“The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day and that I never dog it.”
So once said the greatest of all time, Wayne Gretzky, about himself as a player. It’s similar to how fellow hockey legend Curtis Joseph describes one of his best friends – the trucking industry’s very own, Mike Ham.
“Mike is one of the most hard-working, determined people I know,” says Joseph. “His work ethic is unmatched. He’s a CEO at the office but he’s also a CEO at home. He leads by example and his kids see every day that not working hard is not an option. Those are the earliest rising kids I have ever seen.”
For his extraordinary dedication to the trucking industry, Ham was named the recipient of the prestigious Omnitracs-Ontario Trucking Association Service to Industry Award last night at the OTA’s 92nd executive conference in Toronto, becoming the second OTA Allied Trades member to win the award.
Ironically, as general manager of Omnitracs – the customary sponsor of the award – Mike has spent years introducing past Service to Industry recipients. This year, however, it was his turn.
“He is fiercely loyal to his friends. He is extremely competitive. He is possessed at times. What does that mean? It means he’s full of passion for everything he does,” says Dan Einwechter, CEO of Challenger Motor Freight.
Many in the industry agree Mike’s integrity is unapparelled.
“Mike is a very ethical and moral individual. He always does the right thing and he runs both his business and his personal life the same way. His ethics are unquestionable, that is for sure,” says Norm Sneyd, VP, Business Development for Bison Transport.
“Above all, what he says is what he does and that’s how he lives his life,” adds Mike’s wife, Julie Ham. “He does things to the best of his ability and so I think he has served the industry very well because he just doesn’t turn it on and off. He has no off switch.”
Mike grew up in Richmond Hill, Ont. His drive to succeed was on display very early as he worked extremely hard to get accepted to a private high school in downtown Toronto, which he travelled nearly 50 km to and from every day. He then graduated from York University in Business Development and soon after went to work for Motorola in a variety of sales and marketing roles. After 10 years he did a short stint with Cantel/Rogers Wireless before finding a home at Cancom Tracking in 1995, which would eventually become Shaw Tracking and, now, Omnitracs. He has been a proud, long-time OTA Allied Trades member and loyal supporter of the organization as a whole.
“He believes in the industry; he believes in the people who work in the industry and he does his best to support the industry and wants the best outcome for everyone involved in it,” says Julie.
Despite some recent health setbacks, his friends and family say he’s as driven as ever.
“Even though he may have slowed down just a little bit recently, he still gets up every day with the intention of doing the best job,” says Sneyd. “He is unquestionably, one of the most committed guys that I have ever seen.”
Check out Mike Ham’s commemorative award video, click the video thumbnail image below: