John graduated with a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Manitoba in 1978, and retired after 40 years as a professor in 2019. He has given clinics on technology, computers, and programming related to model railroading at the local, Regional, and National levels. One of his clinics can be found on the NMRA website. He is currently on the NMRA Board of Directors. His current model railroad is a freelanced short line, in N scale, set in the mountains of southern British Columbia. He believes that the NMRA must be careful to keep abreast of new trends and technologies in order to remain relevant to new generations of model railroaders.