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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-03-11, Page 5Wednesday, March 11, 2015 • Huron Expositor 5 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com letters to the editor Recovery is possible To the editor, Grief does not take a holiday over the warm days of summer - in fact, grief may present itself in new ways that we did not expect and leave us with a lot of hurt, pain and loneliness and we don't know what to do with these feelings. Have you ever been told that 'give it time,' or 'be strong for your kids' or 'keep busy', or 'if your pet dies or your partner is gone...get another one...itwill take your pain away'? Have these suggestions worked for you? Prob- ably not. The Grief Recovery Outreach Pro- gram teaches how these myths do not work, often sending us on an increased pain journey. GR offers new tools, gives permission in a safe place to do the necessary grief work that is holding us from living a full life again. Grief Recovery helps us to complete the undelivered communications the pain has left us with. By learning to take small correct choices to work through our losses we can become complete with the relationship that has changed us. Huron Hospice Volunteer is offering a Grief Recovery Outreach Program starting Monday, March 25th, to May 25th, 2015 - 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton Public Hospital Conference Room. Pre -registration is necessary. Please call 519- 482-3440 ext. 6301 for more information. Yours sincerely, Shirley Dinsmore Jim Balsillie: Seaforth's Blackberry Billionaire n May 5, 2009, Jim Bal- sillie stepped into the national spotlight when he offered $212.5 mil- lion to buy the bankrupt NHL Phoenix Coyotes. The mete- oric rise of the 54 year old financial wizard is an extraor- dinary story of hard work, determination and an astute ability to seize potential opportunities. With an esti- mated net worth of over $2 billion, Balsillie (2104) is one of Canada's richest people and the most successful entrepreneur Huron County has thus far produced. James Laurence was born in Seaforth on February 3, 1961 to Raymond and Laurel Balsillie. Raymond was an electronics technician with Ontario Hydro while his Lau- rel was a stay-at-home mother devoted to raising her three children. In 1966, the Balsillie's moved to Peterborough where his father worked at the Darlington Nuclear sta- tion. Laurel Balsillie recalled her son's early business ven- tures as he sold Christmas cards door-to-door at age 7. Biographers Sasha Yusufal and Laura Neilson stated that he simultaneously held down five paper routes, ran summer camps and was a student painter while in his teens. The other abiding passion that young Balsillie dis- played was a dedication to sports and personal fitness. He continues to be an avid sportsman whether it be soc- cer, swimming, marathon running, golf or hockey. Bal- sillie attributes his aggres- sive business style to his Huron History David Yates highly competitive athletic nature. At University of Toronto's Trinity College, Balsillie earned an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1984. In 1989, he received a Mas- ter's in Business Administra- tion from the prestigious Harvard Business School. More recently, Balsillie has received honourary doctor- ates from Wilfrid Laurier (2003) and Dalhousie (2006) Universities. While at Trinity, Balsillie was floor mates with pop sociologist and best selling author, Malcolm Gladwell, who wrote The Tipping Point (2000) and Blink (2005). Gladwell remembers playing backgammon with Balsillie but does not recall winning a single game. According to Gladwell, "I just couldn't wrap my head around a par- ticular set of strategies and risk-taking you need to win that game. But he [Balsillie] could." Even at university, Balsillie adhered to a rigid self- imposed schedule. He would 'budget' himself breaks to watch hockey playoffs or exercise. He always returned to his studies after just fif- teen minutes. In a 2006 Report on Business story, just prior to leaving for Harvard, Balsillie's sister Carol introduced him to Heidi, his future wife. Together, they moved to Bos- ton where Heidi worked full- time and Balsillie did odd jobs including editing the student handbook in order to pay for the 'monster' tuition. They married upon Balsillie's return to Canada and have two children. Between degrees, Balsillie was employed as a chartered accountant for Clarkson Gordon. After completing his MBA, Balsillie refused lucrative Wall Street job offers to work for Sutherland Schultz Inc. a small informa- tion technology firm in Kitchener. Sutherland Schultz owner, Rick Brock who hired Balsillie as Vice - President of Finance described him as "ambitious, smart and honest and he wanted to learn the ins and outs of running a company." When the company was sold, in 1992, Balsillie faced unemployment. However, while at Sutherland Schultz, Balsillie met Turkish -born immigrant, Michael Lazaridis. Lazaridis co-founded Research in Motion in 1984. By the early 1990's, RIM was a pioneer IT company that was a leader in wireless communications. When Balsillie joined the fledgling company in 1992 as co -Chief Executive Officer, RIM had fewer than ten employees. Balsillie saw potential in Lazaridis' 'wild scheme' to develop ways to send wireless e-mail. Brock stated that Balsillie "put eve- rything he had into RIM" He risked his house and $250 000 of his own money to invest in the company. With Lazaridis' technical skill and Balsillie's business acumen, the two made a dynamic pair. Balsillie told The Globe and Mail's Erin Anderssen columnist "My job is to get the money. Mike's job is to spend it." The result was the now univer- sally famous BlackBerry. First marketed in 1999, the BlackBerry became an over- night success. By 2007, with world-wide sales of over ten million of the handheld wireless communication units, the BlackBerry made Balsillie and Lazaridis billionaires. In January, when President Obama was seen using his BlackBerry, it sparked a national debate over socie- ty's addiction to using the 'CrackBerry." In just ten years, the BlackBerry had become a part of world culture. In March 2007, Balsillie resigned as RIM Chairman but continues in his position as co -CEO. Despite increas- ing competition, Balsillie and Lazaridis have taken RIM from a small one office operation to a $68 billion globally recognized IT cor- porate entity. Described by Waterloo his- tory professor John English as a'Waterloo-nationalist", Balsillie and his wife have been active philanthropists. Heidi has been an active fundraiser for children's causes. In 2002, Balsillie founded the Centre for Inter- national Governance Inno- vation with $35 million of his own money. The centre was created to promote Cana- dian initiatives in world affairs. Wilfrid Laurier and Water- loo Universities were the beneficiaries of a $100 mil- lion fund to establish the Balsillie School of Interna- tional Affairs. In 2007, the Balsillie YMCA opened in Peterborough with funds that he helped raise as Hon- ourary Building Chair. Yet, it has been his on- going struggle to get another professional hockey team to southern Ontario that has thrust Balsillie into the pub- lic eye. In 2006, he offered $175 million (U.S.) to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins. The offer was withdrawn. The next year, Balsillie tried to buy the Nashville Predators for $238 million (U.S.) in May The offer was refused. The Predators were sold one month later for $193 million to another American. Balsil- lie has also approached Buf- falo owners about buying the Sabres. It remains to be seen whether Balsillie's 'firm offer' of re -locating a profes- sional hockey team to either Hamilton or Kitchener - Waterloo will triumph over the opposition of the NHL establishment. For many, it is astounding that an indi- vidual with Balsillie's dem- onstrated business savvy should be refused the oppor- tunity to secure a franchise in Canada's hockey heart- land. Whatever the outcome, Seaforth-born Jim Balsillie will continue to leave his mark in both Canadian busi- ness and professional sports.