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was going to win the overall Pacific Region
Entrepreneur of the Year award, which was
the first time we'd heard about it," recalls
the 83-year-old Volken. "And they say, 'John
Volken, United Furniture Warehouse!' In
my head I'm thinking, I just gave my talk,
now what am I going to do? I stood there
for a long three seconds and said, 'I wish
my jingle had a second verse.'"
The Pacific Region overall winner
de signation has since become a fixture of
the EY Entrepreneur of the Year program,
with titans of industry like Norman Keevil,
Ian Telfer and Ryan Beedie, among many
others, taking home the honour. Last year's
Pacific Region winners—Herbaland co-
founders Aisha Yang and Musharaf Syed—
were also crowned the Canadian overall
winners. But it all started with the jingle.
"Afterwards, someone said, 'John, your
second talk was better than the first,'" says
Volken. "I just talked about entrepreneurs,
how awesome they are, how they make
things move. I still remember—when I got
THE UNITED WAY
John Volken was the very first Entrepreneur of the
Year – Pacific Region champion. Since then, he has
sold the chain that brought him fame and fortune and
put all the money into charitable endeavours
by Nathan Caddell
n 1995, John Volken took the stage in
front of close to 1,000 people at the
second annual EY Entrepreneur of the
Year awards as the winner of the retail
category. He was told to prepare for a three-
minute speech. As he was walking up to the
stage, someone called out, "Sing the jingle."
Volken was the founder of United Furni-
ture Warehouse, and anyone who watched
TV or listened to the radio in Western
Canada in the '90s and early 2000s still
can't say the company's name without
adding the "bump bump" that was a fea-
ture of
UFW's ubiquitous advertising spots.
He obliged and did the jingle. The crowd
laughed. And Volken delivered his three-
minute speech.
But then, a surprise, and a new tradi-
tion. "There were six of us winners up
there, and they announced that one of us
I just talked about
entrepreneurs, how
awesome they are, how
they make things move.
I still remember—when
I got home that night I
couldn't sleep, I was
so excited. It was the
beginning of realizing that
it was time to give back."
