July Team Feature: Jim Dumelie

We are starting a new series to highlight some of the people who have made NES what it is today, and the people who are taking us into the future. This will be a monthly occurrence where we will single out an NES employee, to thank them while we all find out a little bit more about who they are, where they are from and what they do.

Who better to start with than our President and Managing Partner, Jim Dumelie.  Jim is an incredibly modest person who does not like to talk about himself, so instead of talking to him, we talked to people who have worked with him over the years, co-workers, and coaches.

Jim is the quintessential Canadian boy, growing up on a farm, playing hockey on flooded fields; his dad, a former CFL football player, instilled two key traits in Jim: work hard, and look after your teammates. His mom, a former Tucson Rodeo Queen, influenced his competitive nature and made sure he made it to his practices and games.

Jim came out to BC after graduating from college, with his whole life packed in his car. Rumor has it that the car was ‘home’ for a while.

For those of you who do not know Jim, he has been in the abatement industry for 25 years. He started working as shop manager for an environmental remediation company and worked his way up through various positions to general manager. Jim assisted in growing this company from a small, family-run business to a “Canada-wide corporate entity”.  The company was at one point one of the largest of its kind in Western Canada.  However, with this success, Jim felt that there was a corresponding loss of ‘family / team atmosphere’ that he craved, and so, with a young family to support, he made the bold decision to step out on his own.

The goal for the new company was to grow a business that would create and foster that team atmosphere, while performing jobs in a safe and responsible manner.  Jim believed that health & safety, people, professionalism, a healthy work environment, relationships and creativity could be the foundations upon which to build. To put this into effect, he needed some key staff to put their trust in him and follow; follow they did, without question, and those foundations have become the principles upon which the company has grown.

Throughout the process of building the new company, Jim’s family has continued to grow up. While his daughters excel at dance, he is absolutely no help to them, so he cheers from the bleachers.  It is through his twin boys that he has rediscovered his love of hockey.  While researching this little write-up, a common theme came up time and time again, this quote from one of the coaches sums it up:

“Jim is one of those people who will always have your back in any situation. He’s worked hard for what he’s accomplished and sets an unbelievable example for his kids and anyone who gets the chance to spend time with him. Just as impressive is his willingness to share his success by supporting the community and the teams and kids he works with.”  “Jimmy is a true giver and wants NO recognition. He is a typical hockey guy, that is a team player and always goes out of his way to make sure everyone is included and taken care of.”

Those traits, of taking care of the team and putting in the work, have also shown themselves throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. While many of our workers will wear a respirator while performing the majority of their duties and so are protected, it was the quick implementation of safety protocols outside of containments, which would ensure that our staff would go home safe to their families. NES has managed to continue operations throughout 2020, keeping an average of 180 people employed full-time.  It was the quick action and buy-in from management, headed by Jim, that assisted in keeping us all going.  

We look forward to many more years of following Jim’s motto, “Think Safe, Work Safe, Home Safe”  

For all of this Jim, we thank you.