St. John’s

"On the return flight to Newfoundland, Jones assumed the deal was dead before it was born. Rutledge was not prepared to accept empty promises. He had told J ones, in effect, that when the $500,000 was deposited in Rutledge’s account, they would talk. Until then, nothing was going to happen. In St. John’s, Jones broke the news to Dobbin, who pondered the situation for a moment, then shrugged and said, “So pay him the half-million out of our operating line,” meaning the million-dollar credit arrangement Sealand had with rp Bank to cover the firm’s day-to-day expenses. Jones protested they couldn't do that. Tp granted the credit to pay for salaries, rent, fuel and other expenses, not to spend it on acquisitions. The bank would never approve giving half of Sealand’s entire line of credit to Rutledge just to open negotiations. Besides, reducing their access to available cash by 50 per cent would leave Sealand in a difficult position when it came to paying its bills. Dobbin’s response was familiar to Jones by now. “Screw the bankers,” he said. “Let’s do it.”"

"On Monday, October 19, 1987, stock markets around the world suffered their largest one-day decline in history, shaking the faith of investors the world over. Many took years to fully recover their losses. CHC’s 1P0 was the last in Canada before Black Monday, and shares of the company that had been snatched up at $10 dropped within a week to $2.50. Had the 1P0 been delayed by two weeks, it clearly would have failed. John Lecky would have retained his company and the one million dollars, and Craig Dobbin would have withdrawn to St. John’s, devoting his time to paying down the massive mortgages on everything he owned. But the luck of the Irish kicked in. Instead, Dobbin’s credit was up to AAA, and his prospects were brighter than ever."

"Dobbin’s respect for Stanford became enormous, and he expressed it in various ways. In 2004, while liquidating many of his long-held properties in Newfoundland, Dobbin decided to retain one of his original apartment buildings on LaMarchant Road in St. John’s. Built in 1967 as the Bellevue Terrace Apartments, the building had undergone various changes over the years and was serving as a low-rent residence when Dobbin informed Stanford he wanted the complex converted to a hotel. Dobbin wasn’t interested in making a lot of money from the hotel business. “Basically,” explains Stanford, “he wanted a place to hang out.”"

"Following that success, Clayton Parsons became the focus of varI02 ious tales concerning “Old Soldier.” They included the time Parsons reportedly worked thirty-six hours straight to relocate cuc, including aircraft, spare parts, maintenance equipment, furnishings and more, from one hangar to another on short notice. On another occasion a blizzard shut down the entire city of St. John’s, including the airport, but Clayton Parsons was at his desk promptly at 8:00 a.m., prepared to put in a full day’s work. “He is the embodiment of one of my favourite sayings,” Dobbin said in praising Parsons. “To Clayton and to me, failure is not an option.” Dobbin repeatedly challenged his employees at every level with a “Just get it done” attitude. Those who succeeded, as Clayton Parsons did, found themselves within Dobbin’s warm inner circle, free to move as far up the corporate ladder as they chose."