B. T. (Jerry) Giraud, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, 1961 - 1985,
Target Concrete Products

B. T. (Jerry) Giraud, right, founder of Target Concrete Products is shown above with Malcolm Craig, Chief Financial Accountant.

Target Concrete Products was founded by B. T. (Jerry) Giraud in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1961. Mr. Giraud started the business after gaining a background in the cement industry working for Evans-Coleman-Evans in the years following the Second World War. He used his experience, hard work, and dedication in successfully establishing Target. The first operating plant was at the foot of Taylor Street under the Georgia Street Viaduct (what was later part of the Expo '86 site). In 1965, Target moved operations to Burnaby.

Mr. Giraud was an active member of the Vancouver Board of Trade, where he headed many committees. An organization particularly close to Mr. Giraud, and one to which he also devoted many hours as a board member, was Veterans Affairs. As a former soldier with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada during the war, Mr. Giraud fought in Sicily, and after a bomb fell at his feet, spent a year in an army hospital in England where doctors successfully saved both of his very badly damaged legs. This experience in no small way later influenced his determination to fight for much-needed disability pensions for military personnel.

Mr. Giraud retired in 1985 due to the illness of his wife, Mary Giraud. However, his son John, along with three other partners, carried on the Target tradition. Mr. Giraud is survived by his three sons, Butts, Byron, John, and their families.