Who We Are

We are industry experts and problem solvers. We help clients discover the best solutions needed to drive their contracting business forward.

Meet The Team

Darrel Yashinsky

Darrel Yashinsky – Founder and Owner

darrel@mypcg.ca

“The right experience is the difference between running a good contracting business and a great one.”

This is Darrel Yashinsky’s advice to contractors who want to prosper in today’s economy.

With over 40 years of residential and commercial contracting experience, Darrel is a master contracting coach and business consultant. A leading innovator, achiever and passionate about sharing the secrets of success with fellow contractors, Darrel walks the walk and talks the talk. Darrel has helped to augment the success of HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical and General trade contractors.

He is a licensed Refrigeration Mechanic and holds a Master Heating License, G1 gas fitter and an oil burner certification. All his designations represent the pinnacle of achievement in the heating industry. Still a licensed HVAC contractor, Darrel is certified by the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada HRAI.

As a former owner and operator of profitable HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical businesses, Darrel’s extensive experience provides a solid foundation for advising entrepreneurs on how to cope with the peaks and valleys of the ‘business of running a contracting business.’ From hiring and training, sales & marketing, cash flow, inventory and seasonality issues to financing and loan products, Darrel has experienced it all, and it’s in his DNA.

Today, Darrel owns and manages Pinnacle Contractor Group & Smart Home Financial Corporation. The businesses are dedicated to the success of your contracting business. We offer on-going support, mentorship, training and an education in how to run a profitable contracting business.

Darrel is also a valued member and part of the Goodman® Business Toolbox team of educators, training to help Goodman dealers grow profitable and sustainable businesses. 

Darrel has created wealth for some of Canada’s most successful contracting companies. Since 2000, Darrel has shown over three hundred contracting business owners how to unlock the real potential of their businesses. He can help you too!

Are you ready to work smarter? Contact Darrel today for a FREE consultation.

jack-devetten

Jack Devetten – President

jd@ace-plumbing.ca

Jack began his plumbing career at the ripe age of 12 helping his father on weekends and school holidays. He always enjoyed working with tools and figuring out how to fix things. Completing a matriculation in high school Jack, went to the University of Calgary where he enrolled in engineering and minored in business.

To help pay the bills he did renovations on weekends and also started a “Disc Jockey” business that would provide music for parties, weddings and corporate events. After spending a year with his head in the books he realized that working and building things was much more agreeable then being tied to a desk so he decided to go back into plumbing and start a Plumbing and Gas-fitting apprenticeship.

This was 1982 and the big recession was about to change things again. As an apprentice the jobs were becoming scarce so in 1984 Jack enrolled into the Radio Broadcasting program at SAIT to have a back up plan until things in construction would pick up.

In 1987 Alberta began to build again and Jack went back on the tools full time and did Radio Announcing on the weekends. Not satisfied by working for regular wages, Jack jumped at the chance to start his own plumbing business when his current boss decided to retire to British Columbia. This was 1995, and at age 31 Jack believed he was indestructible. He quickly grew Simcor Plumbing from 2 employees to 8 trucks with 14 employees and 4 subtractors in 3 years.

Exponential growth and no systems in place to track and control the costs. He re-mortgaged the home twice and worked more hours just to keep all the balls in the air. When his wife said fix this or I’m out of here he knew he had to change but had no one to turn too. Being a quarter of a million in debt and the possibility of losing everything, house, business, marriage he began a quest of learning the basics of running a profitable business.

Jack hired consultants which gave him the first edition of the business systems that work for a construction company, such as billing quickly, estimating accurately and tracking labour costs. This began to stop the money leaks and put Simcor Plumbing on the path to breaking even. Also saving his marriage and home. It was still a gruelling 60+hour work week, 10 to 12 hours a day Monday to Friday with 6 to 8 hours on Saturday.

Being young gives resilience. One of the consultants remarked that a service company is less risk because you have many customers paying for smaller jobs so if someone doesn’t pay, you wont go bankrupt. He was in a court battle at the time with one of the builders who owed $68000 so the risk to the home was still over his head. This was the best Idea they gave him, just a nonchalant comment while having lunch. Jack remembered this Idea and kept thinking on how he could change his construction company into a service company, again alone, a good idea but no instruction on how to do it.

Then he read an article in HPAC magazine about a contractor group specializing in Plumbing Service and had a proven formula for success. He contacted Darrel Yashinsky who invited Jack to attend a profit day in Calgary. He saw the business systems that were demonstrated and knew he found what he was looking for, now not alone because Darrel a former contractor himself would coach him in how to implement the systems for success and now Jack could promise his wife a timeline for when they could be financial well off with lots of time for the family and traveling. So the timing was a little off, but in 2010 they achieved all of their goals. 

Jack and his lovely wife of 30 years have a micro ranch overlooking the beautiful Rocky Mountains including a barn, indoor dressage arena and an outdoor driving arena with purebred world renown Friesian horses, a classic sports car and a luxurious home with in-floor heating throughout. Also a huge Quonset (Toy Barn) where they park the quad, motor home and motor sailing yacht, and wood working tools. The best thing of all, Jack takes every Wednesday off to spend with Margaret at the ranch enjoying the country life, and the working days are usually 6 to 8 hours a day making it at most a 32 hour work week.

The business systems are working well and are constantly being improved so that they are fun, easy and efficient.

Mary Makrillias – Vice President

mary@mypcg.ca

Mary has been working with Darrel Yashinsky, President & Founder of Pinnacle Contractor Group for over 28 years. She got her start in the industry by dispatching and arranging installs while working for one of Darrel’s original HVAC companies. Since then, Mary has gained vast experience helping other HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing contractors to succeed.

Today, Mary is involved in growing Smart Home Financial (SHF), a division of Pinnacle Contractor Group, and handles all rebates. When not at work, Mary enjoys spending time with her eight-year-old daughter and is an avid hiker and cyclist.

Adriana Lamberti – Marketing Manager

adriana@mypcg.ca

As our marketing manager, Adriana has a busy role coordinating a variety of sales and marketing activities for Pinnacle Contractor Group that includes recruiting new clients; preparing account profiles for company clients and managing lead generation for all campaigns and Go-To-Meeting Webinars. With over 17 years of experience in the trades and a wealth of knowledge, Adriana enjoys meeting and speaking with contractors. A confident and articulate communicator, she takes pride in helping our clients achieve their goals.

She holds a College Diploma in Business Office Administration and is a highly motivated and focused member of our team. In her spare time, Adriana enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with friends and family and volunteering with the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) and SickKids: The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

Ray Litvak – Internet Marketer & Local SEO Specialist for Contractors

ray@mypcg.ca

Ray is our in-house Local SEO and Professional SEO Copywriter born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He works with a variety of contracting businesses and helps each of them improve their SEO ranking on Google. Ray has an extensive online marketing skill set that spans over 10 years and brings a wealth of knowledge to companies seeking to boost their online exposure and overall bottom line. Clients enjoy seeing a Return On Investment (ROI). Ray affirms that the right exposure on Google drives more website traffic and increases leads and revenue.

Ray is ‘in-the-know’ when it comes to online lead generation and how to convert website visitors into customers. He has spoken at several Local SEO conferences for Tor The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) and Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) of Canada on the topics of Local SEO and Web Copywriting, teaching audiences to grow their businesses via the Internet. To have a competitive advantage online, contact Pinnacle Contractor Group today. Ask for a free SEO audit for your website.

Robin Faust

Robin Faust – Client Support Representative

robin@mypcg.ca

Robin provides business coaching, advice, and support for Pinnacle Contractor Group’s systems, processes and procedures for our contracting clients. Before joining Pinnacle Contractor Group, Robin spent 12 years in the financial industry with MasterCard. She has a wealth of experience with HVAC businesses and contractors. Over the years, Robin has provided support for Airtime by helping countless HVAC contractors to improve their contracting businesses. Robin has also helped and supported hundreds of U.S. and Canadian HVAC contractors while working with Success Group International.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a minor in Marketing from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri and is experienced using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Robin volunteers with Girls On The Run and is a Member of the Volunteer Match Organization in St. Louis. She has an endless list of hobbies including golfing, cooking, running, working out and spending time with Casey, her 10-year-old Retriever rescue dog.

Call for an appointment today to see how our team can help your business thrive. Call 888-307-1114 today for a FREE Consultation. You'll be glad you did!

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Event Date: May 27th, 2021. 10AM MST

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