Episode 119 - John A. Brink

Today is May 4th. In the Netherlands it is known as the Day of the Dead followed by Liberation day on May 5th. This is all in remembrance of those who have died in wars or peace keeping missions since World War II. 

From a young age, John knew he was going to come to Canada. It was the land of his heroes. From September 1944 to April 1945, the First Canadian Army fought German forces and liberated his home. 

In 1965, John came to Canada from the Netherlands with few resources and a dream of building a sawmill.

Today at nearly 80 years young, John has trained and competed in body building qualifying beyond the local level. We talked about a health problem that came close to ending his life, and how routine has been instilled in him since his time in the air force. 

John struggled in school as a kid and learned later in his adulthood that there were things that he could work on to better himself. When it came down to it, he's just always had the most passion in the things he was interested in. He'll work hard for his goals, not matter how many times he has to fail or start from ground zero. 

John has built the largest secondary lumber manufacturing company in North America. He pioneered finger-jointing in Canada, and he's the longest serving director on the B.C. Council of Forest Industries. 

Brink and the College of New Caledonia jointly purchased a building for a trades and technology program that opened in 2002 as the John A. Brink Trades and Technology Centre. In 2019, he received an Honourary Doctorate of Law Degree from the University of Northern British Columbia in recognition of his past 50+ years of commerce, philanthropy and community involvement. 

The Brink Group sponsors countless community initiatives, athletes, events, charities, etc. 

Give this episode a listen and keep your eyes open for John's book, coming later this year! Thanks for listening to The Lifestyle Chase. Please help the podcast grow by sharing the episode in your story on social media, sending a link to a friend, subscribing, or listening to some of the many past episodes with guests or the daily Real Talk segments. 

 

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