June 30, 2006

John Poole, who was president of the Edmonton Construction Association in 1952, reminisces about his tenure at the helm of E.E. Poole General Contractor (now PCL Family of Companies) as he shows current ECA Executive Director Darlene La Trace his photo from that era.

Profile

Industry pioneer going strong at 90

JIM VEENBAAS

correspondent

EDMONTON

He’s 90 years old, but John Poole still has the energy and drive that propelled him to the top of Alberta’s construction industry.

He still works from his office in downtown Edmonton’s Oxford Towers, a 29-storey office tower he helped build in 1978, and he still devotes time to numerous charities and non-profit groups.

As a key member of Poole Construction — his father founded the company in 1906 and he and his brother George purchased it in 1948 — John not only helped build the company into one of the largest in North America, he played a pivotal role in the development of the construction industry in Alberta.

Over 30 years, he helped create numerous landmark projects in Alberta, across Canada and in the United States. With Don Love and his brother, he founded Oxford Properties, which became a major developer. They were founding partners in Shaw Communications and built the AGT Tower, the tallest building in Edmonton when it was constructed in 1971 and the second tallest today.

“We didn’t think we would expand the business like we did. We were just hoping to make a living,” John recalled.

“Our father was a good mentor and we had such a talented group of people working with us. We ended up working on projects from Victoria to Halifax. We even worked on a project for Disneyland in Florida.”

John got his start in construction in 1936 while working towards his Civil Engineering Degree at the University of Alberta.

He graduated in 1937, but didn’t join the business right away, first taking a short detour as a structural engineer with the City of Edmonton.

Except for a stint with Defence Industries Ltd. during World War II, John spent his entire career building Poole Construction into an industry leader. John and George sold Poole Construction to their employees in 1971, which was renamed PCL and is now Canada’s largest construction company with annual sales approaching $5 billion.

Although he was busy running a growing business, John always found time to give back to the community and the industry that served him so well.

He spent years volunteering with the Edmonton Construction Association (ECA) and became president in 1952, the same year he met his wife Barbara and got married.

That enthusiasm and energy has been the driving force in his career and guided his actions after retirement. In fact, John said some of his greatest achievements have occurred after his retirement.

In 1989, he was among a group of civic-minded dignitaries who each donated $5 million to revive the Edmonton Community Foundation, which was inactive and without funds. The foundation now has assets worth more $150 million and has distributed more than $45 million to education and various charities.

John and his wife have done so much to support worthy causes that they were the first couple inducted together as members of the Alberta Order of Excellence. John was also named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1996.

“My wife Barbara and I have been able to do a lot of things to help our community and we think it’s important to give something back. I’ve done more important things in the past 10 years than I did before I retired, and I still have a lot of things to do yet,” John said.

People like John are an invaluable resource for the construction industry. The Edmonton Construction Association, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, taps into the talent of its former members on a regular basis.

“We rely on our past presidents quite a bit, especially now that we have so many new people coming into the industry. They understand the industry and they understand the changes that have happened over the years,” said ECA executive director Darlene LaTrace.

“Most of our past presidents are very senior people within their firms and they have had very important and taxing roles, yet they find the time to serve the industry.”

With qualities like that, the ECA makes sure it still stays connected with former presidents. All were invited to 75th anniversary celebration and many of them attended the banquet.

“It amazes me — and I’ve been in non-profit work for quite a few years — how dedicated these people are,” LaTrace said. “There’s very few people who demonstrate that commitment to their jobs, let alone a volunteer role. That speaks volumes.”

A horse and buggy takes Edmonton Construction Association Executive Director Darlene La Trace’s contractor ancestors to the Edmonton Builders’ Exchange (now ECA) around 1930.

Print | Email | Comment