Ten years ago, a business owner moved to Prince George and made such a huge impact on the community he was most recently named one of this year's five Citizens of the Year by the Prince George Community Foundation.
Canadian Tire owner Selen Alpay said the honour should go to the entire community because that's who supports those in need in the city.
"I came here with a three-year plan - as most people do - and now it's year 10," Alpay laughed.
Alpay has a more than 40-year history with Canadian Tire and has spent the last 25 years as a Canadian Tire owner. He started ownership with a Canadian Tire store in Ontario, then moved to Nova Scotia, then back to Ontario and finally Prince George.
The long history as a Canadian Tire employee offers Alpay an on-the-ground perspective.
"That's how I can commiserate with my staff," he said. "I've done every job any of my staff will ever do. So it's easy to commiserate with them when somebody's doing a tough job. So I can say 'I feel ya' and they know it."
For Alpay, it's always been more about the people than the business. The 10th anniversary of the opening of the story is Sept. 27 and every year he has a cake to celebrate with the staff.
"Because I'm thanking them for all that time they've had to put up with me," he added.
Seeing what a volunteer effort can do for one person may have started Alpay on the road to giving his time and sponsorship to those in need.
When he was a teenager, Alpay saw the local Rotary club had a small pool that was suitable for children who were disabled. Alpay volunteered to help with children who came to the pool on Saturdays.
Alpay spent his time with eight-year-old David who was severely disabled and needed braces on his legs to walk. He could barely stand up, Alpay recalled.
"I would lift David into the pool - I loved him and often wonder what ever happened to him - we had this bond and he trusted me," Alpay said.
David was not able to swim so Alpay would just hold him under his arms and gently pull him through the water. David had another plan after watching with envy as other children would dive for pucks at the bottom of the pool. When David expressed his wish to be like the other kids, Alpay helped him reach his goal.
"David told me he had thought about how to get down to the bottom of the pool to get the puck," Alpay said. "He said 'you're going to push me under and hold me under until I get it'. I told him that I didn't think we were supposed to do that but he told me he really wanted to do it."
So they did.
"I have never seen so much delight in one kid's eye ever - maybe not even since - and he was so excited he told his parents and they came the next time to see it for themselves," Alpay said. "We all laughed about it but if they weren't the right parents, I would've been a dead man because it looked like I was drowning him."
Alpay said he wanted to volunteer like that because David could not walk and he could and it simply made him feel good to make David happy.
"I think that was what sparked me to help and it grew from there," Alpay said.
Since then, Alpay has always tried to help improve the lives of others.
Listed in the information provided by the Community Foundation that talks about what Alpay does in the community is a long list of some of his volunteerism and philanthropy.
Canadian Tire has a JumpStart program for those children that are not able to participate in sports because the cost is prohibitive. During last season, the Prince George Cougars held a Mega 50/50 draw where proceeds would be donated to the JumpStart program. Alpay personally donated $25,000 to kick start the raffle where more than $60,000 was raised for the cause. Currently, Alpay sits on the Elizabeth Fry Society board, the Michael Pinball Clemons Foundation board, is first vice-president of the Spirit of the Northern Healthcare Foundation, a past board member of the Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community, and the Northern Supportive Recovery Centre.
He has contributed to many fundraising efforts, including those made through the Evening of Pink, Taste of India, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Prince George Fire Fighters campaign for Muscular Dystrophy, YMCA Healthy Kids Day, Ride for Dad, Red Cross Evening of Chocolate, Relay for Life and Cops for Cancer.
"Selen does some very personal, private stuff and then he does things related to his work and success with Canadian Tire and he feels it's important to do the right thing for people both near and far," said David Shuvera, general manager at Canadian Tire, who has worked with Alpay for the last 14 years. "It's something I see him work at as hard as he works at the business."
"Developing and building relationships is the most important thing any of us can do," Alpay said. "I know that the people that I surround myself with are the most important people in my life, whether that's here at the store or whether that's here in this community with all these amazing people who do phenomenal things every single day or whether it's my dearest friends - they all inspire me to do better all the time."
