Publisher's Synopsis
Dickie, then Dick, then Richard was born in a small remote northern town in Manitoba. By the time he was three; he had a new step-mother and brother and was living in a small town in Northern Ontario, Canada. He came under the foster care of a childless couple in the community- a prominent leader in the region, while serving as a go-fer for the local house of ill repute. From these humble beginnings, he always wondered at how he, this small town boy from Northern Ontario, could eventually become a "Captain of Industry" and one of the original "Mad Men" of Advertising in the late 1960's in New York City. This is his story...it started as a project after he retired, mostly focussing on the funny stories in his work life. As time marched on, (25 years in the making), his book included stories of his formative years, time in the Canadian Navy in WWII, University days, his family, his beloved Silver Islet and his faith. Dick started his business career with the team and the company (Proctor & Gamble) that invented the "science" and tools of marketing research. He was present when marketers and the public were shifting from the use of radio and print to television. He figured out how to measure the impact and effectiveness of advertising and compare across mediums. He learned that innovation and filling perceived vacuums led to great opportunities. Over the course of his career - he helped save the Dick Van Dyke Show through the use of viewer research, walked the Red Carpet at the Oscars, provided input for the Grand Ole Opry, attended several Super Bowl Games as a VIP, testified at Congressional Committee hearings, and added to the bottom line for his clients and employers by saving or making millions of dollars, through a common sense approach based on real data. He was an able provider for his family of five children realizing the American Dream of moving into the upper middle class and retiring to Florida. This is when he started to compile his stories. The book includes his search for family and a mother replacement, his various summer jobs such as building Canada after the war - including blasting of the road bed for the Trans-Canada Highway and surveying for the Ontario Hydro electrical grid. Profiled are Dick's adventures in mining camps, with scallywags and Madame's, with Presidents of companies and in facing death a number of times. Though all his stories and his life, Dick loved to laugh and treasured the power of a good joke or story - well told. During his life in school, the Navy, University, in Business and with his family - he would hear the repeated refrain (usually when he was laughing at some absurdity) - "This is Really Serious Business..".Dick had his own opinion.
