A Coffee with Darlene Whittaker from Reliable Tube

Join us for a coffee and chat with Darlene Whittaker, President and CEO of Reliable Tube. The 2023 Acheson Business Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Darlene's life is a story of perseverance, love and breaking boundaries.

Born in Estevan Saskatchewan, to a pastor and his wife, Darlene moved around a lot as a child. Her family settled into Edmonton where she would meet the love of her life and her future husband. Being in an inter-racial marriage was not easy, but they persevered and built a beautiful life together. Listen to hear about Darlene's amazing journey including her and Joe's moving philanthropic work as they formed the Reliable Charitable Foundation of Hope (RCFOH).

Transcript

0:08

Well, hello, everybody. It's Cam here at the ABA Coffee In The Park podcast, and I am here with my co-host extraordinaire, Jennifer Herrick, the Executive Director of the Acheson Business Association. Hello, Jennifer. Hi, Cam, how are you this morning? Oh, it's a great day, it's sunny outside, it's beautiful fall day. I'm just having a great time so far. Me too. Yeah, it's awesome outside. And we are coming to you live from the Wall Coffee Roasters in beautiful downtown Acheson. That's right. So if you hear some noises in the background, some coffee pouring, people talking, kids screaming, it's because we are in this beautiful coffee shop right in the heart of downtown Acheson. And so, hey, we're just really excited to be with you today. Tell us a little about our sponsors. We would like to thank our gold corporate sponsors, which include the MyShak group of companies, Genics and Parkland County. We would like to thank these individual businesses for all that they do for the Acheson Business Association and their continued support. That's right, because without them, we would not be able to do this. Jennifer, we have a very exciting week coming up. We do, this is finally it Cam. We are in the home stretch of the gala. That's right, Saturday night is our gala. I am so excited and it is pretty much sold out. It is sold out. Yes, that's fantastic. It's gonna be a great night. We're giving away lots of awards and capping it off with the Lifetime Achievement Award, which this year's recipient is Mr. Wes Wall of Genics. But Cam, I am so excited for today's guest because the guest we have today was last year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. That's right. So you know what? We did this on purpose. We sure did. So Jennifer, why don't you go ahead and introduce our guest today? So I am absolutely honored to introduce Darlene Whittaker, who is the President and CEO of Reliable Tube here in Acheson. Hello, Darlene. Hi, Darlene. Hi, you guys are amazing. Oh, you're just so excited about it. We're so excited to have you here. This is really awesome. Thank you. Yeah, it's great. And like Jennifer said, you were our last year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ABA Gala. And so I think this is awesome that you're here today with us. So do I. Yeah. And can I just say, Darlene's always a little reluctant. And one time she actually Cam, she accused me of bullying her into doing something. I did not bully her, and she was happy she did it. Well, because Darlene has a great story, but she always is a little shy about telling it. So stay tuned because we did a video with her last year. We gave her the award last year. We're doing a podcast with her. The book's coming out, and I think the movie will be out really soon on the life of Darlene Whittaker. But again, we are just so excited to have her here with us today. We are. So Darlene, let's kick it off. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? Well, thank you guys for having me. I'm honoured to be here. Thank you so much. I was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, a little city, I guess it is now, in southern Saskatchewan. And I was born the third child of a pastor and his wife, and a very sick child as it happened to be. And when I was six weeks old, they finally realized that I was actually starving for lack of nutrition. They thought I was just a colicky baby and throwing up all the time. So they had to rush me from Estevan to Winnipeg to have a surgery. And I had the surgery, and when they were doing the surgery, they actually broke a needle off in my hip, so had to have two surgeries, and they couldn't get the needle out. So I had to be, as a child, go to the doctor every six months to be checked for where that needle was, and eventually muscle tissue just wrapped itself around it, and it might have dissolved now. I don't know. I haven't had a check. So is the needle still in you? Unless it's dissolved. I don't know. So you had a bit of a rough start. I had a rough start, and thankful for my parents who persevered through the journey, and got me to where I was. And I always say I'm a very healthy adult because I had my sickness when I was so young. Now, did you live on the farm? Did you live in a city? No, we lived in the city of Estevan. My dad pastored a church very close to our home. And being a pastor's daughter, you move a little bit. So eventually we did move to Medicine Hat and spent some time there. And then my dad was called to pastor a church here in Edmonton. And of course, being a teenager at that time, I did not want to leave my friends and boyfriends. Boyfriends. Do you want to talk about those? No, because if they're listening, if any of them are listening. Okay, no, okay, we won't go there. All right. So I was reluctant to go. But anyway, we did end up moving. And of course, it was meant to be because I met the love of my life in the church. My dad went to pastor. So I was happy to make the decision. So where did you go to high school? I went to Vic. You went to Vic Comp? I went to Ross Shep. So you were our rivals. Yeah, Vic Comp was our rivals. Yeah, I don't know how I ended up there, but I did. I think because of the courses I was in before I got there, it was the only one that offered what I was taking. So that's where I was. But I did graduate from Queen E, actually. You did? I did end up moving to the north end and graduated from Queen E. Okay. Yeah. All right. Well, there's another story behind that. Not sure you want to hear it. Well, yes, we do. Well, you know. If it's as good as The Boyfriends, I want to hear it. That's all I got to say. It's a bit of a sad story. But my parents were not happy that I connected and met a young man that was of a different race than I was. Right. And so they decided the best thing for me to do was to be sent back to Saskatchewan. So I ended up going back and living with some family in Saskatchewan briefly. Right. In hopes that this crush might dissolve and change, but. Now, can I just say, because that was a few years ago. Yes. A different time. Yeah, a different time. 1969. Yeah. And that was a very prevalent, not just your parents, but a very prevalent attitude. It was very common. It was a very unusual situation that I found myself in. But, you know, you can't choose who you fall in love with sometimes. And that's just what it was. That's interesting. That's very interesting. And so they sent you back to Saskatchewan. So I went there, I got a job right away quick and worked. And so I took my, my grade 12 grad exams, government exams in Moosejaw. Okay. All right. And then you came back to Saskatchewan. And then eventually I went to Banff and worked in Banff. And I mean, I was young. I had just barely turned 18 when all this happened. Right. And so then eventually, Joe and I of course talked every day. And he came and picked me up in Banff and brought me back home. And I did not go back to my parents' home. I mean, although we reconciled, but I did not go back. I ended up living with a friend. Yeah. So life changed quite drastically at a young age. Joe was the love of your life. Yes, he's the love of my life. How did all that happen? Well, Joe was part of a musical group that sang in the church that I attended, and he's very talented. Him and his family, they traveled a lot. And of course, very handsome. And so when I saw him, I immediately thought he was pretty cool, but out of his league because very shy and intimidated person I was. And anyway, he went home the day he met me and told his mom, I'm going to marry that girl. And then his mom said to him, you leave that preacher's daughter alone. Oh yeah, those preacher's daughters, I'm telling you. Anyways, we did end up getting married and got married in 1969. And yeah, life was good and challenging and just life, you know. So you got married in 1969. Tell us a little bit about when the business started, when Reliable Tube started. So Joe always worked at a high level in different businesses and was always seemed to be, if a business was bought out, the top people would be let go. So we finally discussed in the last time, you know, this is enough of this. We need to do something to take care of ourselves because now we're in our forties. And so in 1988, we decided to start Reliable Tube. And the plan was just to be a very small distribution center and just make enough money in order to survive, pay our mortgage and utilities. So tell us a little bit about that leap, because I can only imagine going from a regular paycheck, how many kids did you have at this point? Two daughters. Two daughters. Going from a regular paycheck and you're going to now start your own business. That must have been a bit of a leap. That was a bit of a leap, but we had decided together, you know, we can't dwell on what if. We have to step out because we don't want to regret later down the road that we didn't take a chance. So we realized that the worst thing that could happen is that we might lose our home and we would live in an apartment and we were both okay with that. We decided it was going to be okay. Wow. Yeah. And it turned out to be an amazing journey. Now, just a little tidbit, JAPA Industries' Paul Green was very instrumental in us starting the business together. Joe and him were partners for a brief time and it was amazing. He was brought into our life for a time and we're very thankful for him and how the journey with him evolved. And also that we were able to part in Friends and be still continue on in the journey. So, yeah. So maybe before we go any further, you should tell us what Reliable Tube does. So we are a steel tube only, just tubing, round, square, rectangular tube. We don't do flats or anything else. And we started out with just a very small warehouse here in the park. And then we grew and needed a bigger warehouse, which is the one down the street from us now. And yeah, no, we just started expanding buildings and just found they were too small and ended up in the place where we are now. And yeah, it was just, I don't know, it was just amazing because we didn't anticipate the growth and the acceptance and of the different people out there that helped us in our journey along the way. Yeah. So Darlene, when Joe started the business, you weren't always working there, though, were you? No, I worked only part time at another company, Mansfield Importers, very old business, and it's no longer there, but I did the accounting there, which was very wonderful experience for me because I worked with an accountant who really trained me and got me to a point where I would be very capable at running the business where I am now, even though I have no actual educational background, like I haven't got a degree or anything, but just because of the on-hands training I had, it worked out very well for me. So you were working there, but still doing part-time at Reliable? Yeah, no, I didn't. I wasn't doing anything at Reliable yet because we'd agreed not to work together. This was a thing we had decided. This is not a good thing to work together. It's not easy, husband and wife, working together. And we thought we need to keep our marriage okay, without bringing in the dynamics of working together. So we decided not to. But one day in 1994, Joe called me up and said, Dar, enough's enough. Quit that job. And you're coming to work here because I can't do this. he needed you. Yeah, and which was, it felt good that he told me to do that. But it was difficult to do because now I'm going from a little paycheck to work for the company. Now you're really all in. Now I'm all in. It's all in, yeah. Anyway, it has turned out to be very good. I mean, we had some slamming of doors and some firings back and forth, and you're fired. Oh, Darlene, I'm sorry. No, come back. I would love to have seen that. That would be kind of cool. I'd slam the door and say, no. You're fired working with the company, but you're not fired as my wife. So let's just make sure we understand that. Yeah, no. So we had a few interesting. I can't say it was all 100 percent, but all in all, it was great. And we made very good partners, our accountants, our lawyers told us, you both are so good in the areas that you specialize in that you just blend together and do so well. Wow, that's fantastic. Because that doesn't always work, the husband and wife thing. No, no. And anyway, but it did. Because then you go home and that's all you do. That's your life. And to be honest, now I do miss that because I go home and just think by myself and have nobody. I mean, I have my kids, they're involved in the business, but I often think about things and try and get my hands around them. So the company was growing. Yes. And you guys were expanding. We expanded to Calgary. Like five years into the business, we expanded to Calgary. And it's done well. We're in a slow year this year, all the businesses, but overall we did very well. And so you're working together as husband and wife, but then there becomes a point when Joe became sick. Yes. Now that was a ten-year adventure in a way, because it started out with a small surgery and just kept going on and on. And he had five surgeries actually before he passed. But the last one, we had just come back from a trip to Africa to see our project there. And we came back in January and he had a stroke. And they figured that the stroke was caused actually either, they couldn't decide if it was by a blood clot from flying, or whether it was from the medication he was on for the cancer that he was fighting. Okay. So he had cancer. Yes, he had cancer, just cancer, gastrointestinal strom tumors, which is very rare. Yeah. And so he had surgeries for that. Right. And was on medication. And it did help it for a while, but then the medication didn't work and it came back. And so he was on a different test medication. Right. And they figure that was the medication that maybe caused the stroke. Right. So he had a stroke. He had golfed the day before. He golfed two under par. His best round of golf did very well. He was a very avid good golfer. And after the stroke, of course, it changes a bit. And he was damaged on the right side of his body. And although they told him he would not walk out of the hospital, he had the stroke in the states. We were in the states when it happened. So he was in the hospital there and had surgery and everything there, which in itself was an experience. I can imagine, yeah. And they told him he would never walk out of there. And he had such intestinal fortitude and such drive, which is through his whole life, as shown in what he accomplished, that he did walk out of that hospital and was amazing. And he did have to have some other rehab, but he never recovered necessarily his total use of his right arm. So tell us, how did that affect the business? Because I would imagine that would have a major effect on the business. You and the business. Well, it was very difficult. Our girls flew down right away and stayed down there with us for two months while he was in recuperation. So, of course, we just had to think about that. And that's all we thought about. But thank goodness we had very capable people in our businesses that just carried on and were so loyal and supportive of everything. And we're just hoping and praying that everything would go well. And everything just fell into place and all was taken care of. And yeah. And then when we came back, Joe did continue to come into the office, but it wasn't as easy for him. And so that was at the point when we started. I started taking a little bit more of the responsibility for the business. Right. And so what year did Joe pass away, Darlene? 2014. Yeah, so 10 years this past spring. So full disclosure, I've known you for quite a number of years, and I knew you and Joe and your daughters. I knew them. And Joe was an amazing person. He was bigger than life. There's no question. When Joe walked into a room, the room literally, in my opinion, and I was in many rooms that Joe walked into, the room lit up, and he had that vivacious smile. He was so good-natured. He made you laugh, but I remember this. When he laughed, we all laughed. It was just that big, broad Joe laugh, but yet he was so, what's the word I'm looking for? He was just such a good man. He was just good and smart and brilliant and wise, and yet very down-to-earth. Yeah, I think so many people have told me even recently, is just here a few months ago, we miss him so much when we get together because he was the light of the party, and he was just so much fun, and he was. He was a character. He could tell a joke like nobody else. Yes, that's right. And then he could lead you in a very serious conversation as well. He could challenge you to be better and to do better and to work hard to achieve what you want to achieve and to follow your dreams. And so, yeah, no. Missed very much. I do have another point that I want to bring up though, because Darlene, after Joe passed away, and it wasn't long after Joe passed away, you had people pretty much almost walk into your office and tell you, you can't run this business. As a woman, you can't run this business. Yeah, no, this is too much for you, and we're willing to offer you a price, and we'd like to buy your business. And I was quite surprised. In fact, I just talked to one of my staff about it this morning and said, you know, I said to that person, you know what, I'm quite capable of running this business. And we are continuing How did you feel about that when they were telling you that? Yeah, like it kind of, like it threw me for a minute. But then I had the courage to speak up, which is not really necessarily my personality. But I have been growing in the past 10 years in that way. And I did speak up and say, you know, listen, we're carrying on. This is a family business. This is what Joe started for, you know, his children and grandchildren. And we will carry on. And thank you, but you have a good day. Yeah. So I can only imagine. So when Joe passed away, not only were you grieving through all of that, your family was grieving through that. The girls had lost their dad. People were walking into your office saying, Sell, you can't do this. Yeah. And you're having to work through all of this emotion and all of this. At the end of the day, what was it that you said, nope, I'm doing this? Well, I just knew in my heart it was what I had to do for Joe's legacy, for one thing, and for my kids and grandkids. I remember Joe sitting with our oldest grandson on his knee, sitting in his office and saying to him, one day this will all be yours, Braden. So challenging him at a very young age that he needed to be responsible. And we've always challenged our kids to be people of integrity, and to be compassionate, and to be charitable, and carry on. So we just knew we could do it. And thankfully, I have two wonderful son-in-laws, as well as my daughters, and they came, stood up, and they have been immensely helpful to me in the journey. And we work well together as a family. Sure. Yeah. And you have a great family, Darlene. Thank you. I think so. I mean, everybody thinks their family is the greatest, but you know what? Newsflash, we have the best. Yes. And I wouldn't expect you to say anything less than that. Listen, anybody ywho can get their mom to go to Disneyland for two weeks and go on the rides is that. Oh my gosh, some of the rides, I will say, like, you know, less this time than last time, but I'm telling you one thing. I told them, no way, you are not getting this old lady back up there again. What was your favorite ride? Come on now. Ratatouille. I love it. That's fantastic. So you're never too old to go to Disneyland. Folks, listen to that. That's good advice. Even if you're just sightseeing. That's right. But you're with your family. And you guys are very tight. You are. And you're very close. We witnessed that last year at the award ceremony. Your family was all there with you. And that was actually, for me, actually, it was a very emotional moment to see all your family there with you and standing with you. That was really something. So incredible. That was emotional for me as well. Thankful for my family, for sure. So you had mentioned earlier when we were talking about you and Jo were doing some things, some philanthropic, And tell us a little bit about it, because I know your heart is just to help people. I know that about you. So tell us a little bit about that. You know, we've always tried to be charitable and giving and support different things in the community, and in Alberta in particular, but we were challenged at one point by a former pastor to maybe broaden our horizon. And we took a trip with him to Africa and visited a village of Hope, which is a very unique setup that falls under the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Started by Gary Skinner. Yes. And David Hazard was very involved in that. And so we went with him to visit a particular village. And with the thought, David was hoping that we would help sponsor building of a home. Now over there, they do an orphanage a bit different. It's not like a big institutional building where everybody stays together. They build homes on a property, 8, 10, how much ever the property will hold. And in each home, there's eight children, a mother and an aunt taking care. So it's more like a home base for the kids than, you know, that's their mom. It's a fabulous way to do it. They do amazing work, yeah. And it had a school at this particular place, and so they were challenging, he was challenging us that we should, you know, perhaps sponsor the building of a home. So we were talking about it and, you know, asking what it would cost to sponsor the home. And it was somewhere around 25, 30,000 to sponsor a home. And so we were thinking and looking at each other. And Joe, out of his, of course, desire, you know, he always thought ahead. And he said, well, what about doing a complete village? Could, would that be possible? And the gentleman that, Serge, that was in charge of that at the time, he said, well, funny you should say that. We've been offered a piece of property in Chongwe that if we could secure, we could start a whole new village of hope there. If, but, you know, of course it's hard to get sponsors. It's very difficult. And Joe, in his wisdom, said, you get the property for us, and we will sponsor the building of that village. And that's where it started. So we started off by going over for a groundbreaking, which was amazing, just to see the people come out and all the people that were excited. I mean, people from the army came, the chiefs, the chiefesses', right-hand people came. It was just amazing. It brought tears to my eyes. And to see all the- And they can sing and dance. Oh, and they came down the road, a pile of them. And it just brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing. And so we started, we got a concept. We had somebody here help us drop a concept for the village. And then we went to work getting our funds together and getting it going. And we went there in 2000, that was 2007, 2010. We went there for the grand opening for a few homes and part of the school. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. How many kids are in there? I mean, now we've got 700 to 750 right now that attend school there. We have what they call baby class up to grade 12. Yeah. And we have eight homes with children and aunts and mothers in it. And it's changed a little bit over the years. Social services there has changed trying to keep the children with family. And so it's becoming, we're more a place where police actually bring children who have been abused to stay and live. And it's quite amazing. And so the big thing there is the school. But the amazing thing, which we were told would never be able to be done, we managed to get approval and put a medical clinic on the premises. Yes. And they said that would never happen. And so that is amazing. And that is not an easy thing to do in Africa. That is a very, I know that for a fact. We had a contact here at the Alberta University of Alberta. And he had a contact over in Zambia, and he actually went over, and he promoted us to them. And they just said, here's the plans, build the clinic and we will support you and what you're doing. And so it's been amazing. And you make me, I miss that. Now I miss Africa. I want to go back. No, it's amazing. So that clinic was named in honor of Joe because it never did get completed before he passed. Incredible. So yeah. And how many times have you been over there? I think eight times, maybe nine times now. And you're going to go again. I'm hoping to go next year. Like if everything works out well, I'm hoping to go next fall. Yeah. Oh, Darlene. I just love talking to her, don't you? Well, I do because every time before these conferences, she says, I don't have any story. And this is just an amazing story to me. I just sit here in awe of you. I really do because it's amazing. And you inspire us. You really do. And that's the exciting part. You do. And so to end it off, you're off the hook now. See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Well, I did okay. You did real good. Yeah. Last question, we asked all of our guests. What is the best piece of advice you've been given, either personally or professionally, that you carry with you to this day? Goodness sakes. There's so much out there, but I don't know. I think the most important thing is of course, of course my faith has been a big part in the journey, and following the leading and feeling the leading of what to do. But the biggest thing is to be people of integrity, to be compassionate, to be charitable. It's not all about the business. We're given businesses in order to work on other projects that need to be done. And so I'm thankful for that. But yeah, no, it's worked out quite well. Yeah. Darlene, you are an amazing person. And what I love the most about you is your love for people, your love for your family. I think that's, you know, as I've watched you, that is extraordinary to me. And that you just, life's not done. It wasn't done when Joe passed. No, it was disappointing. Yes, absolutely. You know, the journey continues on. Yes, and you picked up, and away you went. And I'm sure there's not a day that doesn't go by that you don't miss Joe. Absolutely. But you have decided to push forward, and the legacy, and here's the thing, the legacy you are leaving. And sometimes we don't talk much about that these days. We don't talk about legacy, but the legacy that you are leaving is phenomenal, and will carry on for years and years and years to come. And so I just, I'm honoured to, I hope, be able to say you're my friend. Yes, yes, yes. And we're honoured to have you in Acheson doing business. I'm honoured to be here and to be part of the association. It's, you know, we haven't been hugely involved a lot, but you know what, we do want to be, so. You're there, and we know you're there. We know you're there. That's right. Well, thank you, Darlene. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it so much. Thank you very much. Jennifer, hey, I know. What's left to say? I know what's left to say. I think you and I get the most out of this. And it takes us... I know for me personally, it takes me the whole day to come down now because this is just so incredible. So thanks, everybody, for listening. Really appreciate you listening to us. Really appreciate everybody who downloads our podcasts all over the world. We're excited about that. And so from the Wall Coffee Roasters in beautiful downtown Acheson. Thanks for listening, everyone.