Jack Stankievech’s response to being inducted into Farm Equipment’s 2026 Dealer Hall of Fame was simple, and yet on point for his leadership style.

“I still struggle with ‘why me’,” says the second-generation owner of Trochu Motors.

Those who know Stankievech echo a different sentiment. They know very well why he is in the seat of honor, and that his humility is a reflection of how Stankievech has approached his entire career. 

Over the years, Trochu Motors has collected a number of accolades including, the Five Star Dealer Excellence award from AGCO three times, The Wester Producer named Trochu Outstanding Dealer in 2017 and Dealership of the Year in 20214. 

He has led the Trochu Motors team with a focus on responsibility rather than recognition, and with a long-term commitment to customers, employees, manufacturing partners, but especially the rural community that depends on agriculture to survive.

Rather than growing quickly or chasing expansion, Stankievech focused on making careful decisions and maintaining relationships that have endured for decades. That approach helped shape Trochu Motors through both strong years and challenging down times. 

A Legacy Shaped Early

Trochu, Alta., is a small town northeast of Calgary with a population of about 1,000 in an area dominated by grain farming. Wheat, barley and canola make up most of the acres, and there is a strong livestock industry as well. Trochu Motors has become a long-standing hometown brand, founded in 1947 by Stankievech’s father, John, and uncle, Aaron. Stankievech likes to joke that his first day on the job was when he was 4 months old, riding in a Model T during Trochu’s Dominion Day parade.

Growing up, the dealership was simply part of everyday life. In a small town, the boundaries between work and life were thin, especially in a family operation where the phone could ring at any hour and a simple parts question could turn into a service call or a late-night delivery. Stankievech spent his formative years sweeping floors, pumping gas and tagging along on deliveries. He vividly remembers the feeling of hearing difficult conversations his dad had to have at times with clients.

“As a 12-year-old kid there’s not a lot you can do about the price of grain in central Alberta, but there were some rough years in the late 60s,” he says. “Everyone just did what needed to be done. That was the nature of a family business.”

After high school, Stankievech took a different path, studying commerce and accounting and working briefly in Calgary. But summers spent back at Trochu Motors pulled him back to the dealership.

“It was in my blood,” he says with a smile. “Plus, accounting wasn’t a lot of fun.”

When his father’s health declined in the mid-1970s, the decision became clear. Stankievech returned to Trochu in 1977, stepping into management at a time when the dealership and the broader farm economy faced significant uncertainty.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Learning Through Cycles

Like many dealers who came of age in the late 1970s and 1980s, Stankievech’s early leadership years were shaped by volatility. Trochu Motors was aligned with White Farm Equipment when the manufacturer entered receivership not once, but twice.

“That was a challenging time,” he says. “It was our only ag line, but we persevered through it.” 

To grow and diversify, Stankievech envisioned a new way. One of the early consequential decisions of his career followed shortly after, in 1985, when the opportunity arose to bring on the Massey Ferguson line after a local dealer retired. 

Stankievech was able to convince his dad it was time to become a Massey dealer, an opportunity he says grew the customer base tenfold. When both Massey Ferguson and White became part of AGCO only a few years later, it opened up further business opportunities with other AGCO lines. 

“That was a big transition,” Stankievech says. “It changed our business.”

Additional lines followed. Kubota, Versatile, Morris, Fendt and others were each added to serve a growing diversity of customers in Alberta.

Through those transitions, Stankievech kept a close eye on agricultural cycles rather than chasing aggressive growth.

“Grain prices swing. Inventory swings,” he says. “If you look back, our good years and bad years usually line up with what was happening in agriculture.”

That perspective shaped how Trochu Motors grew and, just as importantly, where it chose not to. Expansion decisions were made based on long-term market conditions and the dealership’s ability to remain stable through downturns, not short-term optimism. 

The team was also able to grow sales significantly coming out of some of the down cycles and took another major step forward in 2014, replacing the original facility with a brand-new building. Today, Trochu Motors employs nearly 50 people and carries roughly 15 product lines. 

Jack has been supported by his wife Trudy over the years, and both of their children work in the business today. Landis and Camille both joined the dealership to continue driving the Trochu Motors mission forward. Jack’s business partner Rich Meding has been a steadfast friend, along with his wife Susan. 

Stankievech says growth was never the objective on its own. “You have to remember your reason for being, and why your business exists in the first place,” he says, “and our business exists to serve our customers.”

Culture That Holds

Inside the dealership, Stankievech’s leadership is best reflected in the people who stayed, and why they stayed, through the volatile ups and downs of the ag economy.

Sandra Wohl has spent 35 years with Trochu Motors and serves as controller/office manager. She believes it is consistency that defines his leadership.

“One of his best qualities is that he’s extremely intelligent, but also incredibly attentive to people,” Wohl says. “Jack can remember a name, a face, a detail from years ago, and customers really notice that.”

So does his team.

“Every day, when you’d leave, Jack would thank you for the day,” Wohl adds. “He’d say, ‘Thanks for your work today.’ You don’t forget that.”

Wohl joined the dealership when she was newly married and starting a family. She says Stankievech and longtime business partner Meding were young owners themselves at the time, raising families of their own, and she believes that shaped the culture early.

“They understood family,” Wohl says. “If you needed to go home because your kids were sick, or adjust your hours, they were accommodating. That’s one of the reasons I stayed this many years.”

That flexibility existed long before remote work became common. Wohl recalls dialing into the dealership’s system from home in the 1990s using a modem, often tying up a phone line back at the office.

Wohl says those accommodations were uncommon during those days and required intentional effort. The approach helped the dealership retain experienced staff and maintain continuity during periods when stability mattered as much as growth.

Trust Earned One Harvest at a Time

On the other side of the business, Stankievech’s customer-facing legacy is built on an obsession with service. 

During harvest and seeding, Trochu Motors operates 7 days a week, a practice Stankievech says became part of the dealership’s identity.

“Our harvests are shorter than in many parts of the U.S.,” he explains. “If you get an early snow, that crop can deteriorate quickly.”

Being open late and on weekends was not about standing out, he says, but about necessity. In earlier years, farmers often arrived at the shop late at night expecting parts on hand, and Trochu Motors made sure they were.

Jack Stankievech, Farm Equipment Dealer Hall of Fame 2026

John Kowalchuk, a grain farmer about 20 miles east of town, has dealt with Trochu Motors for nearly his entire life.

“I went in there with my dad when I was quite young,” Kowalchuk says. “He was buying equipment from Jack in the early ’80s, and I just kept going after that.”

What earned his loyalty, he says, was how he was treated.

“Jack always makes you feel like you were his No. 1 customer,” Kowalchuk says. “Even when I was just starting out, not a big farmer by any means, he treated me with respect.

“During harvest, they work the same hours we do,” Kowalchuk continues. “A lot of times, Jack is behind the parts counter at 9 or 10 o’clock at night when I come in.”

And similar stories, Kowalchuk notes, were not unique. Area farmers, he explains, will say the same thing. So will ones far away. 

Trochu Motors’ reputation extends far beyond central Alberta. Kowalchuk recalls meeting a farmer from thousands of miles away at a conference in the States, and he recognized the Trochu Motors name immediately.

“He said he searched all over North America for a part and couldn’t find it,” Kowalchuk says. “But then Trochu Motors had it and shipped it right away the next morning.”

Wohl says the connection between dealership and community is felt daily. “Agriculture is our main industry,” Stankievech says. “If the farms don’t do well, none of us do.”

Lessons Learned & Earned

When asked what advice he would offer younger dealers, Stankievech does not romanticize the job but notes that it can also be very meaningful. 

He goes straight to mistakes and how costly they can become when inventory and emotions get involved. He emphasizes that the agriculture industry still runs on values such as hard work, family and passion.

As the dealership has grown — both in the number of employees and customers — Stankievech says, “We still try to treat everyone like friends or family. Relationships matter in this business.”

Jack sums up his thoughts on what truly matters in the industry as follows: “If you have a passion for customers, people, and agriculture, then you can succeed in and enjoy this industry, especially over the long term.”

To other dealers, he offers this: “One of the biggest mistakes is if you’ve got a piece of equipment sitting for a while; it doesn’t get better as it ages. There have been times when I’ve been too slow in reacting.”

He repeats a line he learned from others and now shares freely: your first loss is the least loss. Move aging equipment before the market moves on without you.

He is equally blunt about how dealers can hurt themselves by focusing on the easy win, the new sale, while losing money on the trade.

“Anyone can sell a new piece of equipment,” he says. “But if you can sell the trade you took on that piece for more money than you paid for it, that’s a good salesman.”

It is a perspective shaped by decades of balancing manufacturer expectations with dealer realities. “They have quotas, and they have market share demands,” he says. “And you can only do what you can do.”

Underneath the numbers is a people lesson he admits he is still learning. You cannot please everyone, and you cannot build a stable business by trying to.

AGCO Praises for Jack Stankievech

Jack has always been an absolute joy to work with, no matter the situation. It has truly been an honor to collaborate with him over the years. I deeply appreciate not only the contributions Trochu Motors has made to AGCO’s success, but even more importantly, Jack’s lifelong commitment to supporting the success of his customers.

Jack built a culture of remarkable customer focus and business integrity, setting the standard for service excellence. His leadership has been recognized numerous times by AGCO for Outstanding Service Performance and Operational Excellence, and this longevity of Trochu Motors stands as a testament to his vision and dedication.

Congratulations again, Jack — this recognition is well deserved!

— Bill T. Hurley, Vice President, Global Government Affairs

AGCO extends its heartfelt congratulations to Jack Steinkevech on his induction into Farm Equipment magazine’s 2026 Farm Equipment Dealer Hall of Fame. This prestigious recognition honors Jack’s exceptional leadership and decades-long commitment to his local community and the agricultural equipment industry in Central Alberta.

Since AGCO’s inception, Jack has been a trusted partner and a driving force behind Trochu Motors’ success. His vision and resilience have guided the dealership through significant industry changes, while ensuring unwavering support for local farmers in the Trochu area. Jack Steinkevech’s induction into the Hall of Fame is a testament to his lifelong contributions and the values that continue to shape the industry.

His leadership involved two separate stints (20 years apart) as chair of the Case IH North American Dealer Advisory Board.

— Allen Dunham, Distribution Manager

Perspective Going Forward

Stankievech remains realistic but also optimistic about the pressures facing dealers today. 

“It’s another cycle,” he says. “We’ve seen this before. You just work hard and keep supporting your customers.

“We’ve grown out of challenges before. Those opportunities will likely be there again. We have a lot of momentum with several of our product lines and a good balance of seasoned and youthful team members to keep building on.”  

Still, Stankievech remains grounded and focused on fundamentals that do not change.

“Food and water are two things we absolutely need,” he says. “As long as farmers are there, this industry will matter.”

When asked what he is most proud of, his answer comes quickly. “The people,” he says. “We’ve got close to 50 employees supporting their families. In a small town, that matters.”

For those who have worked with him, bought from him or watched Trochu Motors grow alongside the community, that consistency explains why the honor fits. 

It is not a lifetime achievement built on flash, but a career defined by showing up, holding steady and earning trust the hard way, one season at a time for Jack Stankievech.   

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