Annual
National Entrepreneur Award Nominee Meets Canada’s Finance Minister
Born, 1942, the Punjab, India, Gian Singh Sandhu joined the Indian Air Force as a young Sikh of 18 years. Envisioning greater opportunities for him and his young family in Canada, Sandhu set out in 1969 to start a new life in a new land half way round the world. Within a week he gained employment at Williams Lake, central British Columbia. A man of vision, Sandhu embarked on an ambitious program of self-development, taking specialized courses at such institutions as University of Western Ontario. Earning an M.B.A. energized his leadership, organizational, and planning skills. Moving quickly up the management ladder, by 1981, he had his own sawmill business and by 1987 Jackpine Forest Products Ltd. was established with the help of two venture capitalist friends. Diversifying from door and window manufacturing to high-lined engineered wood products, Jackpine has made Sandhu a proud employer of 250 Canadians. He forecasts that the millennium year will generate $140 million in sales for Jackpine. Committed to the Sikh community, Sandhu has served as President of both the International and National World Sikh Organizations. He has also served as President of both the Western Singh Sabha Association and the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Williams Lake. Nominated for the Annual National Entrepreneur Award, Sandhu has vowed never to forget his roots and will always be thankful for the opportunities God and Canada have given to him, his wife and four children. In this view, the Hon. Paul Martin, Minister of Finance, meets with Gian Singh Sandhu at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Fall, 1999. [Photo, courtesy Gian Singh Sandhu]
Wilderness
Gurdwara
