Brandon Ford made his hometown of Port Alberni proud earlier this month when he took home a Top 20 Under 40 award.
He was one of two Port Alberni winners for 2016: Zack Jones of Save-On-Foods is the other.
“It’s fantastic. It’s always nice to get recognition on what you do for a living,” said Ford.
Ford has worked for the See Group at the Albertson Home Centre for 10 years now.
“I started managing when I was 21. When I was 25, I won Outstanding Young Retailer of the Year in Canada for the building supply industry,” he said.
Ford credits his growth throughout the past decade to company ownership that has let him thrive.
“With the See Group, I have been very fortunate to have an ownership group that has allowed me to grow and take on new challenges or try new things,” he said.
“They’re not afraid of change. Not a lot of companies would hand over a store to a 21-year-old and say here, we’re willing to work with you and make this work.”
The staff at the store, Ford added, have also made it easy to provide great service to the community.
“I have incredible staff that make my job easy and we all work together every day,” he said.
But it’s not just business that’s made Ford worthy of the accolade.
Among other accomplishments, he’s a volunteer firefighter and sits on several national boards.
“I volunteer with the Beaver Creek Fire Department and I sit on a national board of directors for an Emerging Leaders Committee that represents 700 stores.”
reporter@albernivalleynews.com