Paul’s Hauling founder Paul Albrechtsen will receive the Order of Manitoba, considered to be the province’s highest honor.
The fleet president and CEO immigrated from Denmark at the age of 24, with just $50 in his pocket, and began working for 90 cents an hour as a field mechanic in Virden, Manitoba. He lived in tool sheds to save enough money to buy two trucks in two years, and founded Paul’s Hauling in 1956.
The bulk hauler now has 280 employees. Albrechtsen is also widely recognized for his philanthropic work.
Last year the Paul Albrechtsen Foundation donated $5 million to support cardiac research at the St. Boniface Hospital Research Center – which, combined with $2 million in previous donations, made him the largest donor in the hospital’s history. He received care at the hospital after a heart attack, and the center now bears his family name.
The charitable foundation has also supported the Reh-Fit Center, St. Paul’s High School, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, and the Health Sciences Center.
“I’ve always thought it is better to give with a warm hand, and it brings me joy to know that in supporting places like St-Boniface Hospital, what is given today will make a difference tomorrow,” he says on the hospital’s website.
The order will be awarded July 7 in the Manitoba Legislative Building.
(Reprinted with permission of Today’s Trucking)
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Winnipeg Free Press (Paywall)