Homecoming will be ‘humbling’ for Treliving

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This article was published 08/07/2022 (1327 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Boston Pizza owner Jim Treliving is scheduled to drop by Virden Monday evening, where he will get the chance to celebrate his entry into Canada’s Walk of Fame much closer to home.

While the famous entrepreneur officially received his Walk of Fame induction in 2019 at a Toronto awards gala, Treliving is using Monday’s ceremony to unveil a special “Hometown Star” plaque in the community where he was born and raised.

Talking to the Sun on Thursday, Treliving said this opportunity is very “humbling,” especially since the site of the upcoming ceremony, Virden’s Auditorium Theatre, holds a special place in his heart.

Not only was his father’s barbershop located a block away from this spot, but Treliving revealed that the Aud Theatre hosted some of his first movie-going experiences in town.

“It brings back a lot of memories,” he said. “When I was going to the movies in those days, it was 15 cents for the movie and 10 cents for the popcorn. So it was a great time to go there.”

And because this building is more than 100 years old, being first opened to the public in February 1912, Treliving decided to use the $10,000 he received through his Walk of Fame induction to help the Aud Theatre endure for future generations.

“I think the biggest thing is that it should be around for a long time and it needs a little bit of a renovation,” he said. “And hopefully, more people put something into it, because it’s a great theatre.”

But beyond this donation, Treliving said he is just happy for the chance to revisit his humble roots on Monday, given how far he’s come since leaving Virden at the age of 18 to join the RCMP.

After serving on the police force for eight years, Treliving found his true calling in 1966 when he stumbled across the Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House in Edmonton.

Recognizing the restaurant’s potential for growth, Treliving acquired the rights and opened his first Boston Pizza in Penticton, B.C., two years later, laying the groundwork for a franchise that now includes more than 350 locations across Canada.

Within those intervening decades, Treliving didn’t shy away from diversifying his portfolio, whether that meant getting involved in manufacturing, real estate development or becoming a host of CBC’s “Dragons’ Den” for 15 seasons.

Philanthropy has also been a major focus for Treliving since the creation of the Boston Pizza Foundation in 1990, with him and his wife Sandi currently being involved with organizations like the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

The 81-year-old businessman said this humanitarian impulse originates from his time growing up in Virden, where his father would regularly give out free haircuts to senior citizens and engage in other good-will initiatives.

“He used to say to me, ‘All the money in the world isn’t going to do anything for anything unless you give something back,’” Treliving recalls. “That was his whole philosophy and my mother’s philosophy … and I think the values we had as kids back in Manitoba were along those lines.”

In that respect, Treliving is excited to witness this journey come full circle on Monday, where he will be able to directly give back to one of his hometown’s most famous institutions through a $10,000 donation.

But on a personal level, the entrepreneur is also eager to simply reconnect with friends and family in the region, since he hasn’t visited Virden since the grand opening of the community’s Boston Pizza restaurant in 2016.

“I think the great thing with this event is that it is going to be in person, it’s going to be in my hometown and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I think it’s a great honour.”

Treliving’s Walk of Fame ceremony is scheduled to begin around 5:30 p.m. Monday and will feature a variety of special guests, including Virden Mayor Murray Wright, Auditorium Theatre vice-chair Brad Hayward, Canada’s Walk of Fame chief executive officer Jeffrey Latimer and Olympic speed skater Cindy Klassen.

Oak Lake native Tara Mathew is also slated to provide a musical performance.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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