SUBMITTED PHOTO; Joyline Transport Ltd. in the 1960s. The Carry family had turned its local operation into a very successful prairie-wide enterprise by the 1990s.
Joyline Transport Ltd. on the job in the later years. Rod Carry founded Joyline in an era when a handshake and a given word were how people did business. Joyline kept true to that tradition even while growing into a very successful enterprise.
Joyline Transport Ltd. on the job in the early years. Rod Carry founded Joyline as a one truck operation in 1955. Joyline had 150 employees when it finally sold to Flint Energy in 2006.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS providers is beginning to take a massive toll on the transport industry.
“There’s too much of that feast or famine approach going on now,” Shawn states. “We’re losing a lot of qualified drivers all the time. Every dip or slow- down we lose another percentage of our drivers, and keeping qualified drivers in those trucks is getting to be a huge challenge.”
Shawn says moving from a situation where he and his brothers co-owned Joyline into one where they were just a small part of a much larger capital enterprise like Flint has its own challenges.
“Reporting back then was sitting down to a beer with your brothers and talking about it,” Shawn jokes. “At Flint, reporting takes hours on a computer and lots of paperwork. It’s just different when you are used to working for a private company. Access to capital is there. It’s a great experience. But honestly I probably find there’s more stress.”
Shawn gives an example of how his dad did business at Joyline which illustrates the difference between the business climate of yesteryear and that which exists today.
“Some of the stories with my dad’s Cadillacs go way back to when I was very young,” Shawn remembers fondly. “He always had Cadillacs; and he just had a love for them. I’m not sure why it was such a passion with him. But, funny story, he went to visit his customer on a rig, and the customer was kind of upset because he needed something taken to town — an engine to get repaired. And Rod told him to throw it in the back of his Cadillac. And they said 'No way, it’s greasy. It’s awful looking and messy. We’re not going to throw it in the back of your Cadillac.' And Dad said 'I don’t care; throw it in there.' And they threw it in there and he hauled it to town. He got their work from then on. The supervisor said if Rod was willing to do that to his car, he gets my work.”
A personal visit to a customer on site in his Cadillac, a handshake: Favours
Rod Carry celebrates his retirement from Joyline Transport in 2002 with sons L-R Cameron; Mark; Patrick and Shawn. Wayne Carry not pictured.
Shriners Mounted Patrol 1991. Rod Carry believed in being heavily involved with his home community of Medicine Hat. He volunteered with many local community groups and organizations.
given and returned. It was how business was done back then, and Rod Carry excelled at it. And for Rod business and life were never separate, but an essential part of the fabric that wove the Medicine Hat community together. He loved that sense of community and belonging Medicine Hat gave him and he returned it a thousand fold.
“Still to this day I don’t know anybody who gave back to the community, and worked for the community, like he did,” says Shawn. “He has a legacy that none of us will ever come close to. He loved his community and he loved doing things for his community. It’s amazing. I go anywhere in Medicine Hat and when I say I’m Shawn Carry, they still say: 'Well, you must be Rod Carry’s boy.' It’s been like that all my life.”
Shawn and his brothers continue to reap the dividends of their father’s teaching even to this day. All have gone on to achieve great personal success in their own right. Shawn is a retired Senior VP at Flint Energy and now owns his own property company alongside brothers Mark and Cameron. Wayne still works for Flint, and Pat took over the family ranching business in Acadia Valley.
“He taught us we have to work hard and nothing in life comes for free,” explains Shawn. “I think he went for it. He went for it with gusto and with not a lot of coin in his pants. He did it with horse-trading and swapping and working his way up, and seeing those opportunities. All the while being mindful that it doesn’t last forever.”
Shawn says he and his brothers are still grateful to Medicine Hat for all the city has done to honour their father Rod and their family name.
“It’s great that Medicine Hat honours those people who give back to their communities. I’m proud of my father’s legacy, and I wish I could live up to the kind of legacy he did for his community.” ■
OUR COMMUNITIES ■ OUR REGION ■ OUR PEOPLE | 19
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