SEPTEMBER 2005 l exchangemagazine.com l 25

WATERCOOLER

Martha George (left) is the new ExecutiveDirector of the Grand Valley ConstructionAssociation, a 525-member construction organiza-tion made up of suppliers, contractors and manufac-turers in the Grand Valley corridor. George, who tookoffice July 4, 2005, is excited about the opportunitiesfor her industry. As a business owner, George willapproach issues from a unique perspective, and withstreet smarts that few executive directors can boast.“I understand contractors, I know how they think, Iunderstand their frustrations, and now that I will be

dealing with them on a daily bases it’s good – because I’m one of them.”George sees great opportunity in working alongside organizations meaningful to

their industry, including the nationally focused Canadian Construction Associationand the Council of Construction Associations, the provincial body that tacklesprovincial construction policy. Locally, George is thrilled to be working with Jim Foxand the Fast Forward program, a educational program offered by the WaterlooRegional Board of Education. George, who is co-owner of George Masonry, viewsthe construction trades as a fantastic career opportunity for high school students look-ing for direction, growth opportunity and employment.

Future areas of involvement for the GVCA include “sitting at the table” with eco-nomic development organizations. “If they’re going to pass legislation that effects ourindustry, we have to be at the table,” says George. A key program George is champi-oning is a “young leaders” program for new owners/operators in construction. Thisgroup will network and support each other in the Institutional, Commercial andIndustrial (ICI) construction industry. George looks at her new opportunity as both chal-lenging and fun. The board is very supportive of thisnew direction and looks forward to the GVCA underher leadership.

Radio advertising sales person Barbara Dowlinghas moved from CHYM Radio to Faith FM and cannow be seen bombing around town in her decked outFaithFM Smart Car made possible by the generousdonation of D.A. Kurt Insurance.

Sandvine Incorporated, a world leader in intelligent broadband management solu-tions for cable, DSL, wireless, and satellite providers, announced in July that BISCit, oneof UK’s top ISPs, selected Sandvine to improve the integrity of its broadband network.

Pride Signs of Cambridge has reopenedthe Henrietta plant in Rochester that oncehoused sign maker Total IdentityGroup. It will serve as the Rochesteroffice for Pride Signs Ltd. Total IdentityGroup shut down in November 2004.Pride Signs, which makes exterior signsfor Home Depot, Blockbuster Videoand Volvo Trucks, re-hired 25 formerTotal Identity employees and aims to haveup to 70 employees locally by July 2006.

Brick Beer will team up with High FallsBrewing Company of Rochester, NewYork to be their exclusive import agentfor Ontario. High Falls is best known fortheir Genesee and JW Dundee families ofbeers. The award winning JW DundeeHoney Brown was one of the first HoneyBrown beers in North America.

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The Canadian Gift and TablewareAssociation has announced the CGTATop 10 Product Awards for 2005.Waterloo’s Meyer Imports Ltd. has

been honoured by theCGTA. The Awardswere presented August7 to the ten companieswho have brought out-standing products tomarket in 2005. Theaward-winning prod-uct from Meyer ImportsLtd. is their Vesta Fire

Burner, which fired up the industry whenit was introduced in cast iron this season.

Ontario has provided funding to makeWaterloo Region safer and to help keepdrunk drivers off the road. JohnMilloy, MPP for Kitchener Centre,announced a allocation of $23,841 toreduce drunk driving and $16,143 forsafety, from the province’s SaferCommunities Grant program.

BIOREM Technologies Inc. of Guelphhas received a purchase order from theCity of Toronto to undertake a one yearpilot odour control study at AshbridgesBay, Canada’s largest wastewater treat-ment plant, at the foot of Leslie Street inToronto. The results of the $100,000 pilotmay be used to develop engineering per-formance data required to design a fullscale BIOFILTAIR odour control system.When completed, the proposed full-scaleodour control system will be the largest ofits kind at a municipal works in NorthAmerica, treating an estimated 770,000cubic metres. The project is part of a $130million capital improvements program.

The Board of Directors of the WorkplaceSafety and Insurance Board were askedto adopt a new premium rate policy at theend of July. The new policy is expected toincrease employer premium rates by 3%every year for the next five years. In earlyJuly the Greater Kitchener WaterlooChamber of Commerce estimated thatthis new policy would cost local employers

$51 million and Ontario companies $1.1billion. “We understand that the WSIBfaces challenges in fully funding its liabili-ty,” says Todd Letts, President and CEO ofthe GKWCC. Fully eliminating its unfundedliability by 2014 has been the cornerstoneof WSIB’s funding strategy for many years.The Chamber’s research, however, revealsthat the expected rate increases puts 1,400jobs at risk in the greater KitchenerWaterloo area and more than 33,000 jobsacross Ontario over the next five years.

Open Text Corporation has announcedfinancial results for its fourth fiscal quar-ter that ended June 30, 2005. The compa-ny reported total revenues in the range of$108 million to $112 million, compared topreviously issued guidance in the rangeof $115 million to $125 million, and upfrom $105 million in the same period lastyear. With the reduction in revenues, thecompany adjusted earnings per share(EPS) for the quarter were below previ-ously issued guidance.

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COM DEV International Ltd. has beenawarded a contract from MacDonald,Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. ofRichmond, B.C to provide informationdelivery subsystems for the CASSIOPEmulti-purpose information delivery andscientific research mission. MDA is lead-ing a Canadian industrial team thatincludes COM DEV as well as EMSTechnologies of Montreal, RoutesAstroEngineering of Ottawa andBristol Aerospace of Winnipeg, in thedevelopment of the CASSIOPE mission.Under the terms of the C$12 million con-tract, COM DEV will provide a variety ofinformation delivery subsystems basedon Ka-band communication technology.

The CAW has issued a statement aboutthe Windsor-Detroit Gateway, the busiestinternational trade corridor in NorthAmerica. The Gateway lies at the heart ofthe NAFTA trade route stretching fromthe Port of Montreal to Mexico, and isused by 20 million cars and trucks everyyear. A quarter of Canada’s $1.3 billion

daily trade with the United States crossesover the Ambassador Bridge alone, andmore moves across the border at othercrossings in the Windsor-Detroit area.Industry, government and the communityof Windsor agree that dramatic improve-ments in efficiency, and concrete stepstoward expansion, are absolutely vital.Despite agreement on the need to moveforward, progress has stalled. The CAW isurging the federal and Ontario govern-ment to recognize that further inactionand delays are jeopardizing the successof the economy and threatening thefuture of thousands of Canadian jobs.

Turbosonic Technologies Inc. hasdeclared a 5-for-4 stock split of its sharesof common stock. TurboSonic designsand markets air pollution control prod-ucts to industrial customers worldwide.

Highway 8 and Highway 401 will be saferand flow more freely over the next fiveyears as a result of the Ontario govern-

ment’s new infrastructure plan, KitchenerCentre MPP John Milloy says. OnHighway 8, four lanes will be addedbetween Fergus Avenue and the KingStreet interchange and two lanesbetween King Street and SportsworldDrive. New median barriers will beinstalled, the Fairway Road bridge will bereplaced and the Grand River bridgewidened. Work begins in spring 2006,pending environmental approvals.

The rise of China is driving new demandfor Chinese language speakers acrossbusiness and social sectors, a US releasedstudy says . Schools throughout the US arelargely unprepared to meet this need, lack-ing qualified teachers, programs or cre-ative uses of modern educational tech-nologies. The report comes at a time whenleaders from across public and private sec-tors are recognizing the growing impor-tance of Asia as one of the central facts ofthe 21st century. Total US trade with Chinaexceeded $230 billion in 2004, behind onlyUS trade with Canada and Mexico.

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continued from page 30

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

ments, “What makes Jim’s contributionso unique is that he had established hisown track record of business successbefore being thrust unexpectedly intoleadership roles with Terraces by Hall-man and the Lyle S. Hallman Foundationbecause of the premature deaths of hisbrother and father. This gave him theconfidence and wisdom to be able to dothat. As president of Terraces by Hall-man, Jim’s subtle yet tenacious leader-ship was able to solidify the profitabilityand focus of a new business venturethat had received its initial entrepreneur-ial impetus from Peter.”

Fast adds, “Philanthropically, Jim’spersonal track record has been markedby a humbleness evidenced throughanonymous donations. Some of hisclose friends know of his generosity butmany others are not aware of Jim andSue’s contributions. And that is the wayhe wants it to be. Jim’s tenacious hum-bleness marks his leadership style inboth business and charity. This contrastswith the more public personas bothPeter and Lyle had in our community.”

This does not mean Jim’s style is anyless effective. Like his father and brotherwere in their lifetimes, he is involved ina myriad of charitable ventures. Theseinclude being a founding member andcurrent board member of the Centre forFamily Business, serving as president ofthe Catholic Family Counselling Centre,and chairing a capital campaign for therenovation of Mary’s Place, the YWCA’sshelter for homeless women and chil-dren. Sue Hallman also serves as aYWCA board member.

Cathy Brothers, CEO of Catholic Fami-ly Counselling Centre (CFCC) raves aboutJim’s leadership role in that agency overthe past six years. “Jim has high expecta-tions of staff and at the same time he isfully committed to the importance oftheir work and continually challenges thewhole team to achieve greater service tothe community. He is a very clear think-ing and proactive leader. He has vitalityas a leader that inspires others to takerisks and creatively try new approaches.Jim is a thoroughly likeable person with agreat sense of humour. He has remark-able abilities to bring out the best in oth-ers,” says Brothers.

Both by continuing a family traditionof entrepreneurship and philanthropyand also by putting his own uniquestamp on these ventures, Jim Hallman ismaking a difference in our community.

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Stepping Up to the PlateJim Hallman continues a family tradition of entrepreneurship, philanthropyand fastball

BY BR IAN HUNSBERGER

As a former ball player, Jim Hallman would be the first toacknowledge that life can throw you some real curveballs and change-ups. Hallman now finds himself the

designated hitter for a family renowned in Waterloo Region andbeyond for its entrepreneurial, philanthropic and sportingendeavours. It’s a position he didn’t expect to be in, a few shortyears ago. However, following the tragic deaths of his olderbrother Peter in the spring of 1999 and his father Lyle in the fallof 2003, both in motor vehicle accidents, leadership for thefamily’s numerous enterprises fell unexpectedly into his lap.

While this transition hasn’t been easy, Hallman has drawnstrength from the principles and practices his father establishedduring his lifetime. It was his father who made the mould, hetold Exchange, including business principles like honesty, quali-ty workmanship and customer service, as well as a strong phil-anthropic ethic that stresses the importance of giving back tothe community.

Jim’s father Lyle became wealthy by developing a successfulformula for the construction and management of apartmentbuildings. He also left a large legacy by giving away millions of

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

continued on page 29

dollars to countless charitable causes; he was named to theOrder of Canada.

“Several years ago, Dad took his grandchildren on a drivearound the region and pointed out the various buildings hiscompany had constructed. That made a real impression on me.So that’s my yardstick. I want to do that with my grandkids andstill be able to be proud of what we built,” Hallman commented.

Lyle Hallman also gave considerable thought to the oftenprickly issue of succession planning. In the early 1990s hedecided to give each of his four children their inheritancebefore he died so they could use it to make their own wayhowever they chose, and carve out their own identities sepa-rate from his.

Jim and his wife Sue started their own construction compa-ny, Aberdeen Homes, in 1995. While doing some site prepara-tion in south-west Kitchener for his father’s company in thelate 1980s, Hallman uncovered some old foundations. Furtherresearch indicated it was the site of an old settlement calledNew Aberdeen. He liked the name and decided to use it for hiscompany. Aberdeen Homes products range from large customsingle family homes to small starters, as well as freehold andcondominium townhouses. His wife Sue is vice-president andson Nathan is general manager. “They handle the day to dayoperations of the company,” Jim notes.

Around the time Aberdeen was founded, Jim also became apartner in Terraces by Hallman, a retirement home ventureheaded by Peter and his wife Brenda along with sister Susan(Hallman) Rempel. When Peter died in 1999, Jim stepped in aspresident. Terraces by Hallman now operates three retirementhomes in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, with a fourthcurrently in the planning stages on Janefield Avenue in Guelph.

Younger brother Tom took a portfolio of apartment buildingsin Cambridge as his inheritance. The remaining apartmentbuildings owned by Hallman Property Management were soldin 2003, shortly before Lyle’s death. Jim says Lyle sold thesebuildings so he would have more money to give away. Thosefunds were used to set up the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation thatcarries on his spirit of philanthropy.

The Hallman name has also been synonymous with fastballin Kitchener-Waterloo for the past forty years. Hallman Twinsfastball teams from mite to senior men’s levels have benefitedfrom the sponsorship of the Hallman family. Terraces by Hall-man and Tom Hallman continue that sponsorship today. “Weplayed a lot of fastball as kids,” Jim noted. Although the sporthas been in decline in major centres, Ontario continues to be afastball hotbed and produces a lot of world-class players. ThePeter Hallman Ball Yard in Kitchener permanently links theHallman name to this sport.

John Fast, founder of the Centre for Family Business andcurrently president of Family Enterprise Solutions, providesmanagement advice to family businesses. He has workedclosely with the Hallman family and knows Jim well. Fast com-

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