HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-11-05, Page 1224 G f I was ever to write an
article on the most
interesting person I've met,
it would be Air Vice Marshall Sully."
That from Jack Grace, who
himself is an interesting story,
having been a formidable cog in the
Champion development wheel for
almost 40 years.
A machinist by trade when he
joined Champion in June 1946, Jack
had apprenticed in Grand Falls,
Newfoundland and worked in
b,.
.tar - ..i for._ �'iaking his w27,,, to
uriLn ..._ _.
Goderich.
A man whose abilities rapidly
propelled him through the company
ranks, Grace moved from a
machinist to plant superintendent,
plant manager in charge of
manufacturing and finally to general
manager, engineering and
development, a position he held until
his
retirement in 1980.
But Jack, like
others,
has
difficulty excluding Champion from
his life and vice versa, and so,
today, he works as a consultant,
administering the company's
suggestion and quality circle
programs.
In a career that touched five
decades, Jack has seenthe company
grow from an 80 employee operation
in the late 1940s producing, perhaps,
GSS/Wednesday, Nov 5, 1986
a grader a week, to a flourishing
international manufacturer, making
six graders a day while employing
almost 1,000 people.
The company was not in a healthy
state when Jack arrived on the scene
but leadership was much in evidence
in the Sully family and they instilled
a confidence in employees that held
promise of better days.
"J.A. Sully had the interests of the
community, the country, family, the
employees and the business at
heart," he_said. "He was man with a
strange faculty to change and
control his emotions. But he cared
SuggeSti®fSiQC
about the people and this place and
even when he went on holidays in the
winter we'd get letters from him."
"Quite often you'd see him sitting
on a bench and he'd talk to the guys
about the future of the company and
everything he said came true. One
day he said we would be an
international company, four times
the size and that we'd have profit
sharing. Bruce (Sully) has
concerned himself with making
those dreams a reality."
Turning those post-war visions into
reality was accomplished, in part,
,,,..: faith in the empk'yees
by placing dub<....
and management. The Sullys, Jack
suggests, have an inate ability to
delegate authority, give people
responsibility and with that, the
right to be wrong.
From 1946 until he became plant
manager in 1969, and general
manager in 1976, Jack was involved
in personnel -relations related work
and
enjoys s an enviable
record
of
having no grievances filed during
that 26 -year period.
"I was active in union affairs and
I knew how they thought and I could
talk to them. It worked real well,"
he explained.
Also during that time., he served a
term as president of Local 1863 of
Continued on Page 2 7
ngratulatiO
Champion!
At Tuckey Beverages
it has been our pleasure
to have quenched your
thirst for the last 20 years
and look forward to
doing so in the future.
A Very Special 100th
Birthday Greeting
from
PEPSI
NIP
and
Tuckey Beverages Huron Park, Ontario