JANOS

Janos is a native Hungarian who came to Canada at 28 on a work visa, Civil Engineering degree and a decade of construction experience already behind him. Twenty years into his career, he has built and estimated projects of every shape and size — and still has never had a bad day in his entire life. It's genuinely a little annoying.

What I love most about Janos — and I've never quite found the words for it until now — is that he sees things nobody else sees. We'll be deep in a conversation about a project, going in circles, and then he'll say one thing. One sentence. And suddenly the whole picture shifts. He doesn't think like everyone else in the room, and that is worth more than I can tell you.

He has measured every lot in Esquimalt at least twice. He's up at 5am every morning, coffee in hand, already three steps ahead. He sees the big picture and executes the details without blinking. He never cuts corners — except while driving, which is a separate and ongoing conversation.