REGINA — It was a special night for the Semple family at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina on June 18.
That was the night that they were presented the Founder's Award by the Fraser Institute in commemoration of their entrepreneurship and philanthropic efforts in leading Brandt Industries of Regina.
The generations of Brandt leaders — Gavin Semple, his son Shaun Semple and grandsons Christopher, Matthew and Andrew Semple — accepted the Founder's Award on stage in front of 400 guests.
Former Premier Brad Wall, himself a former Founder's Award recipient, made the introduction. He paid tribute to their efforts in building what he called the "new Saskatchewan".
"Ladies and gentlemen, we honour such a family of visionaries tonight. The Semples, Gavin and Amanda, Shaun and Gayleen, Matt, Chris, Andy, their families, we thank them for helping build this new Saskatchewan. And just like the Brandt Group of Companies, it is built to last.
"And we thank Fraser Institute for making the expression of gratitude possible this evening. There are 1,500-plus families in the province tonight that count in paycheque because of their vision and their risk-taking. There are 6,000 families around the world tonight that can make the same grateful claim. There are countless others who benefit from their generosity and from their determination to leave things better than they found them. The CNIB Saskatchewan, the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, Alzheimer's Society, KidSport Saskatchewan, they all serve as just a few examples of their transformational giving."
While others from Saskatchewan have also received the Founder's Award, this was the first time the Fraser Institute held a dinner in the recipient's honour in Regina to present the award.
"We're honoured, obviously, and humbled to receive the award," Shaun Semple said in speaking to Sask Today. "There's many companies in Saskatchewan that deserve this as well. We're fortunate to be the first, I guess, but we're, I think it says something about the new Saskatchewan that's there. You know, the new Saskatchewan is really all about growing the economy, growing the province, and I think there's been a lot of companies that have really helped move this ahead."
"There's a lot of very successful companies and families in the province … we're the first, but we certainly won't be the last," Gavin Semple said.
He particularly pointed to their focus on family.
"Well, you know, we spend our lives in business, in pursuit of success in business, but our top priority has always been family, and we have a real focus on family, and now we're into several generations, three already in the business and others to come, so family is very, very important."
"Obviously the family is the most important thing, I think, in your life, and I think for our family, we have a very close family, both in our immediate family, but also our surrounding family, which is all based here as well, and so we're very excited for everybody in the Semple family," Shaun said.
On their website, the Fraser Institute credited the Semples for having "built one of Canada’s most remarkable private sector success stories, transforming the Brandt Group of Companies into a global industrial leader and the largest privately held company in Saskatchewan."
They noted that Brandt became the first privately held business in Saskatchewan to achieve $1 billion in annual sales, and that the Semples had "expanded Brandt's footprint and capabilities through a series of acquisitions that accelerated the company's reach in agriculture, transportation, and material handling. These transactions strengthened Brandt’s portfolio and reinforced its standing as the world’s largest privately owned John Deere dealership group."
The Founder's Award is the Fraser Institute's highest honour. Niels Veldhuis, President of the Fraser Institute, spoke of why the Semples were selected.
"Well, I think first off, we as Canadians don't do a good job of celebrating entrepreneurial and business success," said Veldhuis.
"And when you look at the Semple family, I mean this is, I think, one of the greatest Canadian entrepreneurial success stories that we have. The Semples are under the radar across Canada, and they've just created a business that is the largest private sector business in Saskatchewan and is a global powerhouse with over 6,000 employees in 170 locations around the world. I mean that it's just a wonderful success story coming out of Regina and that's what we're here to celebrate."
Veldhuis said this was "first and foremost a night to celebrate success. It's a night to celebrate contributions to our economy. It's a night to celebrate a family that's created opportunity for so many Saskatchewanians. And it's an opportunity to celebrate their philanthropic endeavours."
He believed that celebrating entrepreneurial success stories would show Canadians "what's possible in their home country."
"Let's celebrate success and let's show kids, young Canadians, what's possible. You know you can start from nothing and build a worldwide organization right in your home city. I think that's a wonderful story for young Canadians."
