Doug Smith is an adventurer with a heart of gold.
His voice resonates with enthusiasm and energy and he cannot seem to talk fast enough to get his idea out. His confident demeanor and respectful response can make anyone feel good about who they are.
Since recently retiring from Smith and Associates Insurance, the company his father Lorne Smith founded in 1946 after 31 years, the Thunder Bay businessman has set off on a new adventure with his wife Jacqueline as the pair have developed Lloyd Smith Solutions.
Lloyd Smith Solutions is a Thunder Bay-business development firm focused on achieving client growth in a social responsibility and sustainability capacity.
"We are putting together a global company with more than 50 partners in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and Africa," Smith said.
"It's a new adventure. The excitement is meeting a lot of interesting people. The world is a great place and we are learning a lot about what is working in other places and (we) will bring those ideas back to Northern Ontario."
The new adventures which Smith has set out on are numerous, including his work with the FedNor and Ambassadors Northwest.
"(It) keeps us growing," he said.
"All the relationships that have been built over the years gives us that opportunity to contribute to the North."
His father handed him a living, he said, but he also passed along a very important character trait.
"My father was very involved in the community and I think he passed that on to me.”
"It's that old adage, it's in the giving that you receive. If you give to your community, your community gives back to you," Smith said, explaining you interact with people and as people get to know each other and start working together that's where the big opportunities begin.
Lorne firmly believed business needs to play a leadership role in community.
“It's the business community that really creates and innovates and that I think is the challenge for the North, to continue to be innovative."
The North has some excellent offerings with it's quality of life, rich resources, affordable living for families and at the same time one can be connected to the whole world at the same time, Smith explained.
"I think that has great value going forward."
Smith is also the chairperson of Contact North, an agency that provides distant learning resources to remote regions of Northern Ontario.
"We (Northerners make up) only six per cent of the population, but (geographically) we're 88 per cent of the land mass (of the province)."
Smith has also donated his business expertise to groups ranging from the Rotary Club to the Thunder Bay Trails Association.
"(Organizations) have the knowledge of what they want to do, and I've always come from the position that I don't have an agenda, other than let's make this work. I've never looked at it as what's in it for me so much as how we can build capacity in the North (and) as the North grows, my business will grow," Smith said.
He brings the same strategic thinking to government bodies that are etching out a long term plan for the region.
"The communities that collaborate effectively are the ones that do well," Smith said, explaining that was the role of Ambassadors Northwest.
"It was once said to me, 'shoot with a rifle, not a shotgun,' which I think is a real good analogy."
