Rajbir introduced today's speaker and club member, Russell Hooper. Yes it was a "Who Am I" day!

Many of you have already met Russ as he joined our club a few years ago. Busy-ness preventing him from continuing his membership then but he is back with us now and we are lucky to have him as a member!

Russ and his wife of 40 years, Lisa, have three children. Brayden is a Mortgage Broker, Austin works locally at Diversco doing Inside Sales and daughter, Megan, works for the City of Cambridge as an Event Planner. There is also Lizzy, a beautiful golden retriever who is known to be a great front door greeter.

Russ grew up in Alberta (Lethbridge) and worked for his father, operating heavy equipment for their construction business, until he moved to Vancouver to study Marketing and Sales. Russ started selling golf carts for Club Car on the west coast of Canada and worked his way clear across the country, helping to further develop business. He enjoyed achieving many awards and attending numerous US Golf Master Championships. He was eventually asked to join MTD Products as a National Sales Manager and, again, he excelled. Utilizing relationship selling, customer focus and enhanced employee engagement to ensure success, Russ has always remained focused on creating Win/Win strategies and cultivating integrity in all relationships.

With more than a few decades of  amazing success in Sales and Sales Management under his belt, Russ decided to venture out on his own. This also involved a bit of a career change.  Affiliated with the World Financial Group (WFG), Russ now owns a small brokerage for investment/financial planning, called Russell Nelson Capital Corporation. He currently has 3 other Associates and looks forward to growing his business. 

Russ prides himself on being an open-thinker who is industrious, agreeable and, when required, assertive. His core values are honesty, kindness, gratitude and courage. When not working, Russ enjoys golf, curling, pickelball and managing personal finances for himself, his family and his friends. Travel is also a big interest and he has been to Hawaii (six times!), the Caribbean, the US and Europe. He is also a certified diver, likes to sail Hobie Cats and is hoping to someday take an Italian Cooking Class (let us know if you need tasters!).

It was a pleasure getting to know Russ better today and we certainly are lucky to have him as a member! 

Jim M thanked Russ for his presentation.

With some extra time on hand, Pres Keith mentioned that his father-in-law (who passed away last year) is being inducted into the Canadian Grocery Business Hall of Fame. Grant Heimpel worked for Zehrs for over 40 years and is being honoured posthumously. You can see him listed here: Grocery Business Hall of Fame announces 2025 inductees - CFIG :: Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.

Past Pres Paul M honed in on Larry and shared a bloody good joke.

Many of you know that Larry gives blood regularly. What you may not know is that he gives blood every 56 days (always on a Tuesday). Larry has a goal and I've done the math. If he continues on as he has, Larry will hit his 200th donation on Tuesday, February 6, 2035. Perhaps we should SAVE THE DATE for a bloody good party!