Ron Joyce

Ron Joyce was Tim Horton's partner and the first franchisee that Tim Horton had for his donut chain. Ron was a Hamilton policeman who knew Tim from frequenting his donut shop while on foot patrol, (insert your own cops and donuts joke here). Ron already had a Dairy Queen franchise elsewhwere in the city at the time.

The original franchise agreement was 1 page which included a requirement for Ron to pay rent one month in advance, over which Ron wrote "You must be kidding!"

Ron was the real driving force behind the growth of the chain from day one. His tenacity and vision coupled with common sense really, along with no notion of failure, brought the concept to the mega success it is today. After selling this private company to Wendy's International for Wendy's shares, Ron became the largest single shareholder of that company, even larger than Dave Thomas, the founder.

Those who know Ron will attest he is a formidable opponent in business, and a tough taskmaster who never really lost the common touch; just a poor kid from "Down East" in the Canadian Maritimes.

Now retired, he devotes time to numerous charities including the Tim Horton's Children's Foundation that sends thousands of poor kids to camp each year.