As a father, I really try to think about what would have been beneficial to me that I wasn’t shown as a kid. Since my household growing up did not speak critically about business or finance, I really want them to feel empowered when it comes to things that seem intimidating. Also, rather than just listening to someone online, to go and see things for themselves as much as they can.
A few years ago, I posted about my son’s first proxy vote. He had just turned 12 at the time. It was one of the more viewed posts at the time. Have a look if you are interested. Since then, we have continued to talk about businesses here and there. We also chat about the economy and interest rates. I do my best to not overwhelm him with industry jargon and needless stats, but I’m not always successful with that. One thing I really want him to think about is that a company is not a ticker symbol or some faceless organization. It’s full of real people who go to work every day like his old man. So, I took it upon myself to take him to an AGM locally. Enter North American Construction Group (NOA).
Yes I pulled him out of school for the afternoon for this. I had mixed feelings about it.
We had looked at NOA a couple months ago and decided to buy a couple shares (yes 2 or 3 shares) as part of an investment portfolio. It seemed like a company that compounded capital well and had a decent runway for growth over the long and medium term. The valuation was also reasonable.
We were fortunate to get a tour of the shop before the AGM. The shop was full of construction equipment being repaired. It was great to see some 793s taken apart, a D11 blade and all the various shop equipment like cranes, tools, and workers. Getting to see the equipment that works in the field up close was great.
Then we moved onto the AGM. We had taken a quick look at the board members and some of the management team in the circular. As usual, the formal portion of the AGM moved quickly. We quickly moved on to the more open portion when I (as usual) asked a bunch of questions. He said it was interesting to see his dad “at work”. Lol
The following few days I have chatted with my son about the visit to NOA. He said that he was glad he went. He was processing how all the different pieces fit together to form the ticker NOA.
I’m going to try and take my son to another AGM. I think getting to see a completely different business would be valuable.
We owe a huge thanks to Brett and Jason from NOA. As well the CFO (Jason Veenstra) was very polite and patient with all my questions. We even scored some NOA hats.
Hope you enjoyed. Have you ever been to an AGM with your kid?
Thanks for reading.
Dean
I have not researched NOA in detail, so I have no real opinion. I have put them on my watchlist.