BACKGROUND:
Mel Kositsky has lived and worked in the Langley area since 1976, when he returned home from working as a reporter at the Medicine Hat News.  He is a former standardbred horse trainer and breeder and avid sports fan. He also enjoys country music.
 
After a formal education in journalism (University of Western Ontario) and political science (University of B.C.), he has worked in the media (newspaper, radio and television) for more than 30 years as an editor, reporter, columnist and marketing consultant. He is a former editor of the Langley Times.
 
He currently is a media consultant and freelance writer, including a weekly column with the Langley Advance on community events and the horse industry. In 2001, the Horse Council of B.C. formally recognized his contributions to the equine industry.
 
Volunteer work in the community includes Langley Big Brothers (and the B.C. board in the past), co-founder of the Langley Volunteer Bureau, former director of the Langley Chamber of Commerce and a member of the building committee of the Langley Seniors Resource Centre.  He was a volunteer host and producer for 10 years of weekly community talk shows on Rogers and Shaw Community Television, including "Langley People, Valley People, 56th Avenue and Along for the Ride".
 
He also has helped develop an annual celebrity fashion show to benefit the Ishtar Transition Housing Society and is very supportive of therapeutic riding programs in Langley.