Chapter 6:

A Great Partnership

It is extremely rare that two couples can start off as friends and start a business from scratch, build it into a success and remain good friends. Well, we did it with Roger and Merelyn Henry. Most of the credit belongs to Pat and Merelyn. They, as the saying goes, held down the fort, which enabled Roger and me to work our heads off. When the business grew to the point that I had to leave what was considered a good job with Sherritt to manage the new St. Albert plant, I had Pat's complete support. Pat and Merelyn became key office staff, Merelyn on dispatch and Pat handling the accounting, payroll and accounts payable.

Although SVF was financially independent, Roger's backing was very important. Roger was an encourager and a great sounding board, and he had good business sense. He was on the conservative side, which was a good balance for me. He never said "should have" or "could have." He never criticized when I made mistakes like buying two expensive banders that

were high maintenance, worked poorly and were a short-lived concept.

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I believe the main ingredient in a good relationship is mutual respect, and Roger and Merelyn have always had Pat's and mine. Believe it or not, we all liked each other, and I don't recall anyone having a negative or cross word to say about anyone. Unbelievable! There is no doubt that Pat and Merelyn could have made our lives hell on earth. There is also no doubt that God has blessed both families and our business interests. We have been and always will be grateful to the Henry family for those early years. Our relationship was beneficial to both our families.