Hot Seat

Anything but strange!

“What a long strange trip it has been.” That line from a Grateful Dead song keeps running through my mind as I approach retirement at the end of July. In reality, it has been neither strange nor has it seemed long. Apparently, it has been 22 years since I walked in the door.

In 1998, I was at the Daily Press in Timmins, Ont. when my wife spotted a tiny ad in the Globe and Mail for an editor at a publication called Mechanical Buyer and Specifier.

This was intended to be a short-term gig between newspapers. Except I felt right at home. I was a fitter/welder in Edmonton during the 70s – most of it with the Derrick & Rig Equipment Company (Dreco) – until then prime minister Pierre Trudeau put all of us out of work in 1981 with the National Energy Policy. I was unemployed and I liked to write, so I went to university to pursue journalism.

That worked out fairly well and I worked in newspapers for about 12 years before Plumbing & HVAC called. Suddenly I was writing about a lot of really interesting stuff that manufacturers, engineers, wholesalers and contractors were building. On many occasions, I phoned people out of the blue, seeking information on something or other, and they’ve almost always been gracious and helpful.

There are many, many people that have helped me along the way. It started with my friend and neighbour in Timmins, Ray Pilon, who owned Ideal Plumbing & Heating. I think I was the only applicant with a plumber

for a reference. My first editor, Ron Shuker, and publisher Craig Coulter taught me a lot.

I have worked for two company owners, Jim Glionna at Newcom Business Media and my long-time publisher and current owner Mark Vreugdenhil at Marked Business Media. They have always supported me and allowed me to do what I thought should be done.

I received a lot of help from associations and their members. In particular, I would like to thank Ralph Suppa at CIPH, Martin Luymes and Warren Heeley at HRAI and Richard McKeagan at MCAC. (The latter two have retired.)

I’ve worked with a wonderful group of writers. People like Roy Collver, Ron Coleman, and the late Art Irwin were with me from the beginning and became friends. Bruce Nagy, Brian Guttormson, Bob Bettles, Glenn Mellors, Greg Scrivener, Bill Hooper, Mike McCartney, Mark Evans, and Barry Cunningham, among others, have played a key role in making Plumbing & HVAC what it is today.

I am sad to be leaving but take comfort in knowing the magazine will be in the very capable hands of editors Leah Den Hartogh and John Tenpenny.

Thanks so much for the support over the years! I look forward to seeing you at a trade show down the road!