Triggs, Ron Francis, Port Coquitlam, May 1, 2009

Oh, Where Have All the Years Gone?

In May of 1969 I accepted a position with Fisher Scientific and moved to Edmonton. 1 year later I was moved by Fisher Scientific to the Vancouver area. Francis and I were blessed with our first son Jeff in 1971 and then a double blessing of twins Patricia and Barry in 1973. In 1976 after 7 years in technical sales I left Fisher Scientific and spent 3 years with Motorola in communication equipment sales. I year later Motorola transferred me to Vancouver Island as the Zone Sales Manager. Wanting another challenge in 1979 I became a real estate agent and bought into a real estate agency. We did very well until interest rates hit 18% in the spring of 1982 and the real estate market subsequently crashed and came to a screeching halt.

Fisher Scientific approached me to be their rep on Vancouver Island and northern B.C . We have strong and fond memories of these years on the island. In 1983 Fisher Scientific asked me to be the District Sales and Branch Manager for British Columbia in Vancouver so we moved back to the mainland. After 8 years of different management positions with Fisher Scientific, they wanted me to move east. Not wanting to uproot my family again, I changed companies and joined an institutional Chemical Company called Savolite as Vice President of Sales in 1990. After 7 years of dramatic growth Savolite was purchased by a multinational firm and I was looking for a new challenge.

I joined a company called TIR Systems as the General Sales Manager in September of 1997. TIR Systems had a patented lighting system called “Light Pipe” and were also the first firm in North America to actually make a Light Emitting Diode based light fixture. I identified and trained 76 sales agents in North America and introduced the product line to architects and engineers from New York to Calgary. This position took me to 43 of the US states. The company had phenomenal growth from a mere 700K to 40 mil in a matter of 4 years. I developed a heart condition and my doctor told me to retire. I did so in September of 2004.

I am busy enjoying my family, now including 2 grand children. They all live close to us. With a third grandchild on the way, more exciting times lay ahead. We have done a little international traveling and hope to do some more. We have an RV on waterfront property on the west coast of Vancouver Island just west of Sooke B.C. I spend most of the summer there salmon fishing from my boat and enjoying the outdoors. We own the Sooke property via shares in a recreational cooperative for which I sit on the board as a director. I have just returned from the Sooke property where I had to evict a river otter from under my sunroom. He was refusing to pay rent and kept a very messy room.

Looking forward to seeing you all again!


Ronald R. Triggs