Submitted by Will Arscott 10th May, 2016

 

May 9th MEETING RECAP - REGULAR MEETING AT THE BESSBOROUGH

Speaker: Vaughn Wyant speaking on the car business in Saskatoon.

 

The meeting was presided by President Bev Dubois

Greeter - Jack Brodsky

Cashier - Paul Gauthier

Set-up - Al Morton

Visitors and Guests - Gary Rusu

 

O Canada was led from a recording. The club initially struck out on its own and had to begin again with the recording. In all we need a pianist or a Wayne McG because on our own we are less than inspiring singers of the national anthem.

 

Grace - Gary Rusu - reminded us that the God of our understanding is our source of strength in times of trouble. Reminded us of the large loss being suffered by the people of Fort McMurray and also of the response of our fellow citizens to that suffering.

 

Visitors and Guests - Vaughn Wyant was our only visitor and he was introduced later in the program.

 

 

- President Bev said that she had reached out to the President of the Fort McMurray Rotary Club and that out club formally expressed our sorrow at their situation there. She indicated that our club would consider anyway in which we could help out.

 

- Our exchange student Sammi has now moved to his third home and seems happy and to be settling in well. He contacted President Bev and wished her a happy Mother’s Day. We are lucky to have an exchange student with the advanced social skills that Sammi possesses.

 

- Treasurer Wayne S again had the forms to renew our membership for next year. The discount down to $250.00 is available through June 15^th after which the regular fee of $275.00 will be required. President Bev commented how much easier last year went when the membership renewals were all done early and the club knew how many members they had and could remit the correct fees to RI.

 

- The President’s dinner is scheduled for Monday June 26^th at the Saskatoon Club. More information and prices to be available in the coming weeks.

 

- President Bev thanked Gary R for taking on the job of managing the Grocery cards and taking some pressure off Treasurer Wayne. It is always time to purchase grocery cards. The long May weekend is the traditional start of the BBQ season (though this year it has been going since February) and that means grocery purchases and with it an opportunity to support the club.

 

- The Lobster Fest is on the 28^th of May. President Bev has tickets for all who want them. Last year a group went from our club and sat together and that could be arranged for this year.

 

- The ‘Million Dollar Dinner’ is this Saturday in Gimli. It has already met its goal. This does not mean that additional donors cannot get involved. Please see President Bev if you would like to be a donor. If your gift is simple enough she can arrange it or if you have a more complex situation she knows the people that can help you.

 

- Last week (?) It was announced that the $1,000 RI grant applied for in support of the Becas project was not approved. In fact the problem turned out to be that the RI grants were oversubscribed for this year. There was still funds available from a year ago so $1,000 is coming from RI in support of Becas but out of last year’s budget. Of course we are glad to see Becas supported and do not care which budget it comes

from.

 

- Regular Board Meeting tomorrow at the regular place at 4:00pm.

 

- District Conference is this weekend in Gimli and our club will be represented. There will be a report at the next meeting.

 

- The new banner should finally be available for the next meeting. President Bev expressed some bemusement and exasperation at how difficult it is to get five Rotary clubs to agree on anything. In the end four of the five clubs are participating in the new banners.

 

 

All members who had come prepared to pay a fine with tickets or with cash were asked to stand. The full membership present stood. The membership was then informed that each and every member present would be fined.

 

- President Bev was fined for saying Rusu (rhymes with Crusoe) rather than Rusu (which probably rhymes with something or other).

 

- Sergeant Dave then asked who wanted to put in a happy dollar for the rain we were finally having. This allowed everyone else in the room to sit down.

 

However, this was not the end of the fines:

 

- Gary Rusu was fined for selling a $50 grocery card for $100. His plea that this was done only to improve the profit of the grocery card project fell on deaf ears.

 

- Mike Giesbrecht was fined for getting the contract to print the new Rotary banners.

 

 

- Mark Gryba a sad dollar for his youngest son’s announcement that he was giving up football.

 

- Vic Dubois gave a happy dollar for getting to broadcast the Rush play-off games.

 

- Peter Zakreski gave a happy dollar for being able to preside at the citizenship court sponsored by the Nutana Rotary and to welcome eighteen new Canadians.

 

- Heather Clysdale gave a happy dollar for the great advice she got from Bill Johnson concerning her son’s basketball.

 

- Peter Whitenect gave a happy dollar for Vaughn Wyant allowing the club to use the Jubilee Ford boardroom for all our many RAP meetings. This was greeted by applause from the club.

 

- President Bev gave a happy dollar for Will Arscott’s work doing the Rotateller.

 

 

GUEST SPEAKER - Vaughn Wyant speaking on the car business in Saskatoon.

 

Vaughn was introduced by Bill Johnson. Bill talked about buying his first car (a ‘woody’ station waggon at Jubilee Ford before Vaughn purchased the business.

 

Vaughn briefly reminded our members of his biography. He is the son of a prominent anaesthesiologist and pain management doctor, grew up in Saskatoon and attended Evan Hardy Collegiate. He is one of five brothers, four of whom are academic and successful. He is proud to be the not-so-academic but very successful brother. In grade ten the tests said he should consider a career as a long-haul trucker. We are fortunate that Vaughn set his goals much higher.

 

From the beginning Vaughn has felt the strength of his career is in meeting people and forming relationships. Immediately after high school he travelled. He attended university for one year which he did not enjoy. Eventually, he ended up in England where he misrepresented his way into a job as a salesman at a Ford dealership. Selling was his niche and he became the number one sales person at the dealership before his lack of experience and misrepresentation were discovered.

 

On his return from England Vaughn owned several very small Ford dealerships in rural Alberta. These were gas stations with a very few cars for sale. When he bought Jubilee Ford he was nearly overwhelmed by the amount of cars on the lot and the responsibility for selling them. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

Vaughn was a member of our Rotary club. When he bought Jubilee Ford from Lloyd Opsahl in 1985 Lloyd told him that, as the new owner of Jubilee Ford, he had to join two organizations. First was the Saskatoon Club where, Lloyd told him, all the movers and shakers of Saskatoon business hung out. The second was the Rotary Club of Saskatoon. Rotary didn’t work out because of the attendance requirements. Vaughn has been proud of Tim Cholowski’s long-term commitment to our club and that of others in his organization such as Dave Sundby.

 

It would be Vaughn’s opinion that the car business has not changed fundamentally since he entered the business. At its core it is based on relationships. The internet has not had the effect some said it would. It is great for doing research but the sale is still made with a the actual car present in a one on one meeting between the salesperson and the customer. Whoever manages these relationships the best will win out long term. The changes in Saskatoon are even less than elsewhere. Many in Saskatoon have fierce loyalties to their car dealer. For Vaughn business is built on loyalty and respect and he does not expect this to change.

 

There is one big difference and that is the culture of consumption. When Vaughn entered the business a successful professional or business person might drive a Crown Victoria or a Grand Marquis. A few very successful people drove Lincolns or Cadillacs. It was thought that even if you were financial successful you should avoid displaying that success. This is not so with the new generation who have money and want to display it. This happens with the cars and houses they choose. They have money and they want to show the world. As a result super-premium brands such as Porsche are selling well in Saskatoon. It can be argued that the new generation are not savers and live with more debt than us baby-boomers or an earlier generation would have been comfortable holding.

 

The last two or three months have illustrated this phenomena: The sales of regular domestic car brands are down while the sale of the super-premium brands continues to roll. Including reconditioned vehicles, there were about 150 Porsches sold in Saskatoon last year. Most were bought by buyers in the 30 to 35 year old demographic. The domestic vehicles eventually need to be replaced. When sales are down for a quarter it creates pent-up demand going forward. It is important to measure success a year at a time and not by the quarter.

 

In some ways the move to higher premium brands reflects the new confidence of the Saskatoon business community you can see reflected when you travel across Canada. If the city grows as the mayor is planning, there will be much more market for high end

goods of all types.

 

Following his regular talk Vaughn took a wide ranging series of questions from club members. Here are some of his comments:

 

- In Saskatchewan trucks sell at about 75% of the rate of cars. Canada wide this ratio is more closer to 60%. Trucks include SUVs which are popular. The minivan market is dead though you can certainly see some in any Wal-Mart parking lot.

 

- Self-driving cars are definitely on their way. Autonomous features are already quite popular and common on high-end domestics and super-premiums. The original Volvo self-breaking is already an old technology. Other autonomous features are interactive cruise and lane control. Many of these are expected on a higher end vehicle. However people do not want a car that drives itself and technology has a way to go to create a car that can drive itself under all conditions.

 

- Electric cars are being worked on by all manufacturers and the technology is quite advanced. Current oil prices have likely set them back and modern cars are very CO2 efficient. When they come Saskatchewan will be slow to adopt due to range anxiety (can I drive as far as I like without having my trip interrupted to charge). It is also likely that electric cars will require a whole infrastructure (charge stations etc.) that will be easier to create in Southern California than in Saskatchewan. Electric cars in winter is another concern. Vaughn feels with regard to both self-driving and electric cars that drivers still want the experience of a motor and the experience of driving.

 

- Vaughn was asked how he transfers his leadership to his organization. He said he really has little idea except that trust and respect are needed at all levels.

 

- Asked what the future holds for the Vaughn Wyant Group he said that his sons will continue to grow in the business. He will continue to look for strategic acquisitions but only in his chosen geographical area (Saskatoon, Prince Albert and the Okanagan). He is building the largest auto-body shop and the first shop in Saskatchewan that can fix structural aluminium (the bodies of many super-premiums). Once completed these cars will not have to be transported out of province to be fixed.

 

Vaughn was thanked by President Bev and the regular donation to Bethany Homes will be made.

 

 

Next Meetings:

 

May 16th: President Bev Club Assembly

(report on District Conference)

 

May 23^rd: NO MEETING VICTORIA DAY