Top Ten Under 40<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe Heir<\/h4>\nPeter Aaron Bonish, 36, Pete\u2019s Party & Tent Rental<\/h4>\n When younger generations embrace tradition and take over the family business, beauty lies in continuity. As Pete\u2019s Party & Tent Rental\u2019s human resources manager, this top ten leader inspires pride as much as he gave his family an appreciated sense of relief.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter always knew he wanted to take over the shop,\u201d says his mother, Sue Bonish. \u201cAside from his mandatory HR placement job required to graduate, working here has always been his only job.\u201d She recalls those times when Peter\u2019s paternal grandfather \u2013 the store\u2019s founder \u2013 made him screw nuts and bolts together for one penny apiece when young Peter was around four or five years old and the shop still bore its original name, Peter\u2019s Radio and Rental. The store became Pete\u2019s Party & Tent Rental in 1971 after giving up the radio part of the business. Later, as a teenager, he was \u201cpromoted\u201d to other jobs such as cleaning chairs and as member of the tent crew.<\/p>\n
Since his graduation in human resources management, Pete\u2019s Party & Tent Rental created a job post as HR manager to accommodate him. Nowadays, he\u2019s the de facto general manager and also a part of the top ten leader list!<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took us into the 21st Century,\u201d says Sue. \u201cHe did so much to improve our management and take care of such issues as workplace safety that no one else was qualified to do.\u201d She admits she doesn\u2019t know what Peter\u2019s plans are for the future, but is far from worried about the company\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The Opinion Leader<\/h4>\nMike Maltby, 33, Ingersoll Rent-All<\/h4>\n \u201cProfit isn\u2019t a four letter word,\u201d says Mike Maltby when asked what makes for a successful entrepreneur. \u201cTo me it means that sometimes it\u2019s better to have our equipment sit idle than match a competitor\u2019s low-ball price.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a member of the top ten leader list and vice-president of Ingersoll Rent-All, a business purchased by Mike\u2019s dad, Don, in 1989, Mike encourages a straight-talking approach from those he works with. \u201cHave an opinion. Nothing is more useless than a group of people who agree with everything you say. If you think I\u2019m wrong about something let me know. Sometimes we learn most by having a healthy debate with someone who disagrees.\u201d These are components that have made Mike Maltby a top ten leader under 40.<\/p>\n
The company, located in southwestern Ontario in a region renowned for cheesemaking and a bustling automotive parts industry, has grown from a one-man operation operating out of a commercial strip mall, to a thriving rental operation on 3 1\/2 acres of land with five full-time employees. \u201cWe serve the small to mid-sized contractors and homeowners in the area,\u201d notes Mike, a former president of the Canadian Rental Association for Ontario (2011 \u2013 2013) and current Ontario representative to the national CRA board. His company is among the area\u2019s largest Stihl outdoor power equipment dealers, with both sales and service.<\/p>\n
Mike\u2019s main mission: making a difference in the community, and helping people succeed. \u201cI really love helping a first time DIY customer work through a plan to complete a project,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cWhat I like best about the rental business is driving around town and seeing the results of a project that our equipment was used on and knowing that we helped build that.\u201d<\/p>\n
To stay ahead of the competition, Mike insists that you have to surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don\u2019t interfere as long as the policy you\u2019ve decided upon is being carried out.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployees are the pulse of the business,\u201d he emphasizes. \u201cOur employees are the people that our customers see most of the time. I don\u2019t want to develop a culture where employees don\u2019t think they\u2019re allowed to deal with day-to-day issues with our customers. I think that goes a long way to building our employees\u2019 willingness to act, when necessary, to further our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
He urges his industry colleagues to reap the rewards of community involvement and to seize the opportunities offered by engagement in the trade association. \u201cI find that the more people I meet through my work with the association, the better off our business is. Every time I go to a meeting or event I walk away with something that can be used in our business.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Risk Taker<\/h4>\nRemi LeBlanc, 29, Parkland Party & Equipment Rentals<\/h4>\n Remi LeBlanc knows that doing the same old, same old just won\u2019t cut it nowadays. So when Parkland Party & Equipment Rentals went up for sale, he saw the potential, took a risk, and bought it on the spot in early 2014. He hasn\u2019t regretted the decision.<\/p>\n
Now Remi and his management team are focused on bringing the 50+ year-old downtown Red Deer, Alta., retail landmark into the new millennium. \u201cWe want to take this business to the next level,\u201d enthuses the 29-year-old owner and operator of one of the city\u2019s largest party rental stores. \u201cThe previous owners grew the business to a respectable size by creating relations with other businesses and people in the Central Alberta area.\u201d His goal, Remi likes to emphasize, is to cement those relationships, go to the customer, and expand the company\u2019s market reach.<\/p>\n
Since opening its doors in the 1960s, Parkland has been recognized as the destination stop in Red Deer for home renovation, landscaping or small construction equipment rental. Under LeBlanc\u2019s present leadership, Parkland Party & Equipment Rentals is diversifying its product range to include party and wedding accessories, and widening its selection of event decorations and rentals. Parkland is also capturing more customers by leveraging its geographic position located at the midpoint of the Calgary\u2013Edmonton Corridor. \u201cIn the past this company has stayed mostly local, but as I see, it if the customer wants us to be at a different location, we will put in the extra miles for them and do what we have to make it happen for them,\u201d affirms Remi.<\/p>\n
Putting in the hours is what makes this business hum. \u201cRemi is incredibly dedicated to his job and his customers,\u201d nods Chris Windrim, Parkland\u2019s marketing and sales manager, who nominated Remi. \u201cHe\u2019s always looking for every opportunity possible to grow this business across Central Alberta. He is an incredibly hard worker and a true top ten leader, not just a boss. He creates a positive work environment by sparking a continuous stream of new and creative ideas. In a word, Remi is relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now truly family owned, Parkland Party & Equipment Rentals is led by the LeBlanc clan. Remi\u2019s dad, Marcel, is a partner involved in the decision-making, and brother, Steven, 23, is fast learning the business. Remi remembers visiting the Parkland store as a youngster with his dad. \u201cIt was something of an adventure to me,\u201d he recalls with a grin. \u201cThe adventure continues, as I\u2019m learning that running a rental business is a lifestyle, not a nine-to-five job. I see us a guarantors of customer satisfaction: if they aren\u2019t happy, we\u2019re not happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Resilient One<\/h4>\nTroy McDonald, 31, Nor-Val Equipment Rentals<\/h4>\n Valuable work and life experience often come with age, though sometimes fate accelerates the process. Nor-Val Equipment Rentals owner Jim Clipperton\u2019s praise of 31-year-old Troy McDonald comes with relative ease. McDonald\u2019s job performance draws commendation by itself, and they\u2019ve also known each other for more than a decade, since Troy\u2019s first day on the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been working with me since he was 18 years old. He first came in for about five years before leaving to work on a oil rig,\u201d said Clipperton. Troy\u2019s gig on the rig lasted for approximately four years before tragedy struck. He was gravely injured in a truck accident which he barely survived and cut short his employment.<\/p>\n
\u201cTroy had planned to stay there and work on the rig as a career,\u201d Clipperton explains. Fortunately, both had stayed in contact and Clipperton took him back at Nor-Val, where this top ten leader quickly became one of the company\u2019s top assets, swiftly making it to his current position as operations manager in a few short years.<\/p>\n
Jim Clipperton gives a lot of credit to McDonald\u2019s oil rig experience. \u201cHe had to gain a lot of knowledge and he learned to deal with a lot of different people while working there,\u201d he said, describing him as a people person, a critical trait in the rental industry and key to be able to manage his current 40-person crew.<\/p>\n
Troy\u2019s devotion to the trade also goes noticed. He volunteers at the British Columbia local trade show as well as on the Canadian Rental Association\u2019s local board.<\/p>\n
\u201cTroy is an unbelievable individual,\u201d concludes Clipperton.<\/p>\n
Congratulations to these extraordinary individuals who made the Top Ten Leader under 40 List! Read the full article from Canadian Rental Service here!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canadian Rental Service Magazine has identified the top ten leader under 40 List in the Canadian rental industry, and we are very proud to announce that four of these ten innovative young minds also are Point-of-Rental users! We greatly value their leadership skills and dedication to service as the new face of the Canadian rental […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,55],"tags":[291,280,292,293,294],"class_list":["post-3384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company-news","category-rental-industry","tag-canadian-rental-industry","tag-point-of-rental-software","tag-rental-industry-leaders","tag-rental-software-users","tag-top-ten-under-40"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t