It was a one-man show when Barry Lapointe started Kelowna Flightcraft in 1970.
He traversed the Okanagan in his panel van to fix planes at various airports and even in farmer's fields.
Over the next 54 years, Lapointe's ambition, strategic growth, hard work, grit, savvy and passion, and a little bit of luck, turned Kelowna Flightcraft (now renamed KF Aerospace) into a global aviation leader.
Along the way, Lapointe has been recognized with numerous awards -- the Order of British Columbia, Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, Extraordinary contribution to Kelowna's quality of life, honorary doctorates and lifetime membership in the Air Transportation Association of Canada.
However, this week, just in time for Canada Day, the KF Aerospace chairman was named to the country's highest level of distinction -- the Order of Canada.
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"This prestigious recognition, celebrates Barry's significant contributions to Canada's aerospace industry and his philanthropic efforts, including support for post-secondary institutions and the KF Centre for Excellence," reads the KF Aerospace news release announcing the Order of Canada induction.
With 750 employees working out of hangars and offices at KF Aerospace headquarters beside Kelowna International Airport, KF Aerospace is the city's largest employer and one heck of an economic engine.
The main activities at the Kelowna facilities are aircraft maintenance and retrofitting.
The company counts WestJet, Air Canada, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Air North, Sunwing and Icelandair and several governments and militaries among its clients.
Also out of Kelowna, there's KF Cargo, which flies Purolator packages across the country, and Aeroflyer, an airline that flies workers to oil and gas camps up north and flies sports teams around.
There are 450 other employees across the country, including Hamilton, where aircraft maintenance and retrofitting is also done, Southport, Manitoba for aircrew training (see details below,) as well as Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa.
Jobs at KF Aerospace are skilled and good-paying.
To ensure a steady supply of these specialized workers, KF Aerospace works closely with Okanagan College on its aircraft maintenance engineer programs.
In addition, the 'Barry Bucks' program has paid out over $40 million in bonuses to KF Aerospace employees.
"At KF Aerospace, we are incredibly proud to be part of Barry's legacy and are committed to upholding our industry-leading reputation," continued the news release.
"As we look to the future, we are excited to continue leading Canadian aviation with new services such as Future Aircrew Training and P-8 Poseidon support."
The Future Aircrew Training Program is a $11.2 billion contract KF Aerospace shares 50/50 with CAE (Canadian Aviation Electronics) to train Royal Canadian Air Force pilots and aircrews for the next 25 years out of the SkyAlyne facility in Southport, Manitoba.
The Poseidon contract is worth $10 billion and KF Aerospace's portion is to to maintain the jets that are made for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The KF Centre for Excellence is a unique airplane-shaped building across Airport Way from KF Aerospace headquarters.
It's a combined museum, exhibition hall and special-event space has houses several vintage aircraft.
The Order of Canada is bestowed on citizens who have a positive and long-impact on communities in Canada or have brought honor to our country abroad.
Lapointe has done both with important operations in Canada as well as international clients and an enviable reputation globally.
This year, 83 people have been appointed to the Order of Canada -- an impressive list ranging from doctors and activists to artists and economists.
Many of the names you probably wouldn't recognize because they are leaders in their own specific communities working for change and improvements for others, not attention for themselves.
But, a few you might recognize such as punk-pop music star Avril Lavigne, former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz and former Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames player Jim Kyte.
