Profile Stories

By Véronique Loewen

What do a retired couple, a Fitness services provider, an apparel boutique, a geophysics company, an art museum, a resort community development, an individual and group development coach, a directional driller, a consignment store, and a hospital foundation have in common? Excellence. The 2022 SABEX Awards recipients demonstrate excellence in safety, community impact, spirit and investment, entrepreneurship, business growth, and in their reconciliation journey. And the retirees, well, they exemplify a business life well-lived, overall entrepreneurial distinction, and ongoing contributions to our community. We congratulate all the individuals and businesses profiled here for being recognized and celebrated by Saskatoon’s business community for their achievements.

and Kevin mocked themselves to invite customers to visit their dealership. Before the Hall of Fame, Sherry and Kevin joke that their claim to fame was the selection of their commercials as “The Best of the Worst” homegrown commercials across the country on CBC’s National. The anchor even came to their home to interview them for the occasion! A lot has happened since then.

Image: Sik Pics

To be inducted in the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame, one must love the city, have a passion for business and a commitment to help others succeed. This honour is only bestowed exceptionally – not annually - to individuals or businesses that have made a lasting and important contribution to the city’s business sector and overall community.

Sherwood and Elaine Sharfe’s names kept coming up as potential recipients, and anyone who has had the opportunity to work with them or meet them would agree. They are extremely deserving of being the 2022 Business Hall of Fame inductees. Sherwood “Sherry” and Elaine, who have been together for 60 years, came to Saskatoon over 53 years ago as a young couple and never left. Before coming to Saskatoon, Sherry had worked for Elaine’s father at his car dealership in Winnipeg. After a few years General Motors floated the idea of Sherry having a dealership of his own, in Saskatoon. And the rest is history. Sherry and Elaine opened Sherwood Chevrolet, which would be the first of several dealerships.

If you grew up in Saskatoon, you’ll remember Sherwood Chevs’ TV commercials, they were low-budget and featured Sherry and his young son Kevin, the youngest of their four children. Sherry As Elaine and Sherry’s business grew, there were always three constants – taking care of the customer, taking care of employees and our family, and taking care of the community. “The customer is number one, that was our motto and we really took that to heart,” says Sherry. “Right below the customer was the employee. We made sure we did everything for our employees because our employees are like our family. We want a relationship with them for years, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years.”

The Sharfe’s explain that for them, retention of employees reflects the company’s values and that, “Employees are the essence of the company. Taking care of employees shows the morality of the company.” Ron Gitlin is one of the best illustration of the company’s commitment to retaining their employees, he recently retired from the company after working with Sherry for over 50 years.

It is quickly apparent when talking with the Sharfe that beyond the dealerships, being of service to the community matters a great deal. Elaine was definitely in the driver seat with that aspect. She volunteered countless hours with many non-profit and charitable organizations. And the family donated as much as they could. Their donations started out small, but as the business grew so did their philanthropy.

Today, they have made significant contributions to organizations such us the Red Cross, the Persephone, the Remai Modern, and countless others from neighbourhood hockey teams to national non-profits. And one of their legacy will always be as the first major benefactor behind the Concentus Citizenship Education Foundation. Their 1-million dollars gift stemmed from the discrimination they each endured growing up Jewish in small town Saskatchewan and their desire to help make the city, the province and the country more tolerant and understanding. Concentus’ mission to educate and empower individuals to understand their rights, encourage responsible, respectful and participatory citizenship and promote a commitment to justice in a pluralistic society, embodies the Share’s desire.

Sherwood has now retired from selling cars everyday, although he still pops in from time to time. He and Elaine focus on watching and helping their four children, 15 grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren succeed, and on continuing their philanthropic activities for the betterment of the community they adopted over five decades ago.

Sherwood and Elaine Sharfe

Axis Vac & HDD’s commitment to safety before production is exactly the kind of dedication to safety training, development and continuous improvement for which they earned this year’s Safety Culture Award. At Axis Vac & HDD, a directional drilling, hydrovac and utility company based in Saskatoon and serving oil and gas, municipal, utility, telecom and construction clients, you could say that safety is drilled into the company culture.

It's no surprise that “safety first” is not just a saying at Axis Vac & HDD. When the boss - owner Mitch Willie - comes from a firefighting-paramedic background, you know safety is a way to think, be and do. From its beginning in 2017, Axis Vac & HDD has implemented Energy Safety Canada’s Certificate of Recognition (COR) for controlling and identifying workplace hazards. To date, their COR scores have been in the 90th percentile year over year. The company is audited yearly and continually demonstrates that it walks the talk. In recognition of the fact that in its five years of existence, there has never been a lost time accident - and no injury frequency rate, no injury severity rate - Axis Vac & HDD has received a Safety Certificate of Achievement from the Saskatchewan Worker’s Compensation Board. The company is also registered and scored by Avetta, Comply Works and ISNetworld in supply chain safety aspects, compliance management, and safety culture.

Axis Vac & HDD’s safety culture rests on their investment in training all their employees and supervisors using safety best practices. This is enhanced through the reinforcement of work safe protocols and procedures, the provision of adequate personal protective equipment and carefully maintained equipment, and the allocation of specific daily, weekly, and monthly periods to discuss risks, concerns and near misses reported as teachable moments. Their focus on prevention through consistent hazard identification and jobsite inspections, the coaching of employees and supervisors, and the completion and signing-off on the proper paperwork by staff and management also contributes to their safety successes. Axis’ safety culture doesn’t stop at the welfare of their employees. They insist on door knocking in the neighbourhoods where they are working to inform the community that they are in the area and let them know what to expect and how to ensure that everyone remains safe. At Axis Vac and HDD safety culture runs deep.

WorkSafe Saskatchewan presents the Safety Culture Award to Axis Vac & HDD

When as an organization your stated mission is to empower Indigenous youth and adults through fitness, and healthy lifestyle programming and that you make a point to partner with non-profit organizations, schools, and businesses to provide fitness programming and consulting services, it is not surprising that you get noticed and become the recipient of the SABEX Community Investment Award. Fitness 2J2 is that organization.

Established in 2011 by Joel Pedersen, Fitness 2J2 strives to help people in the community. Joel and his team make a point of being involved in sports and recreations activities that promote health, wellness, and positive lifestyles. For example, their involvement with Saskatchewan Triathlon and Saskatoon Triathlon Club is providing opportunities for remote rural communities’ children and many Saskatoon inner city youth such as in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood, the ability to participate in and compete in sanctioned triathlon races. Fitness 2J2’s impact also reaches northern Saskatchewan through their partnership with Northern Sport Culture and Recreation and their delivery of learn to play basketball camps. With a focus on promoting Indigenous people’s wellbeing and the development of leadership skills through physical and team activities, Joel encourages his employees to get involved in the community not only through Fitness 2J2 selected community involvement programs, but by also identifying other opportunities to become allies and empower others. It is that same quest for opportunities to connect with youth and provide them with role models and mentors that has led Fitness 2J2 to also be involved in the category of arts and culture of various Pow Wows such as with the Saskatoon Tribal Council and Prince Albert Grand Council.

In addition to Joel and his employees’ hundreds of volunteer hours, Fitness 2J2 is also making in-kind contributions by providing fitness equipment. Last year these contributions amounted to about $8,500. Yet, according to Joel and his team, one cannot measure their community investment’s impact by the number of hours dedicated or dollar amounts donated; “success is measured only through the smiles and excitement of the youth whose confidence we help build,” says Joel.

SaskTel presents the Community Investment Award to Fitness 2J2