There is undoubtedly a beautiful and perfectly-crafted shelf with a brand-new provincial trophy adorning it somewhere in the offices at Madsen’s Custom Cabinets.
The late Kent Madsen was recently honoured by the province with a posthumous induction into the Alberta Trades Hall of Fame. The St. Albertan didn't just build cabinets; he built people. The stories of him helping apprentices with their tuitions to further solidify their careers are not only true but have also become an integral part of the Madsen legacy.
"We still continue that on," said his son, Tyler. "We try to build people up and take people from apprentice and we always keep as many apprentices in house as we can."
Tyler is now the director of the business alongside his brother Josh who has become the president. They took over operations of the north central Edmonton business after Kent's untimely passing during a diving trip to Costa Rica in March 2020.
The award "recognizes and honours skilled trades professionals and educators who have made exceptional contributions to advancing the skilled trades and to supporting the success of others," according to the Government of Alberta's website.
One look into the thriving shop at Madsen’s Custom Cabinets and you'll find the evidence of that, with dozens upon dozens of woodworkers. They're all busy at producing what Tyler reported is up to 30 per cent of the finished woodwork that you would see in places around Edmonton, such as the Jubilee Auditorium and the Art Gallery of Alberta.
The family business was started in 1962 by Kent's father, Flemming.
"He built it up. When my dad took it over, it was about an eight-man shop, and that was in ‘83. Since then, it's moved up to 100 people at one time. Right now, we're running with about 75 employees. He expanded it quite a lot from the day that he took over," Tyler confirmed.
The 2021 Alberta Trades Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place virtually on Nov. 18. Kent Madsen's induction recognized him as a leader, not just for apprentices, but for woodworkers and tradespeople across the province. He was honoured along with Ray Massey, Megan Mathes, and Graham Prokopetz, all of Calgary.
As Josh Madsen said in a video on the webpage for Kent's award, he felt like his father was a true champion of the working class.
"He worked his whole life here to get to the point where it's at and he would give the shirt off his back to anyone that needed it," said the proud son, noting that the honour obviously means something different for him and Tyler than it would have meant to Kent himself.
"For us, I mean, we see this as something that he's earned, and he's rightfully placed there. For him, I think he would say, 'Thank you. It's an honour, but now it's time to get back to work.'"
Tyler ended by noting that a large part of their father's leadership is only being proven now that he's gone."It says a lot since he hasn't been here. Most companies ... how they're gauged on their success is how long they're going to last after the fact that someone of his stature is gone," he offered, remarking that the struggles of COVID-19 were tough but didn't put even the slightest dent in the integrity of the Madsen name in millwork.
"We're pretty much the top end millwork in the city. We're one of the largest guys. On the scale that we do we're top three for sure in the city."
The name Madsen means a lot in the industry already as well. He was vice-president of the Architectural Woodwork Manufacturers Association of Canada and was an integral force in developing its woodworking standards manual. For that and so many other reasons, the Northern Alberta chapter renamed its People's Choice Award the Kent Madsen Memorial Award in 2020.
