Hugh Heron is one of my heroes

Hugh Heron with one of the Mikey defibrillators on the back of a moving truck. (Jim Ross photo)

One of the joys of my job is meeting wonderful and interesting people, including designers Colin and Justin and Glen Peloso, TV strongman Bryan Baeumler, interesting characters like Patrick O’Hanlon of Kylemore Communities, and stalwarts of the industry like Paul Golini Jr. of Empire Communties.

But one of my great pleasures is spending time with Hugh Heron of the Heron Group of Companies, which includes Heathwood Homes and the Canadian franchise rights to moving company Two Men and a Truck.

Hugh is a wonderful raconteur with a sharp wit, a wonderful sense of irony and a Scottish brogue that seems to get stronger every year.

Born in Glasgow, Hugh left the city’s famous shipyards and moved to Canada 45 years ago, where he learned the building industry from the foundations up.

But in 2002, Hugh lost a good friend, Mike Salem, when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on the golf course and died. A year later, Hugh and some of Mike’s other friends began the Mikey Network, with the goal of placing portable defibrillators (known as Mikeys) in as many public places as they could. Hugh thinks there should be one wherever there is a fire extinguisher.

To date, over 1,200 Mikeys have been placed and 12 lives have been saved with them.

So, really, it’s no surprise then that Hugh Heron put two of his companies together to benefit the not-for-profit Mikey Network. As of this week, all Two Men and a Truck vehicles will be equipped with Mikey defibrillators as part of the Mikey-on-Board program and all of the moving company’s staff will be trained on how to use them.

“These moving trucks, with their EMS-trained personnel, circulate throughout their communities every day,” Heron says. “By carrying a Mikey, they carry a second chance at life for people who might be affected by sudden cardiac arrest. This program is a tremendous venture and for Two Men and a Truck, it’s an industry first.”

And that’s why Hugh Heron is one of my heroes.