Whether it's Major League baseball for Canada or local development for Stratford, Don McDougall can always find a way to get the job done.
The Stratford businessman was president of Labatt's Brewery when they successfully launched the Blue Jays in Toronto, giving Canada another MLB franchise.
McDougall bought and built-up Novatronics, a successful city aerospace business and was president of Rambri Management Inc., a developer and property management company based in Stratford.
He is equally adept outside the office, helping bring the University of Waterloo and the RBC Data Centre to Stratford.
The affable 85-year-old, who nowadays splits his time between Stratford, his home province of Prince Edward Island, and Florida, was delighted this week with news he will receive the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce business leader of the year award.
It's recognition he doesn't take lightly.
"Stratford has been so good to us, to our family," McDougall told StratfordToday from Palm Harbor, a short distance from the Blue Jays' spring training home in Dunedin. "I found it overwhelming news and I am very appreciative and honoured at this time in my life."
McDougall worked in business management and was the youngest president of Labatt's Brewing, based in London. The company went for a home run when they actively sought a Major League franchise with a consortium of partners.
"We were always looking for ways to strengthen our marketshare. Getting involved with baseball was a good thing."
The franchise fee was $7 million and the payroll for the Blue Jays first season in 1977 topped out at just $750,000, he said. The Blue Jays estimated value today is around $2 billion but the team would sell for much more, according to business forecasts.
Needless to say, investors who later cashed out made some good money, McDougall said.
Over the years, McDougall embraced an entrepreneurial spirit, buying and growing Novatronics, before selling the company to Curtis Wright in 2003.
"It was my first entrepreneurial endeavour. A lot of long-time Stratford people did a very good job and made it successful. Peter Van Drunen was president for us and we had people like Mike Miller - good people who stayed a long time and were good at what they did."
Among the projects for Novatronics was production of parts used on the Canadarm at the International Space Station.
McDougall was founder/CEO of Rambri Management, a company that played a big part in the development of the south end of Erie Street, now home to a hub of auto and restaurant businesses.
Rambri is run by Ann McDougall Cooper, one of Don and wife Marion's five children. They have retained 'franchisee' ownership of the Boston Pizza restaurant, even after selling most of the properties to the Kaneff Group, based in Mississauga.
McDougall was also president of Accuform Golf and has been a member of several boards, including the University of Waterloo Stratford campus advisory board, Air Ontario, Stratford Festival and the advisory board of Ivy Business School in London. McDougall earned an MBA at Ivy Business School and his youngest son, Colin, is a professor at the school.
The McDougall family has roots in Prince Edward Island. One of Don's first jobs was selling newspapers in Bloomfield Station, PEI, where he spent formative years. He met Marion (McDonald) on campus, in his first year, and eventually earned a degree from the University of Prince Edward Island.
Fifty years after he graduated, Don and Marion donated $2 million to the campus. The university named an academic building on campus 'Don and Marion McDougall Hall'. The 50,000-square-foot building is the home of UPEI’s faculty of business.
Don was named the university's eighth chancellor for a four-year term beginning in 2014.
Two of McDougall's children - Brian and Donna - live in Quebec, their middle son, Neil, lives in the U.S.
The couple's 11 grandchildren are "the current focus", he said.
Don and Marion managed to get to Florida In November after a three-year COVID hiatus and they were happy to see a lot of their old Stratford friends who own property and visit the area, he said.
McDougall said they will be back in the Stratford area by Easter and he is excited to receive his honour - on May 4 at the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce Awards, where he will also be a guest speaker.
"I am in awe of being selected because I know all of those people who have won this for the last 20-plus years."
Chamber of Commerce GM Eddie Matthews called McDougall to let him know the good news.
“Don is the type of person who has the ability to inspire people around him which is one of his greatest gifts. You’ll have a hard time finding a finer gentleman and someone to emulate. Once you share some time with him, you leave and hope that you treat people the same way Don treated you”.
