Sponsor Spotlight: OakWood Designers & Builders
About OakWood
Established in 1956, OakWood is a fourth-generation, family-run Design & Build business that’s
proudly owned and operated by the Liptak family. The company started as a small carpentry and
renovation business over 65 years ago. Over the past six decades, OakWood has become a
recognized innovation leader in both residential and commercial construction, and a company
of many firsts. On the strength of client referrals and a reputation for quality that is second to
none, the company has steadily grown to become one of Ottawa’s largest and most established
full-service Design & Build businesses.
John Liptak, the President and CEO of OakWood, knows first-hand the value of hard work at a
young age. John learned the construction business from the bottom up. Starting by cleaning job
sites at the age of 11, he then graduated with honours and highest marks with both Ontario and
Inter-provincial Carpenters Licenses in 1978. John then went on to lead OakWood’s success
while bringing the next generation of Liptaks into the family business at a young age, who now
work alongside John to take OakWood to new heights of excellence.
OakWood’s vision is to support individuals, families, and businesses in pursuit of a Great Life,
and it is committed to fostering better communities through corporate social responsibility.
Throughout the years, OakWood has sponsored and supported many local businesses and
charities including Habitat for Humanity, Tree Canada, several local youth sports teams as well
as many other local organizations and events – all with the goal of supporting and giving back to
their local community.
Supporting Local Businesses
When OakWood was introduced to FocalOttawa and their “Buy Local” campaign, they knew
they had found a worthy cause to support that aligned with their vision. With all the challenges
that businesses were facing during the pandemic, the FocalOttawa campaign provided a great
way for OakWood to give back to the local business community during a time when it was
needed most.
OakWood was so impressed with the FocalOttawa initiative that they decided to purchase
several additional Thanksgiving gift baskets with products from various local businesses to give
to their clients. The gift baskets help support participating local businesses both by providing
local businesses sales and exposure to a wide range of potential customers.
“We are very proud to be a sponsor of FocalOttawa to support this initiative, youth
development, and the local business community. We understand the importance of supporting our community at such a difficult time, and the FocalOttawa campaign seemed like the perfect
way to do this. The best part of it all is the feeling we get from giving back to those in need.”
says Patricia Liptak-Satov, Chief Operating Officer at OakWood.
Steve Georgopoulos and Patricia Liptak-Satov standing next to gift baskets prepared by FocalOttawa filled with products from local Ottawa businesses
Fostering Youth Development
Another aspect of the FocalOttawa campaign that resonated with OakWood was fostering youth
development and leadership. The “Buy Local” campaign provided an opportunity for students of
the Ottawa Key Club—an international student-led service organization dedicated to fostering
leadership and character in its members— and the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa — a leading
Ottawa-based Service Club that addresses the needs of the community to improve the quality
of life — to gain real-world experience in the fields of business development, sales, and
marketing. By doing so, these students learn essential skills that will help prepare them for
future careers and community leadership roles.
“It’s great to see these students striving to make a difference in their communities. The skills
and knowledge that they are learning from this initiative will be an invaluable learning
experience that they can draw upon in their future and I’m sure they will look back at this
experience with fond memories. At the end of the day, we want to give back and support the
next generation in the pursuit of a Great Life – that's what it's all about.” says John.