RHBTVEdited.mp4

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[00:00:43] We're here with Jason Ashtown, co-founder of the Skyline Group of Companies, he's going to share a little bit about the company's experience with the tornado that recently hit the Ottawa area. Thank you so much for coming today and being here with us. No problem. So September twenty first is the day that your tenants will never, ever forget.

[00:01:03] Tell us a little bit about that for us. We did have some properties in Ottawa, but the main disaster was in Gatineau, which happened to be at our largest apartment complex, which is six hundred and twenty nine suites, five high rises that literally got smoked by an EF three tornado. And fifteen hundred people got displaced immediately after the tornado hit when so many were affected by this.

Interviewer: [00:01:30] So what were you say? What would you say are some of the toughest challenges that you had to face?

R. Jason Ashdown: [00:01:35] When a situation like this hits, it's basically all hands on deck. And the messaging started going around the company and we had to establish our processes. We have a business continuity plan, but we've we've dealt with situations in the past, but nothing quite to the scale. So we started figuring out the priorities, what needed to get done and establishing a plan and the people and the process for getting it done. And really, we have people come from across the country to help us with this situation. Many stayed there for upwards of 10 days to deal with it because the skyline is a company that the really bonds together in the face of a disaster. And that's what we had to do here.

Interviewer: [00:02:19] Well, you guys definitely took on the challenge head on. And of course, it's not always at the top of your list when it comes to emergencies or natural disasters. So what were some of the lessons learned?

R. Jason Ashdown: [00:02:31] Well, it's one of those things that you can't really plan for and you really hope it doesn't happen. But when it does happen, you hope that you have the people in place that can get the job done. A big shout out to all of our trades and our suppliers, how they stepped up to the challenge. As I was driving from Gulf to Gatineau, which is about a six hour drive, I was on the phone the whole time, securing supplies, talking with other people in our company, talking to our trades, getting everybody to pull all the resources in that they could possibly pull in. Because I knew in a crisis like this where there thousands of people displaced in one community, that resources would become the commodity and that if we didn't have those things nailed down, that we would be heading to the back of the line. And so relying on those people that used day to day. And I was amazed at the performance and how they stepped up. And and that's just part of the process. And knowing that you're going to be running into a political whirlwind, a media whirlwind and dealing with people that are displaced from their home and trades and police and firefighters and hydro companies and so on and so forth, like there's so much to consider. You just have to sit down and figure out what's the most important thing. And to us, it was getting our tenants back in their homes, but we couldn't do it before the place was safe. Right. And so these guys were living in shelters and gymnasiums and all over the city, sleeping on couches, whatever. You know, we kept communicating with them the best that we could because communication is key in a situation like this, because stepping back and staying in the shadows doesn't work because they're all showing up at our doorstep. And we had to tell them what was going on.

Interviewer: [00:04:09] Thank you so much for all your hard work. Incredible turnaround time for this. And thank you so much for sharing your story with us. Thanks for the time.