>> More than 40 years after the company's inception, two men are carry-
ing on the legacy Irv Koop created at Irwin Homes.
One is Irv's son, Andrew, and the other is his nephew, Joel neufeld. While
both are now the driving forces behind the company, the routes they took
to get there were very different.
"I actually got my start in the business as a teenager, well before I even had
a driver's licence," recalls Andrew, now in his mid-40s. "I started as the low
man on the totem pole, cleaning up, doing framing, installing weeping tile.
It was something that I enjoyed right away."
even while he was studying business administration at red river col-
lege, Andrew remained attracted to the multifaceted art of custom home
building.
"you know, I just kept working because I enjoyed it," he says. "It's what my
dad knew and loved, and I guess he passed that love down to me. I eventu-
ally started working full time when I was 21, devoting myself to learning the
business from the ground up."
Joel, 32, got a similar start in the business at the age of 16 or 17.
"you know, I did some cleanup work and screwed down some floors start-
ing out, but I found that I had an orientation more toward business," he says.
WiNNiNg
TEAM
Dynamic duo play
to their strengths
Story and photo by todd lewys
New Kids
oN The BloCK
'I actually got my start
in the business as a teenager,
well before I even had
a driver's licence'
36 Parade of Homes Fall 2014
