The Retail Council of Canada will be awarding the Sobey family the 2019 Canadian Grocery Industry Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement Award.
David Sobey, chair emeritus of Sobeys Inc., and Donald Sobey, chair emeritus of Empire Co. Ltd. will be accepting the award on behalf of the family at a Toronto gala on May 29.
The lifetime achievement award recognizes individuals or families who have demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to the Canadian retail and grocery industries. They have demonstrated a commitment to their company’s growth and innovation, to the communities they serve and to philanthropy, according to the release Tuesday by the retail council.
The Sobeys grocery business began modestly in 1907 in Stellarton, Pictou County when J. W. Sobey started delivering meat with a horse-drawn cart. J. W.’s son, Frank H. Sobey, along with his brother Harold, imparted the importance of values and high principles which David, Donald and their late brother Bill carried with them.
More than five generations of Sobey family members have been actively engaged in building Sobeys into a national supermarket chain.
