Jack Van Rijn was born in Taber, Alberta and his family farmed in the Readymade area until 1966 when they moved to Coaldale. Jack is the youngest of 18 children and the only one born in Canada. Coaldale has been his home all his life and is where his three children were raised: Lindsay, Jessie, and Cam. As ‘Coaldale’s Number 1 Fan’ (self-proclaimed) Jack has been heavily involved as a volunteer through various organizations for over 37 years to make Coaldale an even better place to work, live and play! Jack has always been a firm believer in giving back to the community and making a real difference.
He is the former co-owner of Van Rijn Electric; a business he started and ran with his brother Hank for over 35 years. Jack believes Coaldale is a great place to grow a business and strives to actively promote Coaldale businesses through the local Chamber of Commerce, with which he has been involved for the past 35 years and will continue to do so.
That company grew into Southland Industries, Lethbridge Truck Equipment and Royal Trailers. After selling his interest in Southland he started Chinook Country Trailers and worked with Southland and Lethbridge County servicing and completing infrastructure for the Broxburn Business Park.
Rory is currently President of a Commercial Condo Association and manages commercial buildings in Lethbridge and Coaldale.