VANCOUVER, July 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WesternOne Equity Income Fund ("WesternOne Equity") (TSX: WEQ.UN, WEQ.DB and WEQ.DB.B) today announced the appointment of Geoff Shorten to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Shorten joined WesternOne Equity on February 19, 2008 in conjunction with WesternOne Equity's acquisition of Deerfoot Equipment Rentals located in Calgary, Alberta. Mr. Shorten, prior to the acquisition, was one of two owners of the private equipment rental organization, operating as a Volvo Rents franchisee. Post-acquisition Mr. Shorten elected to remain with WesternOne Equity as President, Alberta Platform.
In June 2008, Geoff expanded the WEQ Deerfoot Equipment Rentals' Calgary operations into Lethbridge, Alberta, and was instrumental in completing WesternOne Equity's recent acquisitions, including SureFire Propane Ltd. and Davis Heater Service Ltd., (an equipment rental, construction heat and propane distribution business with locations in Edmonton and Calgary, acquired in October 2008) and On*Site Equipment, (an aerial and material-handling equipment rentals business with its head office in Calgary and branches in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Edmonton).
More recently Mr. Shorten assumed additional responsibilities for Corporate IT, Strategy, and HR.
Commenting on the appointment, Darren Latoski, Chief Executive Officer of WesternOne Equity said, "I am very pleased to appoint Geoff Shorten to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure with the company, Geoff has provided tremendous leadership and the operating companies under his responsibility have delivered strong sales and earnings despite the recent downturn.
The broadened responsibilities will allow Geoff to continue with efforts to integrate and align the operations of the Company, and in turn improve the overall financial performance and enhance shareholder value, as we look to expand our presence in the equipment rental and fuel distribution industries in Western Canada".
About WesternOne Equity -----------------------
WesternOne Equity seeks to acquire equipment, fuel distribution and infrastructure related businesses located primarily in the Western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, in order to generate stable and growing distributions to its unitholders as well as to achieve overall capital appreciation.
Additional information about WesternOne Equity is available at http://www.weq.ca/ or http://www.sedar.com/
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
WesternOne Equity Income Fund
CONTACT: Andrew Greig, Manager of Investor Relations, WesternOne Equity
Income Fund, Suite 910, 925 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 3L2,
Phone: (604) 678-4042, E-mail: agreig@weq.ca, http://www.weq.ca/
