You are invited to Creative Third Thursdays on November 20. We will be talking to Sandra Bonner Pederson about her career in the television and video production industries.

Sandra is the owner/operator of Bear Image Productions, a video production company established in 2002 located on the Tzeachten First Nation. Her grandparents were Chief John and Nellie Hall, from Tzeachten and her parents George and Helen (Hall) Bonner raised eight children in Chilliwack.

Sandra started in the television industry in 1989 as a volunteer host for a First Nation program entitled “Rebirth of a Nation.” She wanted to learn how to help behind the scenes of this program, so she collected the prerequisites over a two-year period necessary to enrol at BCIT in the two-year Television Broadcasting Diploma Program. Sandra graduated from BCIT at the top of her class in 1994, and worked first at ITV in Edmonton as a writer/producer in promotions and then carried this same title over to Super Channel and Family Channel.

Sandra really enjoyed working in Edmonton, but her roots were in Chilliwack. After she had her daughter, Sandra decided it was time to move home. She returned to Chilliwack and worked as a part-time shooter and editor for Shaw Cable. All this experience led her to where she is today: owner/operator of her own video production company, Bear Image Productions. Sandra currently has two-full time employees and the team has produced a variety of videos for the First Nations in this area and across Canada.

Please visit our website to view some samples of Bear Images work: www.bearimage.ca. There is a TV icon that will take you to their YouTube channel where you can become a subscriber. Sandra loves her job, and she loves being a strong voice for First Nation People.

Watch our latest interview to get a sense of what to expect. Live video production courtesy of Studio C at Cowork Chilliwack.