Byron Guy wasn’t in Prince Albert to accept the Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce Legacy Award on Monday, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t humbled to win it.
In fact, he worried it wasn’t true. Guy was in California when the Prince Albert Chamber called to tell him he had won the award. He ended up calling the Chamber back just to confirm it was legitimate.
“I asked, ‘is this Patty?’ She said, ‘yes.’ I said, okay, good, I was just thinking it was one of my friends pulling my leg on me or something,’” Guy said with a laugh. “That’s what they do down south here.”
Guy’s trip down south was more of a working vacation. Although he plays golf and socializes, Guy said he tours local grocery stores almost every day just to keep tabs on the industry.
The longtime owner/operator of Harold’s Family Foods said he was proud to receive the Legacy Award, even though he couldn’t be there in person.
“I’m so proud of my father (Harold Guy) and the business he started back in 1960,” Byron said. “It shows you that hard work and dedication pays off.”
Byron took over Harold’s Family Foods from his father in 1998. At the time, there were more than 50 independent grocery stores in Saskatchewan. Now, Harold’s is one of only six.
When he took over, Byron said it was important to him to be involved in the community, and not just make money.
“You’ve got to give back,” he said. “I don’t want to get too cynical on this, but a lot of businesses just take out of the community, and then they’re gone. There’s no onus on putting back.”
Byron didn’t just follow his father’s path into business. He also followed him into on the award circuit too. Like Byron, Harold won the Chamber’s Legacy Award in 1996. Byron credited his win to his father for building a great business, and his employees for being a great staff.
“It was a fun place,” he said. “We had a great bunch of staff and it wasn’t work. You get up and went to work, and did your job done and smiled and talked to people every day. I still do that today.”
Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce CEO Patty Hughes congratulated Guy on his award. In an interview following the Legacy Award announcement in January, Hughes said it’s important to have long-term business owners like Guy rooted in the community because they provide generational knowledge to those just getting off the ground.
“They just have that expertise and knowledge that you can’t get from those big box stores because they’re so invested,” she said. “It’s passed down from one generation to the other.”
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
