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DON SMITH NAMED TO P.E.I. BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
Don Smith never saw the need to work around the clock to be a successful businessman.
Instead, he surrounded himself with loyal employees who always managed through personal and professional touches to keep the customer satisfied in a building supply business that is celebrating 40 years of continuous service.
"I never did work a Saturday or an evening in the last 30 years and that is primarily because of staff. I had complete confidence in them and I didn't have to be there,'' said Smith, 71, now comfortably retired with his son Peter at the helm.
Smith says what makes him most proud of his entrepreneurial legacy, which was recognized Thursday when he was announced along with Ray Murphy and Jim Casey as this year's inductees into the Junior Achievement P.E.I. Business Hall of Fame, is the deep loyalty of customers and staff.
His company has been selling supplies to many of the same customers who first started buying from Smith when he incorporated Metro Building Supplies Ltd. in 1969.
In 1975, the company expanded its operation with a second store in Montague, which operated under the Metro Building Supplies logo for nearly 15 years.
In partnership with his son Peter, he ran MacMillan Building Supplies Ltd. in Alberton, which was sold to Schurman Building Supplies in 1997.
Again, Smith is quick to credit his staff with continued success that has seen a lot of competition come and go over the past four decades.
Close to 20 employees have been on staff for more than 25 years and five or six of those have been on the payroll for 35 years.
Smith says he impressed upon his employees that customers don't deal with a company but with individuals.
"So the individual employee becomes very, very important,'' he said.
"It is a lot easier to retain an employee than to go out and search for one.''
A solid, loyal staff allowed Smith to expand his interests even while developing his successful building supplies business. There was Tip Top Truss Ltd., which was the Island's first manufacturer of pre-engineered Roof Truss systems.
Smith dipped into real estate development with interest in the 1911 Jail property and Richmond subdivisions in West Royalty. He also purchased apartment units.
In 1980, he founded Dunachton Farms in Pownal, a standardbred horse and Hereford cattle breeding operation. He owned and co-owned numerous standardbred racehorses including Sauls' Pride, who twice won the Gold Cup and Saucer Race.
Smith is also an active community member who has served as president of many outfits, including the Charlottetown Driving Park, Charlottetown Kinsmen Club, and the Provincial Exhibition Association.
He made no effort Thursday to conceal his utter joy in getting the nod to be included among the elite group that has been inducted into the JA P.E.I. Hall of Fame since its establishment in 1998.
"It's something that you never think of or dream is going to happen but all of a sudden you're here, it is happening, it's real,'' he said.
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