It’s common practice in the social media space to be transparent with respect to your clients and vested interests. I’ve wanted to write this post for some time. It’s part disclosure and part ode to some of the remarkable people I call clients – and friends.

My work with the following individuals and organization spans a wide range of services – from social media training and coaching, to blog design and content development, to online personal branding and content marketing. Some engagements have been modest, while others involved more significant time and resources. In all cases, I feel I’ve received as much value as I’ve (hopefully) delivered.

So, here is a list of mostly local, Edmonton-based clients that I have the pleasure of working with:

Chris LaBossiere - Principal of Yardstick Software and founding member of the Aberta Party, Chris tweeted one night that he was looking for help migrating his personal blog to WordPress. I responded and together we re-launched Chris’s personal blog – chrislabossiere.com – on a WordPress platform. Chris is an exceptionally accomplished entrepreneur and tirelessly committed to building a future for the province of Alberta. And he’s a heck of a guy, to boot. I would do almost anything he asked of me. (Oops, was that my outside voice?) Follow Chris on Twitter – it’ll be well worth a few minutes each day from your short attention span.

Jessie Radies – Jessie is the co-owner of the Blue Pear Restaurant in Edmonton and founder of Live Local Alberta. She has spearheaded a movement among local businesses and food producers in Alberta toward strengthening local economies and food systems. She is part of a leading edge group of leaders across North America who are rebuilding local economic infrastructure within communities. Her passion and commitment are inspiring. Jessie tweets actively and is an occasional blogger at jessieradies.ca when she’s not running a restaurant, a non-profit organization and changing the way we think about local economies.

Jennifer Fisk – Jennifer is a public relations professional (Freestone Communications) with considerable skills and experience in media relations and crisis management. Also a tireless community builder, she is active on numerous non-profit boards throughout the city of Edmonton and is a strong supporter of the local culinary scene. Jennifer tweets regularly and maintains an insightful and beautifully written blog at actuallyhappening.ca.

Randy Boissonnault - I met Randy for the first time one morning. By that afternoon, we’d had our second meeting and were well on our way to working together. That’s how Randy rolls – there’s no time to waste. Never a better time than now. Successful entrepreneur and trusted strategic advisor (Xennex), Randy combines a razor-sharp mind with a boundless energy to get things done. Equally passionate about helping, Randy is an active Rotarian and founder of Literacy Without Borders. What’s the point of building a successful business if it isn’t facilitating positive development in its clients, employees and the community at large. Randy tweets and maintains a compelling blog at randyb.ca.

Travis Blake – Travis has an entrepreneurial and transformative vision to save the planet through sustainable deconstruction and demolition (R3Demo.com). Where others see construction waste, he sees opportunity – through reclamation, recycling, and reuse – to lighten our ecological footprint and build a business offering unique value in an old-fashioned sector. Travis tweets, but he’s a networking superhero and he does it the good old-fashioned way – face to face. If you’re planning on taking down a building somewhere in Alberta, you really ought to call him.

Peter Silverstone – Peter is a physician with a very inquisitive mind. He couldn’t understand why oil companies had to make so much of an ecological mess producing oil from the tar sands. So he studied it and found out, lo and behold, they didn’t. World’s Greenest Oil was the result, a compelling treatise explaining how Alberta could be producing the cleanest oil on the planet. Peter tweets and blogs about green oil and national/global politics surrounding this issue.

Bruce Winter – Following a successful career as an on-air sports broadcaster, Bruce started a sports entertainment production company (Aquila) and became a fixture in the Edmonton sports community. But he has other passions as well. Bruce wants to leave this world – and his community – in better shape than how he found it. He is an avid supporter of technological innovation and energy efficiency, in particular. Bruce tweets and currently blogs at Posterous (but is working on a new blog site).

Julie Hamilton – Julie never quite imagined she’d be where she is today. She’s the mother of a Canadian Forces soldier who’s served in Afganistan. And she’s been so moved by this experience that she has also taken on the role of executive director of Valour Place – a respite home for injured soldiers. Thing is, Valour Place doesn’t exist yet. But Julie and the organization’s many supporters are building it. Julie is beginning to tweet and maintains a blog called showyourvalour.ca. Visit the blog and show yours.

Brad Smoliak – Co-founder of Hardware Grill and Alberta House head chef for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Brad knows his way around a kitchen. He currently consults as a research chef, crafting and testing tasty concoctions that will one day show up in your supermarket. Brad loves cooking and is a master griller of flesh (he has a successful BBQ cookbook and a rub to die for). Brad is thinking about starting to tweet and blogs at bradsmoliakcooks.ca.

When people ask me why I enjoy living and working in Edmonton, I tell them it’s because of the people, because of the community. Thanks for your confidence, folks.