Name: Jeff Hiibner
Job Title: Site Manager
Location: Regina (YQR)
At ServiceTec since: Oct, 2024
Family/Live With:
I live in Regina with my wife, Crystal, and our two daughters — Kenley (11) and Sloan (9). Kenley keeps us running with competitive water polo, and Sloan has fully committed to her curling era — and they both bowl on top of all that. Between sports, school, and everything in between, our house is basically a revolving door of practices, snacks, and chauffeuring!
Pets:
None — I’m “allergic”… or at least that’s what I keep telling the kids!
Hobbies/Interests:
I’m a competitive 5-pin bowler, and when I’m not at the lanes, you can usually find me cooking. I love firing up the Blackstone for just about anything, or spending a few hours making a good smoked rack of ribs.
Quick Fire Questions
Last book you read:
Lead It Like Lasso. I really enjoyed it . My biggest takeaway? The “be a goldfish” mindset. Short memory, focus forward, don’t dwell on mistakes
Last movie you saw:
Happy Gilmore 2. A true cinematic masterpiece… or at least a hilarious nostalgia trip. Let’s just say it reminded me that no matter how stressful life gets, it could always be worse — you could be taking golf advice from Shooter McGavin.
Favourite band or artist:
Right now, all that seems to play in my household is Taylor Swift, not by choice, but because I live with two daughters. My actual tastes lean more toward good country music or the Dave Matthews Band when I get control of the playlist.
Happy place: Definitely our backyard oasis. In the summer, it’s where we basically live — the pool going, the music on, and me running my outdoor kitchen setup with the BBQ, Blackstone, and Smoker all fired up. And of course, there’s the old Coke vending machine that, somehow, now only dispenses beer. Not sure how that happened… but I’m not complaining!
Hidden talent:
It could be my bowling, I’m a 3-time national gold medalist but that still doesn’t come close to my wife’s résumé. Honestly, if we started listing her bowling accomplishments, this newsletter would turn into a special edition. I also really enjoy cooking, and I’ve been told my Dr Pepper–smoked ribs might actually be life-changing. At this point, they might even be my real legacy. And now I’m hungry… great.
Favourite memory:
My favourite memory is winning a national gold medal in bowling with my wife in 2023. It was incredibly special not just because we won, but because our daughters were there to see it. What made it even better was that it happened in the same place we first met back in 2002, at bowling nationals in Edmonton, competing on the same team. A full-circle moment if there ever was one.
First job: My first job was at the Golden Mile Bowling Alley as a pin chaser, basically the guy who sprinted behind the machines to rescue bowling pins and keep things running. It was glamorous… if your definition of glamorous includes dodging flying pins and hoping the machines didn’t eat your hand. But hey, it built character!
Some silly stuff:
What is the weirdest food you have eaten?
Rattlesnake and yes, it really does taste like chicken, just a little more “why am I eating this?”
What’s on your bucket list?
I’d love to take my wife and kids on a big family vacation either to one of those incredible over-water villas you see in the travel commercials, or back on a Disney cruise again. The last one was amazing, and getting all of us away together with zero schedules would be the dream.
What’s one item you want to own that you don’t?
Honestly, it’s not one item… it’s more stuff for my outdoor kitchen. Maybe a pizza oven, a Big Green Egg, or even another smoker. LOL at this point, I’m basically building a full outdoor restaurant.
What’s your most hated household chore?
Household chores? What are those? I’m convinced I have a magic coffee table that came with a cleaning fairy. I leave my cup there at night, and by morning it’s washed and put away. Truly incredible technology.
Super-power of choice?
I love food but unfortunately, so does my body. So my super-power of choice would definitely be the ability to eat whatever I want without gaining a single pound. Imagine the BBQ, Blackstone, and smoker possibilities!
What’s the worst fashion or hair decision you’ve made?
Oh, can we not talk about the time I bleached my hair… or, even worse, when I frosted the tips? Let’s just say it seemed like a good idea at the time, but the pictures tell a very different story.
If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?
Strikes, Spares & Smoked Meat: The Man Who Took All Three Way Too Seriously.
It would be a rollercoaster of competitive bowling, backyard BBQ experiments, and me convincing myself that owning “just one more grill” is a personality trait. Probably a bestseller… at least in my house.
When is the last time you played the air guitar?
Probably the last time Taylor Swift came on, mainly to embarrass my daughters. It’s one of my top dad skills.
Ever had a speeding ticket?
Yes… unfortunately, I have. Let’s just say the officer did not appreciate my argument that I was simply “making good time.”
Have you ever won a contest?
I’ve actually won a few! One of them was a Blackstone grill, which is what kicked off the whole backyard outdoor kitchen obsession. But my most memorable win was a trip for two anywhere WestJet flies. I took my wife to Ireland for our 40th birthdays, and it was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. Incredible scenery, amazing people, and more pints of Guinness than I’ll publicly admit to. It was pure Irish magic.
Motto or Saying
What is your favourite motto or saying?
For bowling, it’s definitely “Strikes for show and spares for dough.” It’s classic, and it’s true.
