Mishall RehmanDan Ruimy, the Liberal Party candidate for the riding of Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, has had a successful career in the restaurant industry, opening over 140 franchises across the country. Ruimy attributes his success to the lessons he learned from being a reservist in the CAF.
Ruimy first joined the ranks as a twelve-year-old Army Cadet. He remained in the cadets until he joined the reserves at the age of 18 in the Royal Montreal Regiment, infantry unit. In the reserves for three years, Ruimy left as a corporal.
Ruimy then joined the restaurant industry. For over twenty years, Ruimy worked for various chains holding positions like multi-unit manager, Director of Training and Senior Director of Operations. He has not only opened 140 franchises across the country but also trained hundreds of franchise owners. Ruimy says this would not have been possible without the training he received in the Cadets and reserves.
“The military and cadets taught me leadership skills and integrity. What I took away most was how do we execute something. If we have a problem, how do we keep calm and analyze the situation, decide on a course of action and do it. That’s been basis of my successful career,” noted Ruimy.
Ruimy recalls a retreat he took as a young Cadet with the parent regiment as one of the key events that stuck with him throughout his life. He was asked to act as captain and plan a rescue mission for a mock plane crash.
“That was an immense learning experience for me. When they came back, we were debriefed, and we were asked what we learned. One of the girls said that the exercise was fairly easy. And the sergeant said ‘when you know what you’re doing it always seems easy.’ That has stuck with me,” said Ruimy.
After leaving the restaurant industry, Ruimy opened “Bean Around Books & Tea,” a book and tea store in downtown Maple Ridge. Ruimy attributes the conversations and meetings he’s had in his bookstore as one of the main reasons he decided to run for office.
“I feel constituency offices are empty. We don’t really use them. I believe with my background, skills and experience I can make a positive impact in my community. I don’t want to do the typical ‘I’ll fight for you in Ottawa’ thing. I’m going to fight for you here. We need our Members of Parliament to be more involved with their community,” said Ruimy.
Ruimy believes transparency is what sets the Liberal Party apart.
“We see for the first time a potential prime minister, Justin Trudeau, that’s young enough to know it’s not about him, it’s about surrounding himself with the right people… We want to be open, be transparent and accountable and want to listen to our country,” stated Ruimy.
