Dr. Gerry Price will receive the 2016 Duff Roblin Award on November 15
The University of Winnipeg is pleased to honour Dr. Gerry Price, Chairman and CEO of the Price Group of Companies with the 2016 Duff Roblin Award in recognition of his many contributions to education and community through visionary business leadership, volunteerism, and philanthropy. Price will receive the award at the 10th annual Duff Roblin Award Dinner on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 at The Fort Garry Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre.
“Gerry Price is an exceptional industry leader whose generosity and dedication to community have greatly benefitted our province,” said Dr. Annette Trimbee, President and Vice-Chancellor at The University of Winnipeg. “That community mindedness, coupled with his commitment to shaping our future leaders, exemplifies the spirit of the Duff Roblin Award — we are proud to honour him at this year’s event.”
Price has served with Price Industries Limited (formerly E. H. Price Limited) since 1977, including 30 years as CEO. During his tenure, the company has grown tenfold in size with expansions into the US market and continued emphases on research, innovation, and Price’s Golden Rule of customer service: treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.
Price’s commitment to maintaining company headquarters in Winnipeg is among his many professional and personal efforts to support the local community. He is a volunteer Director on the Board of the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation and has provided leadership for capital campaigns at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School and the University of Manitoba. A respected leader in both business and his field of engineering, Price regularly meets with student groups, including a recent UWinnipeg class, and is committed to strengthening ties between industry and education through associations such as the Friends of Engineering.
Service is also an important part of the Price corporate culture: 50 Price employees volunteer for the True North Hockey Academy, which provides underserved youth with the opportunity to develop team and life skills through hockey. In 2011, he and his wife, Barb Price, were named the Outstanding Philanthropists of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Manitoba Chapter for their generous support of initiatives in the areas of health care, arts and culture, and education.
“Being of service to others, in any way that one is able, is truly the path to creating a kinder world,” said Dr. Gerry Price. “Many people before me have been recognized with The Duff Roblin Award for their service and commitment to bettering their communities, and I am proud to now join their ranks on the 10th anniversary of this meaningful event.”
Duff Roblin Award Dinner tickets and sponsorships are available, with proceeds benefiting academic and community programming at The University of Winnipeg. Since the first event in 2007, more than $735,000 has been raised in support of Community Learning initiatives, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Scholarship Fund, and the Duff Roblin Scholars Fund, which is now close to $1.2 million.
For more information or to attend this special 10th anniversary event, please contact organizers at fdnevents@uwinnipeg.ca | 204.415.2472.
Established by The University of Winnipeg and its Foundation in 2007, the Duff Roblin Award recognizes outstanding Manitobans who, like former Premier and inaugural recipient The Honourable Duff Roblin, have made lasting and meaningful contributions to their community and especially to the advancement of education. Past honourees include Tom Jackson (2008), Kerry Hawkins (2009), Edward S. Kennedy (2011), Charles S. Coffey (2012), Jan Belanger (2013), and Gail Asper (2014). In the spirit of the 2015 recipient, The Honourable Mr. Justice Murray Sinclair, last year’s sold-out event presented an opportunity for Indigenous, corporate, academic, and community leaders to dialogue about reconciliation around sponsored Conversation Tables.
BIO: Dr. Gerry Price, P.Eng.
Gerry Price was born in Winnipeg and holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manitoba as well as a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Following graduate studies, he worked as a Defence Scientific Services Officer for the Defence Research Board in Alberta before joining industrial manufacturing company E.H. Price Limited (now Price Industries Limited) in 1977. In 1986, Gerry became President of Price Industries following their start-up in Asia Pacific, and began to lay the foundation for their expansion into the US market. During his tenure, he has launched many new product lines, factory expansions and new business units in Canada and the US and has grown the company tenfold in size, scope and reach since he became President. Constant throughout this development has been Gerry’s commitment to maintaining company headquarters in Winnipeg. Price Industries continues to be an important leader in industry and economy, both locally and globally.
The Price Vision is one of service. Under Gerry’s leadership, Price Industries has become a model for best business practice, focused on the delivery of exceptional customer service in the spirit of the Golden Rule on which the Price Values are based: to treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. Relentless product development, even during difficult times, is also a crucial ingredient in Price’s service culture and is supported by excellent product development and research teams as well as initiatives such as Price Electronics and Price Research Center North located in the Winnipeg complex. The Marketing and Business Systems departments also integrate innovation and technology into their work, using digital marketing tools and specialized client-facing software to better serve their clients.
Gerry is committed to investing in the next generation of business leaders. He is a keynote speaker at many industry association meetings and regularly meets with student groups, including a recent class from The University of Winnipeg. He is also a dedicated community partner, contributing annually to a wide variety of charities, capital campaigns and scholarship programs. Additionally, the company provides in-kind support through 50 employees who volunteer for the True North Hockey Academy, which provides underserved youth with the opportunity to learn how to play hockey and also develop team and life skills.
Gerry is actively involved with many community and professional associations, including the Association of Professional Engineers for the Province of Manitoba, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers and the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation. In 2003, he received the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Excellence Award and was named the Manitoba Business Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year. Gerry was an inaugural inductee into the Manitoba Manufacturers Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2011, was made a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineers, the highest honour an engineer can receive in Canada. He has also been recognized by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of Manitoba, receiving the Association’s 2013 Leadership Award.
Gerry was named the 2012 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award at the University of Manitoba, where he is also a founding member of three associations: the Associates of the Asper School of Business, the Friends of Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture Partners Program. He has led or volunteered for numerous boards and fundraising campaigns, including, among others, serving as a lead volunteer for the Engineering Capital Campaign. In 2011, Gerry and his wife Barb were honoured as the Outstanding Philanthropists of the Year by the Manitoba Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals for their generous support of initiatives in the areas of health care, arts and culture, and education.
MEDIA CONTACT
Kevin Rosen, Executive Director, Marketing and Communications,
The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.786.9381, E: k.rosen@uwinnipeg.ca
