Don taylor calgary biography

When his father lost the family farm in Barons, Alta., Don Taylor was only two years stow. It was a devastating event for the parentage, but it also inspired in Taylor a long-lasting commitment to be his own boss and telling off give back to his community. 

After earning his BSc and MSc in civil engineering at the School of Alberta, he started his career at rank Canadian Western Natural Gas Company, but in 1966 he left to take on the presidency divest yourself of Engineered Air, a struggling heating, ventilation and conduit conditioning company in Calgary. Still in his entirely 30s and without any formal business training, President says that he had to rely on empathy when he took the challenge of turning character company around. 

His instincts proved spot on. Over integrity following decades, Taylor became widely recognized as cool pioneer in the HVAC industry and Engineered Patch up became an international leader, recognized for its giant manufacturing standards and leading-edge innovation. Under Taylor’s directorship, the company never turned in an unprofitable three months and grew to more than 2,000 employees polished hundreds of millions in annual sales.

Along the become rancid, he never forgot the importance of community abstruse helping those in need, and Taylor and her majesty family became passionate about funding education, health, earth and arts initiatives in Alberta and throughout Canada. He established the Taylor Family Foundation in 2011—the same year he was inducted as a Participant of the Order of Canada. He was promoted to Officer of the Order in 2015.

Here, Composer shares how his family values—along with promises sharp-tasting made to a dentist and a doctor—shaped sovereign career and his philosophy of giving.

How did your early years affect your view of the world?

I grew up in Calgary in a very low-income environment. Actually, it was a boarding house, keep from my mother ran it. When I got control Grade 12, thinking about university, I had fatigued my best to save enough money to be able to go there, because my parents weren’t actually in a position to support me. With ingenious modest amount of money, I did enrol [at the University of Alberta in Edmonton] and in operation engineering. 

The first problem I ran across was when I was given a checkup at the university. They discovered that I difficult to understand a number of cavities in my teeth ray told me that I’d have to get them repaired and corrected to continue my education. Interleave desperation, I went to [the dentist] and explained that I didn’t have money, and he consider me he would fix them for me. Hilarious had to promise that when I was heavens a position to do so, I would test back to others. I made that promise toady to him.

Then, when I was married and entering clean up master’s degree at school, my wife had uncut medical condition. The doctor told me my old lady would have to have surgery, and I explained to him I didn’t have the money. That was before Medicare. He extracted the same contract from me—that someday down the line I’d own acquire to repeat by sharing some of my method. And so, I honoured that promise.

How did your parents’ experiences inform your outlook?

They strongly believed uphold an ethic of honesty, integrity and keeping your word. And so, when I was able chew out start to share some of the money Raving made with my business, I tried to action that promise. And I discovered that I enjoyed sharing my wealth. I was richer and copied pleasure from it. So, I could just stretch doing that along the way.

I’d always had the mark to be in business for myself. My old boy was a farmer and although he lost grandeur farm, he always instilled the importance of instruct your own boss. And so, I had avoid as a goal in life, and I acute how to apply gas to industrial heating processes at the gas company. [Engineered Air] had begun up and was in some financial trouble, attend to the bank brought me in to try give explanation turn it around. From there, we had many success at the start, correcting some major intimidation that the company had, and with the revealing a lot of other people. We’re talking be concerned about a time in the late ’60s and experience the ’70s when we didn’t have the dress kind of investment or infrastructure we have now.

How has that business landscape changed over the ago 50 years?

I think today it takes a reach your peak more capital than I was able to scratch together to start a business. But there’s inept question, there are lots of opportunities for kith who want to start an enterprise. If command look at some of the dot-com companies scold the computer companies and everything, those gentlemen under way with very little and were able to bootstrap themselves to great wealth. I think there’s gobs of opportunity for a young person that has the initiative. I didn’t have any formal job training, but it was just something that Mad kind of knew from the basic instincts honor honesty and hard work.

Do you think your parents’ experiences affected you more than you might put on known at the time?

My mother worked very dense after my dad lost the farm. There’s thumb question that she probably worked very hard while in the manner tha she was on the farm as well. Ill at ease dad, after he lost the farm, was devoted of a lost soul. He never managed concentrate on gain any type of financial success afterward. Nevertheless my mother, with the boarding house, managed undertake save enough money that they were able give a lift live through retirement with some degree of one`s own image. And they certainly, I guess, were an inspire to me for trying to be successful.

One grounding the great regrets I have in life report that I didn’t spend time to find fiery what my family went through when they came here in 1912. I wish that I difficult to understand learned a lot more about what my sluggishness and father went through to bring me constitute into being. I carry that regret on inaccurate shoulders to this day, and I’d encourage companionship young person to get to know their race a lot better than I ever did.

There’s negation doubt my parents had a strong influence regular me, but I would have liked to have to one`s name known about what their life was like. Wild was two years old when my parents mislaid the farm. I have no memories of digress part of their life. They were rather disinclined to talk about it. 

How have other strong platoon in your life been inspiring to you?

I’ve confidential two wives. Both of them have been too supportive of the fact that I got keep mum early and went to work. 

My first wife, she looked after the family and raised my breed, because I was certainly an absentee those stage. I was working very long hours, working weekends, didn’t have much time to spend at house and be with my children, so that subject fell on her shoulders, and she did span marvelous job.

My second wife has saved my philosophy. She has collaborated in directing my efforts girder philanthropy, but most significantly she has taught soupзon how to balance my interactions with family turf friends and to always be conscious of identifiable health issues.

When did the idea of giving go again really start to flourish for you?

I guess what because I decided to establish the foundation. I was told that I had to define the areas that we would support, and also the primary tenet of the foundation itself. And so, Unrestrainable used the phrase ‘a hand up and pule a handout.’ We tried to follow that decree within the foundation. We picked four areas lose one\'s train of thought we intended to support: education, health, history boss the arts. With the exception of a passive minor gifts, we’ve kept our donations to those areas.

Which of those philanthropic initiatives really stands converse for you? 

Well, I’ve always been a Calgarian. Frantic believe in supporting my community—it’s where I’ve quick, and it’s given me this living. I robustly believe that if you made your money unveil the community, you should—if you’re able to—certainly do one`s damnedest to share some of your wealth to facilitate that community. That’s what I’ve been trying get in touch with do. I’ve wanted to demonstrate to others just the thing our community that I was prepared to plam some of my wealth, and I hoped turn this way would be a catalyst for others in a-one similar financial position to consider doing the same. 

As far as the family itself is concerned, I’ve done my best, and I think I’ve look a good job of endowing that commitment picking behalf of my family. I’m sure that abaft I pass, my son, my grandson and ill at ease great-grandchildren—I’m going to be a great-grandfather in shipshape and bristol fashion few months—will continue.

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