In last month’s newsletter, Grant Mckinnon wrote about the birth of Coco, new daughter of one of our Home Package Coordinators. Grant’s article reflected on what Coco will experience in her lifetime, which will be in vast contrast to what Grant, at almost 50, and his father Ken, who soon turns 90, have seen in their lives. As the founder of our great company, and in light of Ken McKinnon’s upcoming birthday on May 12, it only seems fitting to expand on Grant’s story and identify what a remarkable man that Ken is.
Ken McKinnon was born on May 12, 1925 in New Westminster, BC. He was the second youngest of 13 children. He was raised on a dairy farm in the Fraser Valley, just outside of Vancouver. In November of 1942, he signed up with the Royal Canadian Air Force at the age of 17. Ken trained in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and received his officer commission before being sent to England to serve as a tail gunner on a Lancaster bomber. A tail gunner’s duty was seen as one of the most dangerous positions in the Air Force and Ken flew in numerous missions over Germany, having several close calls and harrowing experiences. After Victory Day in Europe, in May of 1945, Ken returned to Canada and was discharged in September of 1945 returning back to civilian life.
Ken returned to the family farm from 1945-1949, then tried his hand at logging from 1949-1953. It was during this time that he met Marie Dietrick and they were married in September of 1949. Ken and Marie moved to Vancouver Island in 1953 where various jobs and having a family kept them very busy. Ken and Marie had six children, Phyllis, Ann, David, Wayne, Barb, and Grant.
In 1959 Ken partnered with five local businessmen from the Cowichan Valley to form Pacific Builders Supplies located in Cobble Hill. The business started out as a small building supply store. Ken was an extremely hard worker and it’s often been said that he opened the gate before anyone arrived in the morning and was the last to leave at the end of each day. By 1964 Ken had bought out his five partners and continued to grow the business. During that time, Ken also became involved in building numerous local homes, which was followed by his big break in 1969 when he realized an opportunity to start the first roof truss plant on Vancouver Island. After much difficulty educating his customers, the contractors slowly began to accept manufactured trusses rather than the hand framed variety, and Pacific Truss was away to the races. With business flourishing, operations expanded to Surrey, Langley, and Cranbrook. Ken also saw the opportunity of expanding into selling full house packages and in 1982 Pacific Homes was formed. The Pacific Homes division has now grown to be the largest division of the company.
The early 80’s recession was a most difficult time for all businesses. Many could not hold on and lost everything. Although times became very tough and Ken was forced to make difficult decisions to survive, the business, moving forward, became stronger and leaner, resulting in further positive strides as the economy recovered.
Ken started to back away from the company in 1990, turning the business over to his three sons David, Wayne, and Grant, and was formally retired by 1994. The company has continued to grow with another truss plant (Truline Truss) in Creston BC, a commercial construction company (Canarc Construction) in the Lower Mainland, along with several commercial real estate holdings. Ken’s leadership and knowledge that he has passed down to all of us is what has made the Pacific difference. He still often visits us in our Cobble Hill office and remains very active in his personal vineyard as well as the local community. It’s often joked that Ken could still outwork someone half his age. He is truly an icon in the building industry, as is often mentioned to me in various industry meetings. As big as Pacific has grown over the past 56 years, Ken McKinnon and his sons have taught us to remain grounded in our thinking and we can truly be proud to be called a “family business”.
Happy Birthday and best wishes Ken from all of us here at Pacific!