Dennis V. Hofer was born July 17, 1948 in Lethbridge.  He earned his Private Pilot License at age 16 at the Lethbridge Flying Club.  He attended the Lethbridge Junior College and obtained a Certificate in Business Administration.  Following this he joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1967 and served until 2003 at which time he retired in Lethbridge.  While with the RCMP he served on United Nations duty in Haiti from October 1995 to February 1996 training new democratic police officers.  He also served on UN duty as a specialized police trainer in Bosnia-Herzegovina from November 1997 to April 1998.