Tingley, Richard

ENCAENIA, MAY, 1999
RICHARD TINGLEY
to be Doctor of Science

Richard Tingley is one of Fredericton's most respected citizens. His success in business, his community involvement, and his leadership in several public agencies, including his chairmanship of the UNB Board of Governors, have won him the admiration of his fellow citizens and recognition by several national bodies.

Richard Tingley grew up in Albert County and Fredericton, and he graduated from UNB in 1967 with a degree in Civil Engineering. It was his intention to make a career in engineering until, barely two years later, his father died leaving a small family grocery business. It presented Richard with an unexpected fork in the road, and after some thought, he decided to take over the business and become a grocer. Tingley's Save Easy came on the scene at a time when small family-run independent grocers were disappearing, squeezed out by the big national or regional chains. But Richard met the challenge head on. He refused to give up on the old-fashioned neighbourliness that had characterized the corner-store. He believed that people still wanted to be treated as friends; they wanted helpful service, and attention to their needs. He hired employees who liked people and showed it, and he encouraged them by treating them as if they were family.

The family not only grew and prospered, but made Tingley's Save Easy a preferred place to shop for thousands of area residents. A second store opened on the north side while the southside store expanded to carry a variety of goods commonly found only in the largest supermarkets. By the 1980s, the stores had achieved national prominence and were chosen six times to receive National Gold Awards and, for Richard Tingley, recognition as "Independent Grocer of the Year."

Over his twenty five years in the grocery business, Richard clung to the values that first made him successful. Early on, he began to hire high school students to bag groceries and carry the bags out to the customers' cars. He noticed that it not only pleased the customers but it also had an enormous impact on the young people. They responded to the needs of business by sprucing up their appearance, treating the public with politeness, and carrying out their duties with a smile and a friendly word. The experience seemed to work on every level: it bred confidence and a sense of discipline in the young people, it pleased the customers, and it was good for business. Over the years, Richard Tingley has provided jobs to hundreds of Fredericton youngsters, providing them with funds to help with their education, and rewarding the most promising with scholarships.

Richard Tingley has shared his business acumen with numerous local organizations including his church, the YMCA, and the Fredericton United Way. He has served on the local hospital board, and continues as a member of the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission and the New Brunswick Electric Power Commission. He served for several years as a member of UNB's Board of Governors, including a distinguished term as its chair.

Richard Tingley wears success lightly, and accepts with modesty the many accolades bestowed on him. Yet it is the quiet dedication of persons like him that enriches our community, and preserves our Maritime way of life in a cockeyed world that often forgets what really matters. Richard Tingley's motto of service and dedication to the simple virtues of neighbourliness is a gentle reminder to us all that life is best when we make time for each other.

From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3