Our President: John Denham

OUR PRESIDENT : JOHN DENHAM  

John Denham is the Founder and President of Denham Ford. John was born and raised on a farm in Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan. In his early life on the farm, John learned responsibility and the importance of hard work from his father Cecil Denham, attributes that serve him very well to this day. One of sixteen children, John left home, and Saskatchewan, to seek employment in the Alberta oil industry. John worked on drilling rigs in the Olds-Sundre area and developed a lifelong interest in the oil industry. Although John enjoyed working on the oilrigs, he wanted to go into business for himself. John and one of his brothers opened a gas station in Calgary in 1958. In 1960, John purchased the Ford dealership in Wetaskiwin. From its humble beginnings, this dealership has evolved into one of the largest Ford retailers in all of Canada. Over the years, John has been very involved in the Dealer Council for Ford Motor Company. He has spent many years in the Regional Dealer Council and twice served on the National Dealer Council. In 1985, John was National Dealer Council Chairman. John is very proud to have won more Distinguished Achievement Awards, Chairman's Awards, and North American Customer Excellence Awards than any other dealership in Canada, thirty-two awards in total.

John has always been very involved in his community. He spent many years as the director of the Wetaskiwin Chamber of Commerce. He was also elected by the members of the Chamber to serve as the President of the Chamber of Commerce. John spent twenty years as a member of the Kinsmen Club of Wetaskiwin, serving on many different committees and as the club's President. John spent ten years with the North American Snowmobile Racing Association. He was Chairman of Board with the Association for five years. John's companies have been sponsors of many community organizations such as hockey, baseball, 4H clubs, and donate to many local charitable organizations. John's hard work and leadership in the community was recognized by the local chapter of the Jaycees as they appointed him one of The Ten Most Outstanding Young Men in all of Alberta. Time Magazine awarded John their highly coveted Dealer of the Year Award for his dedication to his community, success in business, and involvement in the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta. One of the proudest moments for John came when the Wetaskiwin Chamber of Commerce named him Citizen of the Year for his outstanding contribution to his community.

John continues to be very active in Denham Ford Sales acting as the Company President. His sons, Brian and Brent, and his daughter Jennifer, own and operate many successful businesses including car dealerships, hotels, motels, restaurants, liquor stores, night clubs, and a large commercial real estate investment company.