One of the things Marty Lauren enjoys most about working in the Williams Lake area is the ‘laid-back’ atmosphere.
“It’s an easy place to do business,” said Lauren who is the other half of Lauren Brothers Construction Ltd. which he owns with his twin brother Dale. “I also love living here because it’s so close to all these recreation areas and if you need to go to Vancouver it’s not that far.”
Marty moved to Williams Lake when he was three years old. His father, Eric Lauren, has Lauren Construction Co. in Terrace with his brother Gerry and they decided to move.
Some of the places they built in Williams Lake were City Hall and the Twin Ice Arena.
In 1994, the summer after he graduated, Lauren worked with his dad building an addition Columneetza Senior Secondary School.
The twins attended BCIT’s Building Technology Diploma program, living in Burnaby for two years, and returned home.
“I worked with dad and Dale went on his own,” Marty recalled.
In 2005, after building the College of New Caledonia in Quesnel, Eric decided it was time to retire.
“Dad felt it was a hallmark in his building career and thought he’d go out on a high note.”
At that point his sons took over the company and renamed it Lauren Brothers Construction Ltd. and they work really well together, Marty said.
The bulk of their contracts are for First Nations communities building health care centres. They have also worked on development work at Prosperity Ridge and the new Lake City Ford site off Highway 97.
“We get a lot of business because people tend to shop local,” Marty added.
Read more: WLIB breaks ground on $8 million-plus administration building construction project
Marty is also the president of the Williams Lake Flying Club until someone else takes over this fall.
He credited his dad for ‘brokering’ a deal to get him a plane ride with Bernie Pinette, owner of United Carpet.
After that plane ride he decided he had to get his license and pursued it through Lawrence Aviation which was at Springhouse then.
Today Marty owns a Cessna 180 and loves flying.
Last week he organized a flypast with the club to pay tribute to the late Captain Jennifer Casey and the CFS Snowbirds.
Read more: Williams Lake flypast planned in honour of Captain Casey and CFS Snowbirds
He is married to Helki, who grew up in Big Lake, and together they have two sons — Liam, 18 and Isaac, 16.
Liam is graduating this year and has been doing work shadowing with his dad.
Due to COVID-19, the work experience has extended longer than the intended few weeks, but because he’s enjoyed the work he has enrolled in BCIT to take the same building course Marty and Dale took.
“I’m pretty proud,” Marty said of Liam’s ambitions.
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