Mechanics from Babine Truck & Equipment, owned by Ed Adema, took home top honors recently from the Volvo Trucks North American VISTA World Championships semifinals. Adema and one of the mechanics, Clarence Oosterhoff, are members of Prince George (British Columbia) Christian Reformed Church.
The team went on to place 11th at the world event in Sweden. The competition, held every two years, recognizes excellence among Volvo dealer service personnel.
Oosterhoff was joined by three other master technicians from the business to face over 200 teams in the North American competition where they won the right to compete at the world level.
Adema said he has always tried to manage his business with a Christian perspective. “Each morning before I go to work, I pray to my Lord that his presence will be in our location,” Adema said. “I try to make all my employees feel that they are an important part of the team, and I encourage the technicians to always have the good of the customer in mind.”
Adema has developed close relationships with many of those customers, listening to their stories, exercising patience when payments are slow, and even going so far as to hand out books by James Dobson of Focus in the Family to those who need some advice. “In the truck world there is a lot of family breakdown because [the] dad is away from home so much,” he explained.
No doubt his customers and employees will miss Adema’s presence at the shop when he retires next year. But he’ll still be cheering on his team in future attempts to win the top spot in the Volvo world.
About the Author
Tracey Yan is the Banner's regional news correspondent for classes British Columbia North-west and British Columbia South-east.
