In Loving Memory…
During the evening of Thursday, September 18, 2014, our Project Manager, Eric Power, passed away suddenly, leaving a huge hole in the hearts and lives of everyone he touched. Out of respect for the man we all knew and loved, and for the years of service to this company, this page is dedicated to the memory of the “big man.”
Eric was a son, a father, a friend, a companion, and a leader all in one. While I can’t speak of the loss he represents to everyone, I can say the loss he is here to the staff at TOTAL Transportation Solutions, is unmeasurable and will be felt for a long time.
I will do my best to tell you about the man we knew, and how he lived.
Being an absolute mountain of a man, when Eric entered a room, you and everyone in the room knew it and he made sure you did. Your first impression would have been one of shock or surprise at his physical presence. Eric was a dominant, powerful, assertive, fearless, leader. He was also outspoken, full hearted, robust, persuasive, and a jokester, all rolled into one. As a leader of our crews, everyone felt peace of mind when he was in charge and on the job.
Whenever Eric would walk into the office, everyone’s spirit was raised. I honestly do not remember a day that did not include laughter when he was here. The good hearted shots that he would throw at you out of the blue, just made every day fun. And Eric would easily take a good hearted jab right back. His quick wit reminded me of Robin Hood, played by Errol Flynn in the 1938 classic movie. To our crews, Eric was the leader. You could hear him take charge right from the start yet, also hear him joking around and inspiring laughter. When it was time to focus on the task, make no mistake, Eric was all business.
With all customers, Eric was funny and fun loving having this unique way of making the toughest job seem easy. With the female customers in particular, well, Eric was a charmer, and maybe just a bit of a ladies man. He had the confidence of an alpha male to meet a female customer for the first time and put an instant smile on her face with his, “hello pretty lady.” That’s when you knew there was a great big giant teddy bear hiding in there somewhere.
For my crews who have struggled with this loss, I can’t imagine any one person to fill the shoes left by our friend and leader Eric Power. As you move forward, remember everything Eric showed you, every job you were on with him, every time you stood right beside the big man in the stair well. As long as you do that, you will realize everything you learned from him is still with you. So in a way, he is still with you. You can honour Eric as your new leader emerges, by honouring your new leader for stepping up at a time when nobody would wish for this. Work as hard for him and you would for Eric.
For my customers, my staff and I were overwhelmed by the outpouring from you. In truth, we didn’t realize how big of an impact Eric had on some of you until the bad news was out there. The reaction from some of you stunned us. For those of you who only learned of Eric’s passing when our crews arrived on the job site in the days and weeks following, thank you for giving up your shoulder to cry on when our guys needed it and for sharing your tears in memory.
For anyone who has taken the time to read this but never met Eric Power, I thank you. I wish I could spin the clock back so you had the opportunity that we have had to know Eric. He was a special man and it was an honour to work with him every day.
Rest In Peace, Big Man.
Scott T. Pustai, President.
If you have any additional pictures of Eric you’d like to share, please e-mail to info@total-transportation.com and we will add them to this page.