MEET OUR CREW
Cas Robinson - Founder + co-ceo with Richard
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Cas is not fond of the cold weather. On any given winter day, you will find her bundled up layers, shivering and asking Richard “did you turn down the heat again”. At the ripe age of 22, Cas opened up her own gently-used women’s designer shop… 2nd Apparel Boutique. Two years later while climbing the four walls she was confined too, she sold the business after securing a job with a union insurance company, American Income Life. Starting as an agent visiting families one on one selling insurance, she earned numerous awards including the distinction of being the first woman in Canada to achieve AIL’s prestigious Founders Club. In 2001 and with the gift of gab, she was recruited for the PR side of the business and started working with local, provincial and national unions implementing group policies.
With two kids growing like weeds, Richard + Cas Robinson co-founded OutGROW OutPLAY in 2008. Dylan, their little one loved hockey and with EE feet (yikes!), he constantly needed new skates and sometimes up to THREE new pairs per season. This cost a lot of moolah...so much so that Cas thought...there had to be a better way! Funny how things turn out sometimes because their past experience with 2nd Apparel lead the Robinsons down the path to creating an fun, exciting and much better way for families to sell, shop and save.
You’ll find her on any given day working on improving OGOP and mentoring Franchise Owners - she’s on-call 24/7. OGOP is her third baby, her passion and when you love what you do...it’s not work. She still dabbles (in her spare time) with AIL nurturing the relationships she’s built within organized labour over two decades.
Favourites…
Colour: Grey, but if you look in my closet, you’ll think it’s black
Quote: "Happy Wife, Happy Life!"
Food: Perogies, cabbage rolls and kolbassa
Hobby/Happy Place: 15 minutes before we start each Pre-Sale (like a relaxed Sunday morning!). The sales floor is completely spotless, organized, categorized and it’s the calm before the storm. This is “my” happy place because I spend it with our volunteers and consignors who are lined up to shop. It’s my time, where I can express how much we value and appreciate their business and all that they do for OGOP. Their excitement is the best part...love, love, love watching them explode onto the floor running for the items they want! I also love Saturday morning garage sale’n. My home is filled with amazing finds and I personally buy a ton (double garage racked, stacked and packed) of like-new children’s items to resell at our sales. Amount of money I’ve make doing this = a lot!
Pet Peeve: People who don’t say please, thank-you or acknowledge when you’ve gone out of your way for them. Manners and common courtesy are soooo important in life!
Something few people know about me: I’m a huge fan of the zombie apocalypse genre and have over 300 zombie novels on my kobo :-)
Richard Robinson - Founder + co-ceo with Cas
Growing up in a small Northern Quebec community, Rouyn- Noranda… Richards a 3x a week hockey/goalie guy who loves the cold and can not believe his wife grew up in Winnipeg! A thermostat watchdog who prefers cool vs warm and is constantly asking “who turned the heat up”. He thinks real food doesn't have labels (or need salt!) and is without a doubt...the family chef and healthy food know-it-all. After 26 years with Walmart, Richard retired and loves (and is freaky good at) merchandising, running the numbers, budgeting and maximizing profit margins. With his no-nonsense style, he works smart, works hard and has no issues holding people accountable for their actions or lack of them.
In 2004, Richard and Cas reached out to help make Christmas a little bit brighter for two dozen families who were facing hardship during the Holidays due to extended labour disputes (Strikes and lock-outs). Together they packed Christmas Food Hampers, collected toys for the kids and delivered cheer to the picket-lines. They called their efforts Operation Christmas Cheer. It was suppose to be a one time thing but it turned into so much more with the support of organized labour throughout Ontario. To date, their grassroots movement has delivered labours love annually to every union local on strike during the Holidays. Over 1500 families have received Christmas Food Hampers, toys and grocery gifts on behalf of 140 union locals, labour councils committees and individuals.
Favourites…
Colour: Black but... is that a colour?
Quote: "For every finger you point, three are pointing back"
Food: Anything pasta
Hobby/Happy Place: Cutting the grass and cooking... love making homemade pasta with my cuisinart mixer
Pet Peeve: People who speed in residential areas. I’ve been know to follow a few home and ask them to slow the “BEEP” down.
Something few people know about me: I write love notes to my wife, often and without cause.
Jadel Menard - Partner + VP Technology
See below, Windsor Franchise section.
FRANCHISE OWNERS - OUR PARTNERS
RICHARD + CAS - NEPEAN + KANATA
See above... they started the company from scratch and together, with the rest of the OGOP Crew, are the driving force behind anything OGOP.
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Tara King - Regina & Saskatoon
Tara is a stay at home mom of Identical Twin girls who just turned two. She comes from a Procurement and Contracts background, worked in Fort McMurray in the Oil Sands for 7+ years. She loves spending time outdoors camping, quadding, boating, and spending time with family and friends. She is excited to bring this amazing opportunity to Regina and is ready to hit the ground running.
In her own words...
"Being able to be introduced and apart of Saskatoon's event has made me want to bring this amazing event to Regina. Having the ability to launch this incredible opportunity, to learn and be apart of an amazing team, being able to meet all these awesome parents and enjoy every second, is more than I could have ever dreamed of."
Favourites...
Colour: Teal Blue
Quote: "My parents taught me honesty, truth, compassion, kindness and how to care for people. Also, they encouraged me to take risks, to boldly go. They taught me that the greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure."
Food: Steak and Potatoes
Hobby/Happy Place: Photography, Reading, happy place - Camping, spending time with family.
Pet Peeve: People with no work ethic.
Something few people know about me: I collect rocks.
SARA + RAY - HALIFAX
This Maritimes couple is super laid back but don’t let that fool you because they are a force to be reckoned with! Family focused with a pulse on their community, they are always looking for creative ways to grow their business.
In their own words…
"Our SMILE is our LOGO, our PERSONALITY is our BUSINESS CARD, how we leave others feeling after an experience with OutGROW OutPLAY becomes our TRADEMARK"
Sara
Favourites...
Colour: Green
Quote: "Don't walk in front of me... I may not follow. Don't walk behind me... I may not lead. Walk beside me... just be my friend"
Food: Cheesecake
Hobby/Happy Place: Gardening
Pet Peeve: People who do not clean up after themselves
Something few people know about me: Loves wooden roller coasters rides.
Ray
Favourites...
Colour: Green
Quote: "The proof is in the pudding"
Food: Ginger Beef
Hobby/Happy Place: Cooking & gardening / camping with the family
Pet Peeve: Rude behaviour
Something few people know about me: I like classical music, but not as much as Monster Trucks!
Gabriela & Peter - Mississauga + Oshawa + Vaughan
This multilingual globe trotting millennial couple are savvy professionals with the natural ability to find a great deal! Real estate investing, photography, triathlon training, online store creators, motivational coaches and parents to beautiful Leila... are just a few things they dabble in and excel at. Without a doubt, they lead our OGOP team with their creative marketing talent and have raised the bar for us all... breaking OGOP sale growth records rapidly. Gabriela and Peter are the real deal recognizing the OGOP opportunity with their shrewd expansion into multi-unit territories. We are thrilled that they choose OGOP as their career path and can not wait to see what they do next!
Peter
Favourites...
Colour: Black
Quote: "It isn't the mountains to climb that wear you down, it's the pebble in your shoe"
Food: Pizza
Hobby/Happy Place: Sports Collector / Beach vacations
Pet Peeve: People who eat while talking on the phone
Something few people know about me: I dream of one day competing in the Ironman Triathlon
Gabriela
Favourites...
Colour: Purple
Quote: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes"
Food: Argentinian Asado (BBQ)
Hobby/Happy Place: Photography, Salsa Dancing / Exploring new countries
Pet Peeve: People who double park
Something few people know about me: I find mice adorable and I only spoke Spanish until the age of 4
AMY + SASHA + BEN - KITCHENER
Amy, Sasha and Ben are exactly what OGOP is all about... family! They love spending time together, the outdoors and having fun. Together they are taking on the Kitchener/Waterloo territory and working hard as a team to grow their business.
In their own words…
"We discovered OutGROW OutPLAY through friends, who were starting the Mississauga franchise. Investigating the opportunity further and volunteering at their inaugural sale, we saw the potential benefits of OutGROW OutPLAY in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. Learning about how the show worked and seeing how it was unlike anything currently in the marketplace had us both hooked. We also saw that many people, families, groups and organizations would benefit from this sale being in Kitchener-Waterloo. There is a substantial opportunity for charities and organizations to benefit from their participation in the sale and it’s a WIN-WIN-WIN for everyone involved. WE LIKE THAT A LOT!"
Amy
Favourites…
Colour: Turquise
Quote: "The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand but what direction we are moving...we must sail - sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail and not drift nor lie at anchor"
Food: A really good steak and crème brulee
Hobby/Happy Place: outside, in or on the water, skiing, spending time with Ben and Sasha
Pet Peeve: People who chew with their mouth open.
Something few people know about me: I've taken singing lessons, I've always wanted to be a Phys Ed Teacher and I'm terrified of snakes, toads and frogs.
Sasha
Favourites...
Colour: Blue
Quote: "The nine most terrifying words in the english language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help"
Food: Punjena pljeskavica (Serbian cheese filled hamburger), Miss Vicki’s chips
Hobby/Happy Place: Mountain biking, playing hockey, watching the Dallas Cowboys, spending time with Amy and Ben
Pet Peeve: People who drive slow in the passing lanes
Something few people know about me: I am a Seminar Leader at Landmark Worldwide and I've always wanted to live someplace warm.
Ben
Favourites...
Colour: Purple
Quote: "Look at you en!"
Food: Candy - fuzzy peaches
Hobby/Happy Place: Soccer / sitting in front of the TV
Pet Peeve: When people lie and when people ski straight down the hill
Something few people know about me: I am kind and gentle and great with little kids
Kim + Jadel - Windsor Franchise
Kim
Favourites...
Colour: Pink all day everyday!
Quote: "Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Food: Lasagna; you may call me Garfield
Hobby/Happy Place: In a kitchen cooking the food I love for the people who love food!
Pet Peeve: When people are rude to a server, I can't stand that! No please or thank you? Not around me!
Something few people know about me: I love sleeping in on Sundays and watching old movies over and over again! I've seen Willy Wonka over 100 times!
Jadel
Favourites...
Colour: Green / Brown
Quote: "Patience is grossly underestimated" - @garyvee
Food: A simple salad with 4/5 fresh eggs w/peas on top, go to breakfast!
Hobby/Happy Place: Walking sunrise or sunset nine hole rounds, (re)connecting with nature and/or getting lost in a song.
Pet Peeve: When people don't see that we're all connected... and small thinking.
Something few people know about me: I believe there is a power in cold that we all take for granted, that every shower should end with embracing the cold for minutes not seconds and that we should all bathe in liquid nitrogen at every chance we get.
Michael + Maita - Brampton Franchise
Michael
Favourites...
Colour: Dark Blue
Quote: Do unto others as they would do unto you and of course, Why wait till tomorrow what you can do today!?
Food: burgers, steak, anything dessert!
Hobby/Happy Place: basketball/ raptors games ?
Pet Peeve: long lineups, cold food, taxes
Something few people know about me: I'm a proud owner of a strawberry blonde tea cup Pomeranian. Ok, she’s bigger than teacup nowadays!
Maita
Favourites...
Colour: Emerald Green
Quote: What goes around comes around; karma!!
Food: I love food in general…..Neapolitan Pizza, grilled tuna, calamari, green tea and red bean ice cream, Giotto, pichi-pichi, espasol, shepherd’s pie, anything matcha, I can just go on and on and on…
Hobby/Happy Place: Six Flags Magic Mountain has to be at the top of my list!!!!! I also enjoy going to bazaars, farmer’s markets and warehouse sales.
Pet Peeve: People talking to other people while on the phone.
Something few people know about me: I love unsweetened iced tea!