For Ralph A. Forbes, Chairman of Forbes Motor Limited, his automotive inclinations started early. His father, Russell Forbes, was a personal secretary to Henry Ford and subsequently founded one of Canada’s first Ford dealerships. Son Ralph became Canada’s youngest Ford dealer when he and brother Jack became Mercury-Lincoln-Meteor dealers. The two brothers formed Forbes Motor Limited in 1954, a Pontiac, Buick and GMC Truck dealership. That dealership was the first in Ontario to win the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award; Ralph also was the first Canadian to receive the Northwood Education Award.