In 1955, Ron Fenwick and Sam Beatty opened a Texaco service station. Three years later, the service station was lost to a fire, and the friends opened Beatty and Fenwick Garage at 836 Ontario Street. "My dad always enjoyed Volvos. He thought they were a well-engineered, practical, and safe vehicle, so while the garage fixed all types of cars and trucks, they were known for repairing Volvos," explains Glen Fenwick, Ron's son. Ron and Sam became known as the best mechanics in town, and the garage became a hangout for those who shared their love of cars, motorcycles, airplanes, and race cars.
In 1976, the Volvo dealer in Sarnia retired. "Volvo Canada knew my dad, and Sam had been repairing Volvos for over twenty years, so they said, 'If you buy two cars, we'll give you a sign, and you can become a dealer.' So my dad and Sam continued to operate the garage and started selling Volvos," shares Fenwick. Business grew steadily over the next few years, and when Sam retired in 1986, Ron carried on the business with his wife, Edna, and son, Glen. "I never had a babysitter. My parents always brought me to the garage with them, so I grew up around cars, and there was nowhere else I would rather have been."
In 1993, Glen became the owner/operator of the business, even though his dad held off on retiring for another five years. When Volvo became a luxury car brand, Glen wasn't sure Sarnia had the population base for it, so he started investigating additional brands. "Subaru has a similar philosophy to Volvo, so in 2002 we took on Subaru." Four years later, Fenwick was approached by Hyundai, which had laid dormant in Sarnia for a number of years. "Hyundai Canada contacted us because they had seen what we did with Volvo and Subaru, and they felt we were the type of dealer candidate that could move their brand forward." In 2006, the first truckload of Hyundai's arrived, and there are now over 3,500 of their cars in operation.
Todd Clark joined Glen as an equal partner in the Subaru and Hyundai dealerships in 2009. "It was difficult to keep up with the rate of growth, so I looked for the best person to join me." That same year, Fenwick built a new facility for the growing Hyundai brand. The building has since been renovated in preparation for their tenth anniversary. "We invested in this building because we believe that Sarnia will continue to grow, and we want to maintain the level of service our customers have come to know us for." Fenwick loves his community and location. "Every opportunity I get to make our community a better place, I want to do it. Our business is my passion and even my hobbies revolve around it. I live to share my love of cars and anything else with an engine. When I retire, I'm going to apply to be the shuttle driver so I can keep hanging around the people and things that inspire me."
Mike and Lori Beggs packed up their personal belongings and moved to Sarnia in 2002 after purchasing Enviro Trends (now Halo Hair Salon), which is located in the Lambton Mall. An esthetician by trade, Lori previously worked at a c...
Jessica Martin was looking for a career change, but little did she know what she was getting herself into. "I had worked for the Ontario Government in Gaming at the Point Edward Charity Casino previously, and I was ready for a move," Jessica says. So, when Jessica was offered a position with Exp
Chris Williamson just couldn't resist the temptation. After convincing herself she really didn't want to open Williamson Farms Country Store in Forest, ON, she went ahead and did it anyway. "I bought the building 13 years ago on New Year's Eve," Chris proclaims. "It was a store that had
Robyn Kopriva always knew she wanted to do something meaningful with her life. She just couldn't put her finger on exactly what that was. That was until she met with a counsellor and began neurofeedback. My counsellor at the time was offering Neurofeedback, which I had never heard of. So I
Jack Botma immigrated to Canada from Holland in 1962. Initially, he settled in Owen Sound with one of his brothers. “One of my uncles convinced Dad to move to Canada and start farming sugar beets. When the sugar beet market crashe...
Have you ever really thought about how you are living your life? Are you truly being the best you can be? Are you willing to put in the work required to be better? Those are just a few of the questions Joanne Fearns asks her clients as she steers them toward living their best life. We work togeth
When it comes to caring for feral cats, Julie Medeiros just can't say no. Sometimes I'll get a call at 2 a.m. about a cat that has been hit or all kinds of other situations and you just have to react to it, Julie says. It is that kind of dedication that has helped Julie rise to the position.
Sylvan Learning was founded in 1979 in Portland, Oregon to provide supplemental instruction in reading, writing, math and study skills. The Sarnia location began in 1984 and has been located at the same address all these years, 10...