It's a party

LEWISPORTE -

Lewisporte native Rod Sheppard provides clients with the ultimate high-class party on wheels in St. John's these days.

Mr. Sheppard, along with Keith Culleton, co-own the highly popular Party Bus business.

Spending all his younger years in Lewisporte and graduating from what was then known as Lewisporte Regional High School in 1988, Mr. Sheppard has a lot of fond memories of growing up in Notre Dame Bay.

"I played a lot of ice hockey in Lewisporte and was a goalie for our minor hockey team and high school hockey team," he said. "We won many championships, the most memorable being the first 'AAA' high school hockey championship for Lewisporte when I was in Grade 11."

Mr. Sheppard headed to St. John's in 1989 and graduated from MUN with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1994. He began as a staff pharmacist at a chain department store in Gander in 1994, then headed back to St. John's the following year to take a pharmacy manager position and is currently a director of Pharmacy for an island-wide company. Mr. Sheppard now resides in St. John's with his wife Cora and daughter Faith.

Having always considered himself a risk-taker or gambler, Mr. Sheppard said he prefers the term "calculated gambler."

"I try to weigh the risks before I jump into something, though my wife may argue with that," he said. "I have been involved in low risk ventures such as owning rental properties and building houses in the city, up to hosting a concert in Paradise with Shaggy as the headliner. That was an amazing experience, but a risky venture to say the least."

California dreams

Mr. Sheppard's business partner, Mr. Culleton first suggested the concept of a limo bus, as Mr. Culleton is a limo driver by profession, after hearing about the buses in the United States and thinking they would work in St. John's.

Mr. Sheppard said he was skeptical of the concept at first, until he took a golf trip in one and realized the potential.

"Everyone had such a great time, there was no risk of drinking and driving, the music, the big TV's - it was the coolest thing I ever saw and I knew the potential was huge," he said.

Getting the business started was no easy task, however, Mr. Sheppard began a business plan, received a bank loan and purchased their first bus all the way from California.

"My business partner drove seven days and we actually met up in Lewisporte," said Mr. Sheppard. "I got decals for the bus while we were there and the rest is history."

The Party Bus has made history, as the first transportation of its kind in the province and has become a household name on the east coast.

Mr. Sheppard has concentrated a lot of his time on promoting the business, inviting special guests and giving out thousands of business cards throughout the province.

Party on

In addition to their regular business requests Mr. Sheppard and Mr. Culleton never say no to a sick child or charity. They have set aside the last Sunday of every month for their "Wheels That Heal" program, where children get the opportunity to act like rock stars for two hours.

"The charity work that we do with the Party Bus is really important to me," he said. "We have donated tens of thousands of dollars to numerous charities all over Newfoundland, including Calypso in Lewisporte. We also have a program at the Janeway that gives the Party Bus for free to every child and their friends and family that has to go through the ordeal of radiation or chemotherapy.

"They get pizza and pop and get to celebrate their success. Our goal is that we give the kids something to look forward to and take their mind off the treatments."

Mr. Sheppard said his future aspirations for the business currently involve expanding to Atlantic Canada.

"We will be starting a Nova Scotia division of the business in March and the ball is rolling now for that," he said. "New Brunswick only makes sense from there, but timing has to be right as you can't grow too fast or you may risk a cash flow problem.

"The Party Bus has been a lot of work, but I enjoy being at it because I own it I guess. I don't event mind answering e-mails at 2 a.m."

Anyone wishing to contact Mr. Sheppard for further information can call (709) 727-8928 or visit www.thepartybus.ca.