Okotoks Western Wheel newspaper, having worked there since 1997. Prior to the Western Wheel he was Sports Editor of the High River Times.


 * 1) Journalism Advisory Board for SAIT and Mount Royal University
 * 2) Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association’s Telus Editorial Award of Excellence, 2008 and 2009
 * 3) Okotoks and District Chamber of Commerce Service Excellence Award, 2008 and 2010
 * 4) Canadian Newspaper Association named the Okotoks Western Wheel the top Community Newspaper in Canada, 2010
 * 5) Canadian Newspaper Association’s Community Service Award, 2009
 * 6) Provincial Health Authorities of Alberta Healthy Communities Journalism Award, 2005
 * 7) CN Editorial Award for Business, 2005

Political career
John Barlow is running as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the upcoming Alberta provincial election for the constituency of Highwood.

Leadership and community involvement

 * 1) Member of the Servus Credit Union Community Board for 5 years
 * 2) Member of the Okotoks Library Board for more than 2 years
 * 3) Chair of the Foothills Highland Games for two years
 * 4) Member High River Highland Games Association for 6 years
 * 5) Coached minor hockey in High River and Blackie for 15 years
 * 6) Coached minor football with the Foothills Eagles’ Bantam, PeeWee and Atom programs

External links Official website - http://barlowforhighwood.ca/

INFO FOR RIGHT-RAIL BOX photo: http://barlowforhighwood.ca/images/barlow_dk_512x858.jpg (crop out pic of just John)