Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker Series

Brett Wilson provided a sincere glimpse into the ups and downs of living an entrepreneurial life. He was a memorable first presenter for the Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker Series, and he finished by announcing a million-dollar donation to start the W. Brett Wilson Centre for Entrepreneurial Excellence. Everyone erupted with spontaneous cheers and applause. For more about this special day visit Trek 2000 Corporation.

Ted Hanlon, an Edwards School of Business alumnus, was the second speaker in the Gordon and Maureen Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker Series. Born in Saskatchewan and educated as an accountant, he found his way into the oil industry, early on. Ted stressed the importance of knowing one’s talents and shortcomings. He believes in building teams accordingly.

Mr. Hanlon has a passion for international business and believes that understanding the nature of business in other countries will lead students to innovate global solutions to shared problems. The Ted Hanlon Centre for International Business at The Murray Edwards School of Business was made possible by a generous, $2 million donation from Mr. Ted Hanlon.

Greg and Jim Yuel, of PCI Investment Group Inc., gave the third presentation in the Haddock Speaker Series. The audience enjoyed the good-natured teasing between this father and son duo. The honesty was inspiring, as they shared some of the lessons they have learned about sharing control, getting over failures, parking one’s ego, and finding life balance. Jim and Greg demonstrated the mutual respect that is needed to have businesses grow, from one generation to the next, while evolving and improving.

Colleen and Walley Mah of Northridge Development Corporation spoke from their hearts at the fourth annual presentation in the Haddock Speaker Series about the challenges that can develop for couples who work together. Questions from the audience included almost as many questions about relationships as about business.

Walley and Colleen work hard, play hard, and give back. Their honesty at this event was admirable and inspiring.

Karen Stewart, Founder, President, and CEO of Fairway Divorce Solutions® was the fifth speaker in the Gordon and Maureen Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker Series. She is an alumnus of The Edwards School of Business. Karen shared her story with complete honesty and returned to Saskatoon in the fall of 2011 to speak at the Edwards’ Women of Influence Breakfast. The Haddocks enjoyed having her stay at their home, and Karen relaxed by the fire, demonstrating her ability to enjoy the simple things in life.

Vaughn Wyant was the sixth speaker in the series, and he illustrated the importance of determination, honour, humility, generosity, and hard work. He is an intuitive business person with a passion for sales, cars, people, and life. He believes in the importance of every person in an organization and strives for good communication. Gord Haddock would willingly sell cars for Vaughn.

Harold Warner, the seventh speaker in the Haddock Speaker Series, is a lifelong entrepreneur who shared his passion and his “outside the box” approach to innovation and commerce. He took the audience from the making of hot air balloons to building innovative portable structures, held up by air, that can be in place, overnight, to handle emergencies. He shared the evolution of this idea, the problem solving that was required, and the possibilities for the future. It was exhilarating!

Since their beginnings on the radio, together, as morning show co-hosts, Brent Loucks and Penney Murphy have been “professional talkers.” As the eighth presenters in the series, Brent and Penney chose to use the interview format, so familiar to them. They shared their life experiences by asking candid questions of each other. It was obvious that their skill in talking helped them navigate their broadcasting careers, their marriage, and their businesses. Everyone in attendance listened eagerly, laughed often, and learned something new.

Mr. Paul Martin visited the Edwards School of Business in 2015 to speak at the Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker Series.

Mr. Martin encouraged everyone to dig deeper when forming opinions. He shared some imaginative solutions to ongoing problems facing entrepreneurs.

FROM UNIVERSITY TO THE REAL WORLD

The tenth presentation in the Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker series was fun and energized. Members of the audience laughed, took notes, and were genuinely engaged. The message for the day was the importance of getting to know people…many people. Friendship can lead to mentorship, which can lead to partnership, as it did with Bryan, Evan, and the Haddocks. Bryan and Evan also shared five key lessons from their experiences. The audience remained well past five o’clock, asking excellent questions.

A GREAT TIME TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

John Williams, President, and CEO of Canwest Commercial and Land Corp shared his entrepreneurial journey, which began in refrigeration and has evolved through 18 businesses into a successful family business. John openly shared many of his pivotal life lessons, and the Haddocks felt they had much in common with the Williams.

Mr. Duane Smith had an exciting childhood business and went on to experience a life of entrepreneurial success. He shared lessons, ideas, and suggestions for would-be entrepreneurs. Students from Edwards School of Business were enthusiastic in their response to his well-planned presentation. Parents of the young entrepreneurs in attendance already plan to attend again next year.

Jana Danielson owns and operates Lead Pilates and Fitness Centre, integrating health and fitness for a growing client base. During her speech, Jana shared her journey, complete with ups and downs, successes and failures. Each young entrepreneur in attendance took something unique from her presentation, but one nine-year-old girl felt great relief from Jana’s message. MIss McKayla Kinnaird, winner of the 2019 Get a Bigger Wagon Young Entrepreneur Award for kids 7 to 9 years of age, was pleased to learn that Jana believes it is fine to change directions, professions, and even interests as you get older.

Mr. Percy Hoff’s presentation offers something different to every listener, but there is much to be learned from his non-judgemental, humble nature. He knows and willingly shares what he learned from each challenge. His entrepreneurial tendencies allowed him to make decisions to protect his family. He demonstrates resilience, determination, problem-solving, generosity, and so much more.

Alex Cruder, the 15th presenter in the Haddock Entrepreneurial Speaker Series, shared his entrepreneurial journey with genuine honesty, complete with ups and downs, recent disappointments, and the resilience required to move forward. His presentation was sometimes funny and occasionally touching. This “moment in time” presentation is worthy of multiple plays. Alex’s is a story of resilience and determination.

Ms. Cindy Lowe believes that financial literacy is essential to a good life and that financial education should start in early childhood and be available to everyone.

After the event, as people left the builing, most were discussing their plans to start investing. Cindy shared some serious thoughts about our society’s need for instant gratification. She asked everyone in attendance to help make financial literacy available to students before they leave high school. Her vision includes training more teachers to bring financial literacy to students of all ages.

FROM GEARS to GARAGES: 2024

Greg Porter’s January 16, 2024, presentation left the audience with a deeper understanding of one family’s ever-evolving entrepreneurial journey. Members of the audience were inspired by Greg’s poignant one-liners and the images he used to illustrate his points.

Please enjoy this video and take note of the thoughts that resonate with you. I carry a mental image of Greg as a preschooler in his Dad’s shop, learning to never give up by looking under the bottlecap liners for prizes. There were many caps bearing the message, try again. Occasionally, there was a win. Life’s like that!

I often say, “Stay in your own lane,” but I will remember Greg illustrating this with a life example. One woman told me she remembers Greg saying that sometimes you have to let go of something before you can begin anew. She admits these might not be his exact words. Of course, we post these videos so you can listen for yourself and hear Greg’s quotes correctly. Enjoy!

Read a synopsis of the presentation at Edwards School of Business.