magine that you re-married and added a daughter to your previous brood of two, were elected the head of the New Brunswick Chamber of Commerce with responsibility to 53 local Canadian Chambers of Commerce, and then suffered the death of your 26 year-old son.

Now imagine that all happening in one year.

Such has been the past year for Bermudian Thomas Nisbett, as he warmly reflected with at the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. He is in Bermuda for two weeks, in part to visit the Island as he regularly does at least once a year, but also to gather his family not only in the wake of his son's death last month but also in celebration of his grandmother's 96th birthday and his parents' ? Canon Thomas and Winifred Nisbett of Devonshire ? 50th wedding anniversary.

Mr. Nisbett's wife of one year, Colleen, and their two daughters, Erin and Chelsea, have accompanied him from the small horse farm that they call home in New Brunswick.

He said: "I had to bring my family to Cup Match. That was two great days of cricket."

Mr. Nisbett was elected president last May, having been a member of the New Brunswick Chamber's executive board, and his involvement over the last year has allowed him to travel all around the world, working on one of the Chamber's projects to better connect its 23,000 chambers worldwide. The Chamber is in the initial stages of a project to connect all of the Atlantic Coast Chambers of Commerce, from Newfoundland to the Caribbean, to be called the Atlantic Coast Network.

In addition to his role with the New Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Nisbett serves as the treasurer to the Atlantic Provinces Chamber which is working to position Atlantic Canada as the eastern gateway to North America for Europe. His experience with the Halifax Board of Trade, though nearly 15 years ago, aids this role greatly. With the board, he participated in tourism development including attracting airline business and helping establish tourist attractions.

Mr. Nisbett's fervour for business may come from his work periodically bringing him back to Bermuda. In 1993 through his company Petrel Communications Associates, he submitted the results of a survey of travel agents in Canada's Atlantic provinces and suggested that Bermuda establish a weekly, year-round Air Canada service from Halifax. Although the bid was unsuccessful, Mr. Nisbett still believes that Canada is a great untapped resource for Bermuda's tourism.

either was that the last time Mr. Nisbett got involved in local business: in 1996, he was a consultant to a group that was looking to establish the First International Citizens' Bank in Bermuda. Though that venture was also unsuccessful, he exclaimed: "It's not dead yet!" and then added a furtive "stay tuned".

The enthusiasm and energy that was evident during the interview proved that Mr. Nisbett must have no trouble keeping up with all of his roles. Indeed, he had barely sat down before he had had his say on a slew of social and business issues in Bermuda.

Though Mr. Nisbett has lived in New Brunswick for just over 20 years, he grew up in Bermuda with his parents and attended the Boaz's Island School in Somerset prior to Francis Patton Primary. He said he felt it was important for Bermudians to know that they can come from a small beginning, like Boaz's Island School which no longer exists, and go anywhere in the world. Though some of Mr. Nisbett's comments about Bermuda reflected a need to better retain local talent (See article, starting on Page 18), he himself has stayed abroad for personal reasons. He said with a laugh: "Love makes you do strange things."

Almost 30 years ago, he graduated from Saltus Grammar School's Graduate Year and was one of 34 Bermudians who attended St. Mary's University in Halifax at the time. After earning a business administration degree, he returned to the Island to work at the Bank of Bermuda ? where he'd worked each summer of university ? and to complete his military service with the Bermuda Regiment. He said: "I had done about three-quarters of an economics degree while I was working towards my business administration degree. So I went back for one year to finish the second degree, but I met my first wife and stayed."

e is now the president and chief executive officer of the consulting firm Petrel Communications Associates in addition to working in the marketing and corporate development department of a Malley Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of speciality vehicles.

Despite his great involvement on different levels of the business industry, Mr. Nisbett visits Bermuda often and he said the main change he has noticed over the years is the heavy traffic.

"Bermuda has become more hurried and not as laid back as it used to be. Part of it is because the whole world is moving at light speed, and Bermuda is part of that. But, Bermuda should decide what its own style is and keep it."

When asked if he saw himself ever returning to the Island on a more permanent basis, Mr. Nisbett said with a twinkle in his eye and a great smile: "I'm always open to it if the opportunity arises."