Regal Citation: Manitoulin founder invited to join Order of Canada

GORE BAY, Ont. — For at least one family of truckers, the year that just ended will go down in the annals for generations to come.

We’re referring to the Smiths, of Gore Bay, Ont., and specifically patriarch Doug Smith, founder of the Manitoulin Group.

In November, at the Ontario Trucking Association’s (OTA) annual conference, Smith was presented with the Trailmobile Service to Industry Award. It’s among our industry’s most coveted citations.

And then just before the calendar year ran out, Canada’s Governor General Michelle Jean announced that Smith was named to the Order of Canada, this country’s highest civilian honor.

According to a statement from the Ms. Jean’s office, Mr. Smith, one of 60 appointees to the Order in ’07, was recognized in the industry, commerce and business category, for his “contributions as a business leader, philanthropist and champion of economic and community development in Northern Ontario.”

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, inventor and now Officer of the Order of
Canada Doug Smith appeared with his wife Phyllis to accept the
Service to Industry Award from Bert Clay of Trailmobile.

Although the Manitoulin Transport Group ranks 17th on the Today’s Trucking list of Top 100 For Hire Carriers with more than 580 tractors and 1,300 trailers, it still has its home base in a small village — this one called Gore Bay, on the northwestern shore of Manitoulin Island which is located in the northern waters of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.

Smith’s trucking career started there in 1957 when his family’s company, Smith’s Wholesale, purchased a truck to cart produce from Southern Ontario to their island home for distribution. Today, his company, which is now run on a day-to-day basis by his sons Jeffery and Gordon, boasts 60 terminals across the country.

Despite his broad influence, Smith maintains a low profile. He’s very active in the local community, backing several service clubs as well as serving as one of the area’s largest employers.

In the early days, Smith loaded furniture, drove, and worked on the trucks. He was determined to make the business work and he did. That strong work ethic and in-depth knowledge of all facets of the business has carried the company forward. Smith’s quiet and unassuming demeanour belies a creativity and inventiveness that is at the root of his success.

Nowhere is this more evident in the “Supertrucks” for which Smith has become famous.

In 1980, the first eight Supertrucks were put into service and consisted of a cabover tractor with a 13-foot dromedary box. This box allowed temperature controlled freight to be moved to Northern Ontario while pulling a stake and rack trailer, and heavier product such as lumber or steel to be pulled south while putting general freight into the Supertruck box. This combination was a perfect fit for Northern Ontario’s customers.

The Order of Canada was the result of behind-the scenes work by Smith’s friends and colleagues, spearheaded by one of his neighbors on Manitoulin, in particular a gentleman named Harry VanderWeerden.

The Order was created in 1967 and is awarded to Canadians in all sectors of society who have shown a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.

The award takes the form of a medal bearing a white, stylized snowflake at the centre of which is a maple leaf inscribed with the Order motto — Desiderantes meliorem patriam — which translates as “They desire a better country.”

— For a complete profile of Mr. Smith and his accomplishments, see the February issue of Today’s Trucking.


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