One of Red Deer’s best-known entrepreneurs has earned a place in the Calgary Business Hall of Fame.
Jack Donald is one of three men who will be inducted as laureates into the hall on Oct. 19. The others are John Aldred and the late Sydney Kahanoff, both founders of energy companies.
The trio are known for their philanthropy and other contributions to their communities.
Donald and his wife Joan took two gas stations and a truck, and built it into what is today Parkland Fuel Corp. — Canada’s largest independent marketer and distributor of fuels.
In addition to his work with that company, Donald was a founding member of Canadian Western Bank and has served on a variety of boards and other business and non-profit organizations. He was a City of Red Deer councillor for two terms, a member of the Red Deer College board of governors and president of the Westerner Exposition Association.
In 2007, he and Joan donated $3 million to Red Deer College to support its expansion plans — a gesture that resulted in the college’s business faculty being named the Donald School Of Business.
Donald was inducted into the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame in 2002. That same year he was named Red Deer’s Citizen of the Year, with Joan receiving the same honour in 2004.
The couple has also been honoured by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (Calgary and Area) with a Generosity of Spirit — Lifetime Philanthropy Award.
Established by Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta in 2004, the Calgary Business Hall of Fame recognizes southern Albertans for their business success, entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropic contributions.
Scott Hillier, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta, said that Donald, Aldred and Kahanoff all “embody the Alberta spirit.”
“They are enterprising, innovative and prosperous — while being ethical and compassionate.”
Past inductees into the Calgary Business Hall of Fame have included the likes of John Forzani, founder of The Forzani Group Ltd.; Patrick Burns, livestock mogul and former Canadian senator; and JR Shaw, founder of Shaw Communications.