Frank Gale/TC Media
Rick Blagdon of Reach Road Auto Ltd. in Burgeo talks about his business after accepting the CBDC Long Range Award of Distinction on Wednesday night.
“Sometimes people take you for granted and after all these years this shows how far our business has come,” he said in an interview after accepting the award at the Dhoon Lodge in Black Duck Siding.
In 1998 Blagdon started the business with support from the Self-Employment Assistance Program of the Canadian Business Development Corp. (CBDC) and a small loan.
His started the business because he didn’t want to leave home and there was no work there at the time. He began with a parts store and repairing vehicles on the side of the road.
Blagdon said for the first two years the Burgeo town council tried to stop him from operating due to complaints, but he persevered.
By 2000 he was ready to expand and went back to the CBDC for a loan, and with the $80,000 he levered he built a new state-of-the-art garage.
Later, he expanded, adding on a convenience store, two one-bedroom efficiency units and a three-bedroom house for nightly rentals.
The business also took on the town’s garbage contract, which it has been doing for almost four years.
Blagdon said the business also buys and sells used automobiles and recently expanded into roadside assistance with the purchase of a flat-deck wrecker.
His house is attached to his garage and convenience store, and they’re open daily and closed only one day a year — Christmas Day.
While his wife, Wanda Blagdon, works part time at the Calder Health Centre in Burgeo, she also helps out with the business. Their five-year-old daughter, Lexis, spends time around the store.
Last year the business employed 14 people full time, part time and seasonal.
Blagdon said his business could not be successful without good employees, and that’s why he treats them well.
Great, consistent service to his customers is also part of why he has been in business for more than 18 years, he said.
Blagdon is very involved in the community as a member of the town council and a member of the fire department, and by providing support to community groups and events.
