New WEDA Board Member
Bryndon Meinhardt – KanEquip
Bryndon Meinhardt, KanEquip, is the newest member of the WEDA board of directors. He will represent the association’s southwest region. Meinhardt replaces Brian Lang and will serve out the remainder of his term.
Meinhardt’s father, Jim, was a past president of the association and also served as president of the North American Equipment Dealers Association, which is now the Equipment Dealers Association.
KanEquip has 14 locations in Kansas and Nebraska. The dealership’s major brands are New Holland, Case IH, AGCO, and Kubota. KanEquip was featured in the summer 2019 issue of Western Equipment Dealer. The dealership is a long-time supporter of the association. For more information about KanEquip, visit www.kanequip.com or follow the dealership on Facebook.
WEDA Announces Dealer of the Year – Kurtis Bourassa Receives 2019 Award
Kurtis Bourassa – E. Bourassa & Sons
The Western Equipment Dealers Association has announced that Kurtis Bourassa of E. Bourassa & Sons Equipment Ltd., is the 2019 Dealer of the Year.
The prestigious Dealer of the Year award was presented at WEDA’s North American Dealer Conference November 20, 2019. The award recognizes individual dealers for their leadership within the industry, their dedication toward growing their businesses into a successful entity and their commitment and legacy to their communities. “Kurtis Bourassa is a humble dealer who is highly regarded among his peers and the industry. His values are an asset that has been used to make E. Bourassa & Sons a highly successful dealership. Through his charitable spirit within the communities served by the dealership and values of treating all customers with respect and fairness, we are honoured to recognize Kurtis with this prestigious award,” said John Schmeiser, CEO, WEDA.
Bourassa was born and raised in Radville, Saskatchewan, where “dealership life” is deeply rooted in the Bourassa family. He grew up in and around the dealership working for his father, Dan, throughout his teenage years.
Following high school, Bourassa took a different path than other family members. He studied civil engineering technology in college and worked in the dealership’s service department during the summer months, often repairing combines. After graduating from college in 1998, Bourassa moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where spent the next five years working in construction management and geotechnical consulting.
In 2003, during the final stages of construction of a new dealership facility in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Bourassa decided it was time to join the family business. He moved to Assiniboia to complete the construction and take on the role of general manager of E. Bourassa & Sons. Bourassa’s “out of the box” thinking and drive to provide a whole new customer experience led to many changes in his first few years and not everyone was onboard with his ideas and plans. Employee turnover was high at first but within two years the company was growing at more than 20% annually.
The company expanded to three locations by 1999 but Bourassa, along with his brothers and sister, recognized more geography was needed to grow the business and take advantage of the opportunities before them. After many unsuccessful attempts to purchase a neighboring two-store dealership in the early 2000s, Bourassa was able to negotiate a deal in late 2008. In 2009, Bourassa and his siblings became partners, purchasing E. Bourassa & Sons from their parents. E. Bourassa & Sons now operates four New Holland dealerships and two NAPA auto parts stores.
Bourassa was elected to the former Canada West Equipment Dealers Association board as director in 2012 and remained active on the board until 2014 when Canada West and the former SouthWestern Association merged to become the Western Equipment Dealers Association. Bourassa continues to be involved in the new association as a member of the Saskatchewan Dealer Advisory Committee.
Bourassa remains an avid supporter of the Canada Equipment Dealers Foundation and its initiatives to attract and train young people for the various roles in the dealership. With a slogan of “Where the people make the difference,” he invests in employee training and education.
As fourth-generation owners, Bourassa and his partners are proud of their heritage and the values instilled in them from a young age to work hard and treat all customers with respect and fairness, never forgetting about the small farmer. Last year marked the 95th year in business for E. Bourassa & Sons and they have many accomplishments of which to be proud, such as being named Western Producer Outstanding Dealership of the Year in 2007 and a being a member in the exclusive New Holland President’s Club every year since its inception in 2010. The New Holland President’s Club recognizes top dealers for their sales and market share, facilities, operations, service standards, and overall business acumen.
Bourassa and the E. Bourassa & Sons leadership team run a successful operation and are recognized for their outstanding customer service and industry leadership among both peers and competitors. Along with his partners and their 120+ employees, Bourassa is heavily involved in supporting his local communities. He has served as director of his local chamber of commerce, is a proud supporter of local 4H clubs, and donates to many local charities and associations such as The Canadian Food Bank, United Way, Salvation Army, Family Place, local toy drives, and juvenile diabetes.
“I am extremely humbled and honored having been recognized as the 2019 Dealer of the Year,” said Bourassa. “This award is shared with my partners and staff at E. Bourassa & Sons because it represents our commitment of working together and sharing a common purpose of serving our customers and giving back to our community.” Visit the dealership online at https://ebourassa.com and follow E. Bourassa & Sons on Facebook.
For more information about the Western Equipment Dealers Association or the Dealer of the Year award, contact John Schmeiser at jschmeiser@westerneda.com or call 800-661-2452.
Bucklin Tractor & Implement Turns 75
Bucklin Tractor & Implement, better known as BTI, turned 75 years old in 2019. The dealership serves southwest Kansas from six locations. The dealership captured national attention a dozen years ago when Greensburg, Kansas, was flattened by a massive tornado. Th ere was little left of the town but BTI managed to keep perking along by using temporary quarters to serve the community and keep their employees working.
Several members of the association staff visited Greensburg following the storm and the devastation was indescribable. Yet, despite the post-storm trauma, BTI employees took on the challenge of rebuilding and now operate from a state-of-the art building. WEDA’s Ken Dean visited BTI’s Bucklin, Kansas, dealership and presented a plaque to commemorate the dealership’s 75th anniversary. Dean, wearing a tan shirt, is easy to spot in the photo. The showroom sign, Connecting You to the Land, speaks to all BTI customers – and probably many others. Congratulations to everyone in the BTI family.
See more about BTI at www.btiequip.com and on Facebook.
Klamath Basin Equipment Recognized by Federated
Klamath Basin Equipment is the 2019 recipient of the Safety and Loss Control Award from Federated Insurance. “As our industry has matured, we have seen dealers across North America make investments in facilities, people, and training. The importance of providing safe workplaces to our employees is an important consideration for dealers regardless of any OSHA requirements,” said Jerry Leemkuil, field manager for Federated’s Association Risk Management Services. Leemkuil presented the award to Ron Linman, general manager of Klamath Basin Equipment, based in Klamath Falls, Oregon. The dealership operates five New Holland stores in Oregon. For information, visit www.klamathbasinequipment.com or Facebook.
