“It was absolutely unbelievable. I’ll be honest we’re just truly grateful to be nominated, let alone win the awards, and it honestly seems surreal. It’s crazy.” 

Those words from Ryan Skjerdal Monday morning, after having had the opportunity to unwind after his business and himself each received a Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce ABEX Award Saturday in Saskatoon. The awards are an annual event that highlights business excellence in the province.  

Skjerdal’s company MegaDry Disaster Restoration was nominated for the Growth and Expansion Award, while Skjerdal was nominated for the Young Entrepreneur Award.  

For the Growth and Expansion Award, the presentation highlighted where the company has gone in just a short span of time. 

“It was only about three and a half years ago when Tanner Wall and I decided to start MegaDry, and at the time, we were just a side hustle that was cleaning out flooded basements,” Skjerdal said of the endeavour. “Fast forward to today, we’re now on a lot of major insurance companies’ preferred list – the company is growing. We’re on the verge of our first franchise, hopefully, going to be announced right away.” 

Perhaps an even bigger shock for Skjerdal was winning the Young Entrepreneur Award. 

“I’ll be honest, at my age I’m just grateful to be called young, so that was even better,” he chuckled.  

Skjerdal did point out that the growth of his businesses was a key reason for the personal award. MegaDry’s growth over the past three years, as well as the growth of Vortex Plumbing and Heating. 

“We’ve had lots of success and hopefully we can continue to do that.” 

As for what is next for Skjerdal and his business ventures, he was a little tight-lipped.  

“There’s going to be some more exciting news coming to Weyburn here, where I’m always looking to grow and to add different things,” he said. “So there’ll be more news coming down the pipeline.” 

Skjerdal also noted his hometown is part of the reason all of the success has been possible. 

“The biggest thanks I have to give is to the community of Weyburn,” he added. “Weyburn has supported us, and it’s because of Weyburn we are where we are.”