Meet the Team
Mike Golka
"I knew I had to run this outfitting business because its the only way I could hunt almost every day of the season without my wife getting upset with me."
Mike is an entrepreneur, father of 4 boys and 1 girl, avid hunter and hockey player. Growing up as a farmer in the Hardisty area encouraged his training as a jack of all trades while giving him an exceptional understanding of the land in and surrounding Hardisty.
Mike has been running WGG for 18 years and worked in it alongside his dad for about another 15 years before taking ownership. His love for waterfowl hunting and his expertise in all things ducks and geese allows him to find hunts worthy of your long trip to Hardisty Alberta.
Kathy Golka
Regardless of how the hunting is, Kathy will make sure that the rest of your trip exceeds your expectations.
As a former flight attendant who was chosen as the Queen of England's personal flight attendant during a period of her career, part-time accountant, and far more than full-time outstanding and passionate mother of 5 kids, you can be sure that she will be capable of taking care of whatever comes her way.
Kathy loves to get to know the hunters that join us, and this shows with friendships made that last outside of the hunting season. There are several groups that have been coming for many years and each year Kathy is anxiously waiting for a hug as they arrive from the airport.
Mark Greenberg
Mark is a long-time family friend of the Golka’s who became passionate enough about the business to become part of it many years ago.
As an American resident, he has to make the trip across the border like many of our hunters for the season. His love of hunting and reciprocated love for the Golka family keeps him coming back each year to share over 30 years of goose and duck hunting experience with our hunters! His knowledge and skills shines through in his excellent ability to help manage the day to day operations each fall.
Jessica Powell
Tim Duhaime
Tim’s knowledge and understanding of hunting (waterfowl as well as big game) comes from years of exceptional attention to detail and active learning. This understanding, paired with Mike’s experience, helps make sure that you get put in the right place at the right time.
Even in some of the most intense or stressful situations, Tim uses his very creative and often silly humor to make sure no one gets too worked up about anything. You will see Tim on and off throughout the season – along with his retired Black Lab field-trial champion – working his magic directly in the hunting operation as well as keeping everyone in good spirits everywhere he goes.
Duane Powell
Having grown up with Mike in the Hardisty area and working in a lot of the same scenarios as him such as grain farming, cattle feed lots, and any manual labor whenever it was needed, Duane is a valuable asset to the operation. We respect and admire his capacity to learn quickly and thoroughly and to work tirelessly for several weeks at a time during the season. As tired as he may be, he is always a pleasure to have on the crew. Coming back to his roots and getting to join in on the waterfowl hunting experience is something that Duane looks forward to when the start of the season gets close.
Christine Powell
Duane & Christine have been long time family friends of the Golka's for many years.
Together, Christine and Kathy make a great team while they make your stay as enjoyable as it can be. Christine can clean a dish just as fast as Kathy can dirty one up, or can whip up a new batch of batter as fast as Kathy can cook it. Just when Kathy starts spinning around in circles in the kitchen asking, "Now what the heck do I need next??" Christine already has it waiting for her within arm's reach.
Christine's positivity, friendliness, and compassion is enjoyed by our hunters and very much so by our family.
Aaron Stoodley (In Memory Of)
Aaron had been a part of the Wild Goose Guiding experience for over 10 years.
As a passionate hunter, resident near the Hardisty area, and nearly adopted son to Mike and Kathy, Aaron proved to be an integral part of the operation during the season and took on more responsibility as he learned the ropes from Mike over the years.
Aaron passed away very suddenly in May of 2020 causing our crew, and several of our groups of hunters that have been coming back for many years, to be without a very familiar face.
