hicles,” he says. These technologies include items such as track-ing GPS and telemetrics. “There are hundreds of GPS products out there, and there are a lot of factors that go into choosing what’s best for our customers. We’re in the process of doing that right now.” And telemetrics? “That’s a technology that can have a real impact on the way companies keep track of the ve-hicles in their fleet. Where they’re going, what they’re doing and when” he says. “At the simple end, these systems moni-tor movement, but they can also keep track of speeding and hard braking, sending alerts back to the company by email. Our vehicles will be able to know when they’re being driven outside of work hours or specific geographic zones.” The big idea is that access to this level of information puts control back in the hands of those who pass out the keys each morning. It’s been said that information is power, but in this case it’s a road to greater efficiency and cost savings. Of course, it will be up to the individual customer whether, and to what extent, they take advantage of these emergent technologies. “Our job right now is determining the cost of delivering these options.”

There’s another mission Polovick has set for himself to com-plete, and it’s been a particularly happy and rewarding one. He’s spent weeks traveling across Western Canada and the North to personally thank his team members for the past year and cel-ebrate with them for being recognized by their peers for doing such a great job of satisfying their customers.

“Building a sustainable business has given me great satisfaction,” Polovick says about the passing of this month’s milestone. “These

past 35 years have shown that our values and principles have stood the test of time.” As for being included in the “Best Managed Com-panies” club again this year, he considers it to be “icing on the cake. It’s the best third party endorsement there can ever be.”

The definition of any driving force is a power that compels ever forward. That seems to describe Polovick’s company per-fectly. So, where does his DRIVING FORCE go from here? “We’re going to be doing lots of the same things, naturally,” he says, “but there are always new opportunities on the horizon.”

If the past 35 years are any indication, we can expect Jeff Po-lovick, his hand steady at the wheel, to lead his expertly man-aged team straight toward those opportunities and beyond. In fact, construction has already begun on 12,000 sq. foot replicas of the Edmonton West End location in Langley and Fort St. John, both scheduled to open in June. Add to that the opening of a brand new location in Terrace, B.C. this month and it’s easy to see that Polovick’s FORCE is one to be reckoned with for years to come.

Happy Anniversary, Everyone. Jobs well done.

A lot can happen in 35 years. Mo-zart can grow up and assemble notes in a way that will change

the world. Excited kids can burst through school doors into a summer filled with possibility thirty-five times. And an idea can develop from a sim-ple thought put into action to a thriv-ing company with great memories and even greater success.

“When I think back over the last 35 years, it’s hard to believe,” says Jeff Po-lovick, president of DRIVING FORCE, of their anniversary this month. “I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to have worked with such great team members and customers. We’ve pur-chased, leased and sold thousands of vehicles, and it’s been lots of fun.”

As a result of Polovick placing so much value in surrounding himself with a happy and productive team, DRIVING FORCE has received a very special gift for their 35th anniversary, one that couldn’t please him more. DRIVING FORCE has earned the distinction of making the list of Cana-da’s “50 Best Managed Companies” — for the seventh year in a row. “I’m extremely proud. It says so much about the people here. It’s got nothing to with me,” says Polovick.

The evolution of DRIVING FORCE is truly one of Edmonton’s great business success stories. Polovick started Grove Rentals and Leasing in a small service station in Spruce Grove, Alberta. Since then, he’s guided it unflinchingly through a mercurial economy to become DRIVING FORCE Vehicle Rentals, Sales and Leasing. With a standing inventory of nearly 10,000 vehicles at 20 loca-tions and over 375 employees in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Yu-kon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, DRIVING FORCE is now one of the country’s largest vehicle rental and suppliers.

Although they are primarily known as a leasing company, retail sales are a big part of DRIVING FORCE as well. They sold more than 3,800 used vehicles last year. “We’ve weathered some pretty heavy economic storms since 1978”, he points out. “Having a retail component has helped to recession-proof our business. When things got slow out there, when companies were scaling down their fleets to manage costs, we adjusted our inventory.” When dark clouds rolled in and whitecaps en-croached, Polovick and his team chose to change tack and sail through rather than batten down the hatches. “We were able to move assets depending on the market. If we had units sitting on the lot, we’d sell them. It kept the money flowing. That made a

huge difference.” As the saying goes, you can’t control the wind, but you can adjust the sails.

This sense of community doesn’t stop at the DRIVING FORCE gates. As Polovick sees it, “If you’re living in a community, you have to participate, enhance relationships. Encourage role mod-els and support leadership.” The walls of the head office in Ed-monton are lined with photographs that demonstrate this com-mitment to developing and maintaining affiliations with local community leaders. Former Eskimo Henry “Gizmo” Williams, Oiler legend Dave Semenko, Olympic gold medalist Jamie Salé, tri-athletes, race car drivers — the list goes on. Judging by the positive messages scrawled thereon, the support goes both ways.

DRIVING FORCE is currently focusing on helping the Sas-katchewan Association for Community Living, an association dedicated to creating opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. As honorary chairman, Polovick has helped raise over $750,000 for the organization in Edmonton. DRIVING FORCE itself pledged $10,000 to the association for the next three years. Not content to simply put their money where their mouth is, the company has also hired a number of workers with developmental disabilities, welcoming them into the DRIVING FORCE family.

Polovick’s company is dedicated to keeping individuals and companies on the move and the DRIVING FORCE team is just as interested in keeping their business in motion. They know that the future is always just around the corner. “We’re taking an aggressive position on information technologies, bringing a lot of resources online to develop and utilize them in our ve-

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35 YEARS ON THE FORCE

35YEARS

THE ANNUAL AWARDS NIGHT IN SASKATOON JANUARY 30, 2013. BACK ROW: GEORGE LANGE - CONTRACT DRIVE;, RICH PREDDY - CONTRACT DRIVER; CHRIS OOMS - DRIVER / DELIVERY; MIKE HRYCAN - SALES CONSULTANT; MATTHEW DYCK - DETAILER; JAMES KRAWCHUK - SASKATOON BRANCH MANAGER; AND JEFF POLOVICK FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT. LEFT TO RIGHT FRONT ROW: KRISSY BAUMGARTNER, - RENTAL CONSULTANT; MICHELLE LUKIAN - RENTAL CONSULLTANT; ANGELA HEBERT - RENTAL CONSULTANT; ANGELA CHAYKOWSKI - F & I ASSISITANT. MISSING: ORANGE DE JESUS - FLEET MAINTENANCE MANAGER

BY MARK KANDBORG

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT IS JEFF POLOVICK; FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT; GARY NELNER, CFO; CLAUDETTE LAROCQUE, DIRECTOR, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS; MARK NOLIN, GENERAL SALES/ASSET CONTROL MANAGER; JOHN BLIMKE, COO.