1 BBB* Celebrates 60 Years of Ethical Enterprise in Southern Alberta *Trade-mark(s) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus used under license 2 3 BBB* Celebrates 60 Years of Ethical Enterprise in Southern Alberta Published by: BBB Serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay President & CEO Sandra Crozier-McKee Contents Vice-president Marketing & Communications Camie Leard Vice-president Operations Shane Strebchuk Editor Leah Brownridge Contributors David McKee, Geoff Whatley Greetings .......................................................2 Advertising Consultants Jaydene Neis, Edie Smith Celebrating 60 Years of History ...........4 We welcome your comments and inquiries Your BBB Today ..........................................8 You can reach us at: Advancing Marketplace Trust ..............10 Full Support ............................................... 12 The Voice of BBB ..................................... 13 BBB Serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay At Your Service ......................................... 15 #5, 1709 8 Ave. NE Calgary, AB T2E 0S9 (403) 531-8784 [email protected] Expanding the Family ............................ 16 bbb.org Savvy Consumers ..................................... 17 facebook.com/CalgaryBBB Partner Perfect .......................................... 18 @CalgaryBBB Copyright 2014 by BBB Serving Southern Alberta Flood & Fire ...............................................20 and East Kootenay. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent from BBB Serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay. Looking Forward ..................................... 22 4 GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO This is as much your story – your organization – as it is ours. Together with our partners, Accredited Businesses and consumers in our communities, we help 1.2 million people in our region each year. Taking the helm of BBB Serving Southern Alberta BBB is a brand that has stood the test of time and and East Kootenay three years ago represented one one that will continue to play an important role in of the proudest moments of my career. To have the the next 60 years. As commerce continues to migrate opportunity to lead an organization with decades of from bricks and mortar to cyberspace, fraudsters, service to this community into a future where ethics scammers, false advertisers and other nefarious will be more important than ever was an exciting characters are finding new ways to part people with challenge - and one I was honoured to undertake. their money. BBB is right there on the forefront and will continue working towards our vision of an ethical As your BBB celebrates 60 years in Calgary and area, marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each we can look back with fondness and pride on the other - whether the marketplace is physical or virtual. work we’ve accomplished in the region. The stories told on the pages of this publication are a testament Let’s continue to work together to advance to a legacy of advancing marketplace trust as is our marketplace trust and build a community guided by mission. the BBB values of excellence, integrity, teamwork, trust and respect. This is as much your story, your organization, as it is ours. Together with our partners, Accredited Businesses and consumers in our communities, we help 1.2 million people in our region each year through unbiased business reviews, complaint handling, consumer education, business coaching and so much more. Sandra Crozier-McKee, President & CEO BBB Serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay 5 6 BBB Celebrates 60 Years of Ethical Enterprise in Southern Alberta Celebrating 60 Years of History with your BBB It was an age of suit-clad, smooth talking its start in Wisconsin in 1912 with Coca Cola’s Samuel shysters and slick salesmen hawking snake oil Dobbs in the leader’s chair. with outlandish advertising claims. As the brave By the 1940s, marketplace misbehaviour had the new world of mass media advertising began to businesses and consumers of Calgary, Alberta calling flourish, it was clear that an organization was for truth in advertising, ethical enterprise and mar- ketplace trust. A strong-worded editorial read, “There needed to establish and promote business are no valid arguments against a Better Business Bu- ethics in the Wild West that was the turn-of- reau…the formation of such Bureau has been overdue the-century marketplace. in Calgary for years.” The Better Business Bureau was that organization. By 1952, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Founded and funded by business people committed local Rotary Club joined forces to drum-up inter- to ethics in advertising and in business, BBB made est, time and money towards the creation of a BBB Though located in Calgary, BBB’s initial territory By the early 70s, Rose and his staff were operating at7 included the hills of Alberta and the flatlands of Sas- By the early 70s, (BBB) processed more full steam and processed more than 18,000 inquiries katchewan. Known as “District No. 2,” BBB quickly and complaints each year. This is compared to the than 18,000 inquiries and complaints established itself as it received about 250 calls each 6,000 calls processed by the federal government’s each year. This is compared to the month by 1960. As the city’s population increased, so Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs each 6,000 calls processed by the federal did BBB’s momentum. During the early ‘60s, appli- year at that time for the entire country. government’s Department of Consumer cations rapidly increased and were projected to do so as the city continued to grow. Alex G. Bailey took December 1972 marked the first change in your BBB’s and Corporate Affairs each year at that over as board chairman and in 1962 alongside new leadership when David S. Oakes took over as secre- time for the entire country. president and CEO Myrl Courtright, Calgary Mayor tary and manger and steered the ship for the next 11 Harry Hays declared March 25-31 “Better Business years. Towards the end of the decade, Oakes spoke Week” in recognition of ethical enterprise in the Cal- about the future of BBB including the eventual intro- in Alberta. With their initial efforts gaining a tepid gary area. Later that year, Rose was named the new duction of arbitration services to benefit both busi- response, John Rawlinson, a Calgary businessman head of the Association of Canadian Better Business nesses and consumers. and member of multiple community organizations Bureaus and towards the end of the decade, the young and the Southwest Kiwanis Club took over the project By the early 1980s, BBB was fielding 32,000 in- Calgary BBB set the bar for community service by and proposed a plan to create and increase public stances of service as Board Chairman, P. Gresko, says, winning the Canadian National Award for outstand- confidence, wherby the Province of Alberta officially “BBB’s biggest job is disseminating information and ing public service. incorporated Better Business Bureau as a society in resolving misunderstandings, rather than chasing 1954. With $8,000 in fund-raising efforts by 118 Ro- Five years later, in 1967, BBB won an award for racketeers, a popular misconception.” Gresko’s state- tary Club of Calgary members, plus the helping-hand outstanding public service under the reign of Board ment remains true today with your BBB fielding more of BBB Winnipeg’s manger, operations were soon Chairman Al Vogt, General Manager Allan Rose and than one million inquiries annually. underway. past Board Chairman George Seaborn. In 1955, BBB set up shop in the basement of a down- town building aptly named the Examiner, which became the newsletter moniker, located at 611-7th Street SW. It was here in 1962 that your BBB wel- comed its first chairmen of the board, Ronald H. Jenkins who was joined by former Montreal BBB staffer and former RCMP officer, Allan N. Rose, who became the secretary and manger. Rose, who recognized the importance of having the support of the Calgary business community, helped create the first local BBB Board of Directors includ- ing: • The Albertan (now the Calgary Sun) • The Calgary Herald • SML Entertainment • CFCN TV (now CTV) • CFAC and CKXL radio • CHCT TV (now Global) • Calgary Tent & Awning Ltd. • The Ski Cellar • Renfrew Furs • The Yale Hotel • The Lone Pine Supper Lounge Ltd. 8 Norm Haines (l to r) Myrl Courtright, Ted Vaughn Watts (left) and All Briggs Eustace and Allan Rose The next 20 plus years were packed with change presence with an average of about 100,000 website Brewery sales executive, Barry Baim. With experience and started with Oakes’ retirement in 1983. He was page views each month and an active social media in both the private and non-profit sectors, Crozier- replaced by board member Ty Smith stepping in as presence. McKee says though the past 60 years have provided interim President and CEO for approximately one much to reflect on, the emphasis is on the future. year. In 1985, Norman Haines, a former CFCN (now As the millennium approached, your BBB became the “Though it’s certainly a time to look back at our proud CTV) president, replaced Smith and headed BBB for second-largest branch in Canada and fielded more legacy, our focus is very much on the future and find- the next 15 years. In 1986, BBB brough Medicine Hat than 100,000 calls per year. Board member Al Searle ing ways we can better serve the public and business in as a Calgary BBB affiliate and in 1991, BBB said replaced Haines as interim president and CEO in community,” she says. goodbye to downtown