Her last working day was December 9, which was the anniversary of her start date of 30 years. She first presented herself as a talented, energetic and enthusiastic young lady and was offered a position under the management of AJ Karst.
Shortly after commencing her career in the office, Petro Canada began a process of restructuring territories, which resulted in the formation of B&A Petroleum in 1995, under the combined ownership of Karst and Brian Rostie.
Sandra was a quick learner and eager apprentice who willingly took on a variety of tasks and established herself as a model employee within the company.
When Karst retired in 2002 and Rostie became the sole owner of the company, he recognized Sandra’s potential and gave her more responsibilities, until eventually in December of 2005 she was promoted to site manager in Assiniboia.
Over the span of her career, Sandra became an integral part of the B&A Petroleum team.
She will be remembered for her contributions as a leader, mentor and advocate for the company and her community. Her hard work, commitment and dedication are reflected in the success of her team and growth of the business.
Throughout her time as manager, Sandra has shared her knowledge of operations, sales and products with customers and colleagues, provided strong leadership to her staff and others joining the management team, and was instrumental in developing and implementing a prudent operations program.
Most notably, the Assiniboia site has always received accolades under Sandra’s guidance and teamwork for being a safety focused, organized and efficient site. Filling Sandra’s shoes will not be an easy task, but B&A Petroleum are confident that things will be in tip-top shape for her successor.
B&A Petroleum would also like to formally announce the retirement of Randy Clark, who hung up his PPE in June. Randy joined the team in March of 2004 and immediately made an impact on the business. His in-depth product knowledge, technical skills and outstanding customer relations were invaluable to operations and earned the respect of customers and colleagues alike. He had a diverse role as manager of Flaman rentals, livestock nutrition sales and site and equipment maintenance.
Over the years, staff members from a number of sites within the structure of B&A Petroleum benefitted from Randy’s expertise as a forklift trainer and his keen understanding of the industry and the customer base that was being served.
From the day he started this role to the date of his retirement earlier this year, Randy always put his heart and soul into everything that he did. There was no task too big or too small.
He gave it his all and brought far more than skills and knowledge to the workplace each day. His character was his brand. Randy is a man of principle, honest and genuine, in addition to one heck of a story teller.
Although it is difficult to sum up Sandra and Randy’s many contributions to the company, and the community of Assiniboia, it is easy to say they were both without a doubt loyal to and invested in their work, family and community.
Despite their commitment to their careers, both Sandra and Randy are excited about the opportunities that retirement presents. Sandra is looking forward to the prospect of being able to have more time to spend with her children and grandchildren, as well as pursuing her many interests. Perhaps quilting may become her new day job with intermittent periods of socializing with friends, gardening and leisure.
Of course, both Sandy and Randy anticipate spending a fair bit of time perfecting their golf fame and enjoying their home away from home.
It is also a safe bet that Randy, as an avid and knowledgeable historian, has set his sights on travelling near and far to a variety of destinations to explore museums and historical points of interest.
He will no doubt continue to be a regular with his local coffee clutch and offer his services as a volunteer at community events. It is likely that residents will still run into both of them at the shop from time to time, as old habits are hard to break, and they will always be welcome at B&A Petroleum.
B&A Petroleum would like to extend their heartfelt congratulations to Sandra and Randy on their well-deserved retirement and thank them for their dedication, commitment and years of service with the company.
