After being an employee for six years, Mathew Sleeva is now the owner of Gabora Electric in Canora.
Sleeva said he wanted to keep using the same name because everybody knows Gabora Electric and the former owner, the late Jerry Gabora. It’s also a tribute to “the best boss I ever had.”
The only difference in the name is that “2015 Ltd.” has been added after the name, he said. The official take-over date was December 18.
Sleeve recalls that he was working with the town’s labour crew when he asked Gabora about a possible job opening. It wasn’t long before he was giving his two-weeks notice and began along this career route. He was encouraged to begin studying for his apprenticeship and two years ago, he earned his journeyman’s ticket. It was a combination of on-the-job training and doing the classwork in Moose Jaw.
It’s the kind of work that Sleeva says he finds interesting and challenging. He is currently concentrating on all the local business and the few bigger jobs that were started when Gabora was still around.
It’s important to be dependable and do the high quality work that people expect, Sleeva said. He tries to be as flexible as possible to accommodate all customers and he plans to do work of which he is proud.
Gabora was a great teacher and he was loaded with knowledge, he said. Gabora will be missed in the community and at the shop.
When business picks up, Sleeva said he expects to hire a few helpers, perhaps even a journeyman electrician. For now, he is handling the workload by himself.
Sleeva said he is eager to work in this community and be part of the community. He and his girlfriend, Shyla Kaiser, own their own house in Canora and they had a baby six months ago.
