Rick Nielsen (b. 1953)
Rick Nielsen was born in Whitehorse to parents Pamela June (Hall) and Eric Nielsen. He attended school in Ottawa and in 1969 returned to Whitehorse with his family and finished high school there. He attended the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and graduated as a heavy-duty mechanic.1)
Rick started working at Whitehorse Motors for his future father-in-law Rolf Hogan. As partners got out of the business, Nielsen gradually gained majority interest. He was always more involved with his customers and the people he worked with than the cars his business sold. When Nielsen started work as chief of staff for the Yukon Party cabinet in 2002, Tina Woodland, the dealership controller, took over as general manager. Nielsen returned to find Whitehorse Motors in good shape, and in 2008 he started flying part-time for Alkan Air and working almost full time on his farm. Tina Woodland, Bev Kitchen, and principal investor Wendy Taylor purchased Whitehorse Motors from Nielsen in 2009.2)