Tara-Lynn Beznoska, left, staged a surprise 30-year business anniversary for her parents Pam and Neal Beznoska on Friday. Tara-Lynn is the Lloydminster store manager. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Pam and Neal Beznoska celebrated their 30-year business kickoff with glitz and glamour.
The Northern Factory Workwear owners were pictured under an arch of golden balloons and glitter Friday morning in what was intended as a surprise by their daughter and manager, Tara-Lynn Beznoska.
“I thought 30 years, go big or go home, so I said just go for it, let’s do it,” said Tara-Lynn.
“What better way to bring in 30 years than with gold and balloon art and everything.”
She noted Plush Balloonery helped her style the balloon art into a photogenic scene.
Neal accidentally burst the surprise balloon, so to speak by arriving at work early.
However, he and his wife seemed thrilled to have recognition from family members and employees as long-time business owners.
“I got the clearance to come in a little bit early,” said Neal who had some inkling of what was to transpire.
“My daughter planned all this quite a while ago and as it got closer to the date, she let me in on a few of the details, but Pam was kept in the dark for the most part.”
The anniversary opened the door for the couple to talk about the business’s ups and downs over the first 30 years based in Lloydminster.
“With being in Lloyd we seem to chase the oil prices around quite a bit. It kind of reflects on the economy in Lloyd,” said Neal.
“We’ve had some good times and some interesting slow times, but all in all, Lloydminster is such a great community. Everybody seems to bounce back and just keeps plugging away.”
Pam notes they opened for business in 1993 during a recession and they got through that also mentioning the community has been amazing and supportive of them.
They expanded with a retail branch in Saskatoon in 2004 and opened a clearance store in Lloyd in 2019.
The Beznoskas also have Red Wing Shoes stores in Saskatoon, Red Deer and Kelowna with no plans in mind to expand further.
“We ran out of kids, so we don’t have any more to run the stores,” said Neal with a laugh.
Tara is the business heir apparent and thinks it’s incredible her parents have been in business this long.
“It’s amazing; their knowledge and wisdom is just amazing what they know,” she said.
Neal notes he and Pam who are only in their 50s, have years to go before Tara takes over and will probably always have a hand in the business working remotely.
The business celebration also highlights the Beznoskas’ commitment to charity, which went into overdrive in 2015 when the oil industry collapsed.
They were looking to keep their embroidery machines busy and they came up with the “I Love Oil and Canadian Pipelines” slogans stitched to hats and hoodies and all that.
The program is still going strong with 25 per cent of proceeds going to different charities each year.
The business donates to non-profits such as the Lloydminster Mens’ Shelter, The Olive Tree, food banks, the Lions Club, Coats for Kids through the Knights of Columbus and lots of different sports.
“We do a lot of individual donations and stuff like that,” added Neal, who explains why giving back is important.
“It’s a community that we live in and we want to support it,” he said.
The 30-year kickoff party offered discounts, promotions and giveaways to customers along with cake, cookies and refreshments.
