THE VALCOURTS – 2ND ANNUAL WORKER GUY ISSUE

I have always thought of Rene and Kecia as a super awesome couple, and after my chat with Rene, it turns out I was right. I love them! Rene moved from Victoria to Salt Spring with his parents in ’64. He went to school at SS Elementary, and then high school. “It was the good ol’ days back then”  When Rene moved here Ganges was just a little bit different. There was a bridge from Centennial Park to Mouat’s and the land where Thrifty’s now sits was all under water. The Gasoline Ally complex was a lot smaller and housed the BA service station, “Back then it was owned by Ike Kanablaugh”. The old Trading Co. (now TJ Beans) had sliding ladders up to the top shelves. Ben’s Lucky Dollar was downstairs in Mouat’s “that’s where I used to get all my candy”. “Elvis Presley used to come here every summer on his yacht, in fact his drummer used to have a music store in the building that used to be here (where SS Coffee is).” Rene, like many of the good old boys I talk to, had his first beer at the original Harbour House Hotel (pre burn down) at the age of 15. “I was a car guy. I always had a job so I always had a nice car and a cute girl, now I have the best girl around”. Listening to Rene reminisce is great, he really seems to enjoy Salt Spring. “I’ll retire here, I’ve been here 40 years and I’ll be here another 40.”

Kecia moved to Salt Spring 12 years ago. She grew up in the Cowichan Valley. “Kecia is my Deli girl.” She worked at the country grocer in Duncan and then got transferred over to our local location. Rene and Kecia met in The Wheel House Pub in The Harbour House Hotel (post burn down). “We became great friends right away, we spent almost everyday together for 5 or 6 months. She even asked me,” “Are we dating?” “Honey we have to do it to be dating, and here we are 12 years later, best friends!” Rene and Kecia were married in 2007 on Chocolate Beach, their favorite place ever. “We love boating,

Rene hasn’t always been a roofer, in fact he is a chef by trade. 16 years ago he decided he had had enough working for other people and that’s when he started his company, Valcourt and Son’s Contracting. Kecia started working in the business 2 1/2 years ago right after they were married. “She watched me pay a guy $2000 for half a day’s work. That night she came to me and asked if she were to buy the machine, would I buy rolls of metal and hire her to machine it”. Done! Now Kecia can be found on every site where Rene is roofing. She manufactures the metal on site. The steel comes in a 3000 lb. roll and Kecia runs it through the machine after which Rene and the crew apply it to the roof. “It’s the equivalent to pro lock roofing and it has hidden fasteners” Hence Kecia’s business name, The Hidden Screw, Metal Roofing System.

Rene is also proud to have his son Nathan working with him on his crew. Rene and his team pride themselves on keeping a very clean site. “My crew is my family and we operate that way, and it shows in our work.” As if these two are not busy enough operating 2 thriving business, they have just recently begun construction on their dream home. “It’s lots of fun”  If you are in need of a new roof, or even repairs, give Rene a call at (250) 537 8809, and if you can’t reach him on the phone you can always find him at Salt Spring Coffee most mornings.beach, their favorite place ever. “We love boating,       and Chocolate Beach has always been a special place for us.” In the summer months they can be found water skiing or having picnics, and just

hanging on the beach. These two may love it here
but they also love to get away, they are both avid
skiers and surfers “She’s better, I’m not so good.”
Rene hasn’t always been a roofer, in fact he is a
chef by trade. 16 years ago he decided he had had
enough working for other people and that’s when
he started his company, Valcourt
and Son’s Contracting. Kecia
started working in the business
2 1/2 years ago right after they
were married. “She watched me
pay a guy $2000 for half a day’s
work. That night she came to me
and asked if she were to buy the
machine, would I buy rolls of
metal and hire her to machine it”.
Done! Now Kecia can be found on every site
where Rene is roofing. She manufactures the metal
on site. The steel comes in a 3000 lb. roll and
Kecia runs it through the machine after which Rene
and the crew apply it to the roof. “It’s the
equivalent to pro lock roofing and it has hidden
fasteners” Hence Kecia’s business name, The
Hidden Screw, Metal Roofing System.
Rene is also proud to have his son Nathan working
with him on his crew. Rene and his team pride
themselves on keeping a very clean site. “My crew
is my family and we operate that way, and it shows
in our work.”
As if these two are not busy enough operating 2
thriving business, they have just recently begun
construction on their dream home. “It’s lots of fun”
If you are in need of a new roof, or even repairs,
give Rene a call at (250) 537 8809, and if you
can’t reach him on the phone you can always find
him at Salt Spring Coffee most mornings.

This Saltspring post has had 834 views