John MacDonald Sr

John Hay MacDonald was born in Listowel in 1931. He spent his childhood in Toronto and Port Elgin and moved back to Listowel when he was 13 after his father died and his mother wanted to be closer to family members. He graduated from High School in Listowel and moved to Toronto to begin a sales job with Gordon Mackay Company- a large department store, where he worked for 3 years. 

The automotive industry was booming in 1953. In March of that year John attended a "Parts and Service Equipment Show" in Toronto to learn more about the industry. A family friend connected him to the Champion Spark Plug Company where he applied to the sales department- and started with Champion as a sales trainee later that year. The next Spring he was promoted to a field salesman covering a territory from the Niagara Peninsula north to Listowel. Later that year - in 1954 - he married Colleen Forrest in Listowel, and they moved to London. John stayed with Champion 5 years and credits that organization with many good business and sales habits he was to carry throughout his career. 

In 1958 John was offered a good promotion with Champion to move to Winnipeg to lead the sales team in western Canada. At the same time however John's father-in-law, Earl Forrest -who was president and 50% owner of Ideal Supply-persuaded John to leave Champion and join him at Ideal. In 1958 Ideal operated out of an old hotel building in downtown 

Listowel with new branch stores in Wingham and Mt. Forest. The Company was growing but John worried that he would be bored. Later, he would joke that over the years he often wished for just 2 minutes of boredom. 

John MacDonald joined Ideal Supply in September of 1958. He was conscious of being "son-in-law of the boss" and worked hard in every facet of the business to understand it and make his mark. His years with Champion put him in good stead to understand the Automotive Aftermarket but at the time Ideal also sold electrical supplies, appliances and stereos, house 

paint and ... toys. It was a true wholesale hardware distributor selling to the small hardware stores in towns and villages in SW Ontario. These were the days before Home Hardware and Pro Hardware. 

The early 60's were a busy time for Ideal Supply - and for John and Colleen. John spent long hours at Ideal Supply, building a team and the business and looking for new opportunities. Tim, Joan and John -or Satch as he was nickname dearly by his father-had arrived on the scene so they had a busy homelife too. Fortunately, Colleen had seen firsthand that the 

demands of managing a growing business were all encompassing from watching her father. 

At the same time John began what was to be a lifetime of community engagement by joining the Listowel Kinsmen Club. It was through this service club he learned to appreciate the value of giving back and would later advocate those values throughout the Company. 

John had become General Manager of Ideal Supply, allowing Earl Forrest to step back and pursue other interests. Ideal would open Branch stores in Hanover, then Goderich and Kincardine. 

In 1967 the Company made the big move out of the old hotel building downtown, to a 3 ½ acre site on the north end of Listowel-and after several renovations and additions, it is still the site of Ideal's Head Office & Distribution Centre today. This was an important 

transition in the Company's history as the appliances, stereos etc, stayed downtown in what would become the "Modern Appliance Centre" and was sold to a local entrepreneur. The Ideal Supply team would focus on the Automotive Division selling automotive parts and equipment-including machine shop services, and an Electrical Division selling electrical supplies to contractors, utilities and industry. The new Listowel warehouse offered daily delivery to the growing network of Ideal Branch stores which was a huge service advantage in small town Ontario. 

At the same time John was working to get the best automotive and electrical lines for his growing company. Ideal was a long-time member of Bestbuy Distributors which gave them access to leading automotive lines and the buying power of the large WD's. Bestbuy was an important part of Ideal's success and John would be a longstanding Director and serve as Vice-President of the organization.

Both the Automotive and lectrical Divisions were growing and in the 70's Ideal continued to expand with a new Branch in Owen Sound, and the purchase of Brake Specialty & Parts which was based in Orillia with 2 Branch stores in Midland and Bracebridge. In the late 70's he acquired Rogers Automotive in Orangeville. 

By this time John had purchased his father-in-law's shares and the shares of the other partner. The Company also started an Industrial Division to focus effort on marketing electrical products, and automotive supplies to industries throughout the region. 

In 1980 John bought Pratt Motor Supply in Barrie which joined the north and south Branches and exposed Ideal Supply to the dynamic Barrie marketplace. The early 80's saw Tim, Satch and Joan all join the Company. John had been careful to apply no pressure but always made them feel very welcome should they make that their career choice. That said, there was no one prouder that his family was all working together, although Colleen often quipped that she was robbed of normal family conversations at family dinners as discussions always turned to business. 

Ideal Supply continued to evolve and grow with a new Branch store in Collingwood. The electrical business moved with the ebbs and flows of the construction economy, while the automotive business grew steadily. 

John was asked by Dean Wilson at AIA to head up a Wholesalers Council to bring focus the changing needs of that sector of the Aftermarket. 

In the mid 90's John began to step back from the day-­to-day management of Ideal Supply. He spent more time with Colleen at their home in Sarasota in winter, and at their cottage on Lake of Bays in the summer. 

Tim, Satch and Joan had grown into executive management positions, and together with a strong management team were leading the Company. Ideal continued to grow into greenfield markets and acquisitions. 

The Company left Bestbuy to join UAP/NAPA in 1996. This change exposed Ideal to new marketing programs and NAPA private branded products. Ideal purchased many of the UAP/NAPA Branches in SW Ontario and became the largest network of NAPA stores in Canada -and the third largest in North America.

John's fingerprints remained on much of what is best about Ideal Supply. The culture he created prevailed - "set aggressive goals and work hard to achieve them. Keep Ideal's customer's interests in the forefront of everything you do. Treat suppliers with respect and work with them as a team to grow business." 

He encouraged participation from Ideal staff in industry committees and attend conferences to learn and share knowledge that could improve the company and profitability. 

John MacDonald dedicated his career to making Ideal Supply the best it could be, while working hard to raise the bar in the automotive and electrical industry. 

John believed that for our communities -and our country-to grow and prosper, we all had to pitch in, and he walked that talk. His community engagement became a hallmark of who he was, and over his career was President of the Listowel Kinsmen Club, President of the Listowel Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Listowel Rotary Club. 

He was recognized for his professional and community contributions by receiving Listowel's 

Citizen of the Year Award, the ElectroFederation Canada Industry Recognition Award, and AiA's Distinguished Service Award. 

John MacDonald was proud of the automotive aftermarket and the important role it played in the economy. After a Life well lived, John passed away in 2015, but Joan, Satch and Tim agree that this induction to the Aftermarket Guild Hall of Fame would be among the highlights of his career, and they are grateful for this posthumous recognition.