Through unwavering support for each other and an optimistic outlook, Marvin and the late Chloe Galts, this year’s honourees at the Faculty of Management’s Scholarship Dinner (Thursday, April 14, 2016), provided examples of how to succeed in life and business.

About a month before Chloe’s passing and after they had learned they would be honoured at the annual Scholarship Dinner, the Galts agreed to sit down for an interview and share a few thoughts about their lives and careers.

Marvin, who grew up near Coutts and in Lethbridge, and Chloe, who was raised on a farm east of Milk River, became high school sweethearts after noticing each other at school basketball games. They started dating when she was 15 and he was 17 and they married four years later. They settled on the Galts’ family farm, homesteaded by Marvin’s American-born grandfather, east of Coutts and for the next four years, they spent summers in a three-room house with no running water. In winter, they moved to Lethbridge and Marvin worked at the Research Station under Dr. Bob Hironaka.

“It opened my eyes to looking at the possibility of a different direction and I needed the education to do that,” he said. “I decided to get a degree but I didn’t have good grades coming out of high school—I played too much. As a result, I had to take night courses at Lethbridge College to get my grades up.”

Marvin completed his upgrading and was accepted as an adult student at the University of Montana in 1966. They packed up their two small children, a few belongings, arranged for student loans and moved to Missoula. It was a treat for the family to move into new student housing with running water, a washer and dryer, and playmates for their children.

Marvin completed a bachelor’s degree in finance in two years and one of his professors encouraged him to pursue a graduate degree. After considering offers from several universities, they selected Bozeman so Marvin could attend Montana State and study agricultural economics. He intended to complete a doctoral degree but a diagnosis of cancer in his first term as a master’s student derailed his plans.

“Here’s this 27-year-old guy with two kids and a wife and no money because I’d just poured it all into my education. I was operated on in Montana but I came back to Lethbridge, which had radiation treatments at the old regional hospital,” he said. “Obviously it worked; I’m still here.”

After Marvin’s treatments were complete, the family moved back to Montana, now uncertain about his health and future. He had completed a master’s and was starting on his PhD when he got a job offer from the Alberta government’s agriculture department. He took the position out of concern over his health and the security that the job offered his family.

“An important factor was I could get $20,000 in life insurance without a medical,” said Marvin.

After a few months, he was transferred and became the regional economist for the agriculture department in Lethbridge. Being an entrepreneur at heart, Marvin started a hog operation with Chloe’s brother in addition to working for the provincial government. Within a couple of years, Marvin also partnered with Ken Dunsdon, who became a great partner and manager, to establish what would become one of the larger hog production operations in Alberta. The operation survived the turmoil in the industry for more than 35 years, largely because of their initiative to explore and develop a business to market Alberta hogs to San Francisco’s Chinatown. At peak demand, they shipped thousands of hogs each week. Although they are now out of the hog business, they created a market that others followed and still capitalize on today.

During this time, Marvin’s brother was starting a construction company in Calgary and suggested Marvin help put together financial backing and partners for construction projects, thereby establishing Galko Development in 1972.

“In 1974, we started the first apartment building in Lethbridge and from 1974 to 1982, we built over 500 units, as well as a considerable number of houses,” he said.

The success prompted him to leave his government position in 1978 to manage the businesses. During those years, Chloe helped with accounting and the design of the homes being built. She was delegated to be the person to rent the units in the apartment building under construction, signaling the start of her career managing more than 400 units for many years.

“I didn’t know anything about doing that,” said Chloe. “But I figured it out somehow and the market was so hot that I rented 26 suites in the first building in a few days and the building wasn’t even finished.”

Galko Homes steadily grew and Chloe’s talents for interior design became apparent. She started Chloe & Associates and provided the interior designing for Galko’s show homes. She earned many awards for her designs and that trend continues today as Galko Homes wins many builder-of-the-year awards.

“I had a knack for many aspects of interior design. I loved it and it was fun,” said Chloe. “I was struck with rheumatoid arthritis really, really bad and that changed my ability to get around. Even though I could hardly move, I kept showing up every day. I rarely missed a day at the office until the last few years.”

In 1980, Galko was continuing to grow rapidly and expanded into land development by entering into a joint venture with a Calgary oil company. The company provided much of the financial strength to purchase the land that became Willowbrook in West Lethbridge. This was the beginning of the end of the original Galko Development.

“Those were the days of 22 per cent interest rates and things went upside down in 1983 and 1984. The oil company went into receivership and pulled us with it. We lost most everything we had accumulated, although we maintained management and partial ownership of some apartment buildings,” said Marvin. “Galko Development succumbed to the downturn and by 1985, we had downsized from over 30 employees to just Chloe and myself and one staff.”

The high interest rates took their toll on agriculture and provided an opportunity for Marvin to earn additional income when he was approached to head up the Farm Debt Review Board.

“Those were tough times, with many farmers I had worked with previously now sitting across the table in great financial difficulty or even losing their farms,” said Marvin. “We helped a lot of farmers who would not have survived and we helped others transition out. It was sad but rewarding and it did give us added personal income for a couple of years when it was badly needed.”

The debt they incurred to settle Galko Development’s affairs haunted them until the early 1990s. Even so, they were determined to forge ahead and, in the late 1980s, they established a new entity that became Galko Homes.

“We just didn’t stop. When the market’s down, you get moving. That’s when you work and that’s when you look for opportunities,” said Chloe.

One of the opportunities was a partnership created in 1991 to capitalize on a market in Phoenix, Arizona. They built several developments over the next 15 years, with the last project now winding down.

As Galko Homes grew, their son, Bruce, joined the company in 1997, after leaving his engineering job with Boeing. He will carry on the success of Galko through the next generation. Daughter Brenda (Wilkins) followed and in the early 2000s, the Galts looked southward for an opportunity in Montana. In 2004, they started Westcraft Homes, which they still operate today.

Throughout the decades of being involved in agriculture and residential development, Marvin was actively involved in government relations, serving as a delegate and board member of the Alberta hog marketing board, travelling and speaking throughout the province as the industry went through a transition. He was also a founding member of the Alberta New Home Warranty program, serving on its board as a director and as chairman. He also held numerous positions in the Canadian home-building industry association.

The Galts and their staff have been supporters of the community, including the University, Lethbridge College, and the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce. They’ve also supported many community charitable initiatives like Meals on Wheels, the annual Christmas Tree Festival by the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation, the Angel Tree for Kids program and the Lethbridge Rotary Dragon Boat Festival.

“We are fortunate to have great extended families and although we have had a very busy business life, we do hope that we have been there when the needs of others arose. The occasional ability to be able to help, personally and financially, is the greatest reward that the financial success of being entrepreneurs has provided,” said Chloe.

“It’s been a long journey with huge ups and downs financially with the many business entities. But business is about rewards for entrepreneurship, risk, and good management,” said Marvin. “We have succeeded in good times and survived through the difficult times. We have been fortunate to have been able to share these times with each other.”

Tickets to the Faculty of Management Scholarship Dinner on Thursday, April 14 can be purchased online.