Four generations of Imperial family pride

Mahihkan Plant Operations Forman, Vicki Teskey, knew she wasn’t the first of her family to work for Imperial. But it wasn’t until she was flipping through old photos that she realized the Teskey family history with Imperial goes back four generations -- over nearly a century.

Their connection to the company began with Vicki’s great-grandfather, William Teskey, who was an agent for Imperial. In this role, he was responsible for bulk sales in the Rocky Mountain House, AB area (coincidentally, he wasn’t the only agent in the family, as Vicki’s great-uncle Willis and uncle Tom also worked in this capacity for Imperial).

Vicki’s grandparents, Wes and Fran Teskey, ran an Esso service station and garage in Rocky Mountain House when her dad was growing up. The service station is featured in many of the stories Vicki’s dad tells about his childhood. “What I remember the most was my dad telling me how hard he and his four sisters worked at the Esso garage before and after school each day,” she says. “When my grandparents took the family on vacation, they would often leave my dad behind to run the business on his own, even from a young age. People sometimes tried to take advantage of a pre-teen running a business by not paying for gas, but my dad always put them in their place!”

The garage in Rocky Mountain House was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a car wash and a Napa store, and the service station was sold to Vicki’s aunt Carol and her husband Ray. They operated it for about a decade, and eventually sold it. Today, there is only a small service station on the site.

When Vicki completed her mechanical engineering degree in 2005, her family's history with the company, and Imperial's long presence in Canada, definitely influenced her choice of employer. “It has truly been a privilege for me to work at Imperial,” Vicki says. “And I would say that my great-grandpa, grandpa, dad and I have all shared the same pride in contributing to the success of this company.”

As she fondly looks back through her family photo albums, Vicki sees her family story as an example of how it takes hardworking, dedicated people in every corner of the business to successfully run a great company. “It's amazing that members of my family have been involved in everything from bulk sales, to running a service station and building projects, to get oil out of the ground. I’d be thrilled if one of my children worked for the company one day. I’m not sure many people could say they are fifth-generation Imperial!”