A family entrepreneurship and legacy book that beautifully captures the story of faith-based entrepreneurship, commitment to the farming community and constant innovation that is the GVF Group of Companies.
For Grand Valley founder and Chairman, Jim Ross, starting his own company over fifty years ago was a means to an end: the means was growing a business and the end was serving Ontario’s farmers and supporting Christian missions around the world. From the earliest days, Jim dedicated considerable company resources to making a difference in peoples’ lives. Giving, serving and being cutting edge continue to be the core imperatives of this truly unique leader in the animal nutrition industry, now led by the second generation of Ross family entrepreneurs.
Chairman Jim Ross was stuck when he invited us to help him complete the autobiographical account he had begun writing on his own. As we listened, asked questions and became inspired, the project quickly evolved into a full corporate and entrepreneurial life story with a focus on the deep personal values, vision and mission of Jim and their many reflections in the story of the company he created. When during the project Grand Valley Fortifiers purchased a company in Western Canada and began incorporating it into the GVF Group, the book became a further practical tool in the merging of cultures.
A book the very title of which conveys the Ross family’s commitment to using the company for a larger cause, Entrepreneurship with a Mission merges the story of the Ross family with the evolution of the Grand Valley brand in North America and beyond. Historical images from community archives add to this visually rich, fully branded corporate story for multiple uses, including historical record, legacy preservation, employee engagement, and customer relations.