The Kelowna Chamber含羞草研究社檚 Top 40 Program has returned for 2024. The program recognizes and honours individuals in the community who take leadership, philanthropy, and business to the next level.
Honouree - Loyal Wooldridge
City of Kelowna - Councillor
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含羞草研究社� Brene Brown
Loyal Wooldridge is a passionate entrepreneur, social strategist and community advocate, with more than 15 years in small business ownership, 5 1/2 years serving as a councillor for the City of Kelowna and the chair of the of Regional District of Central Okanagan board.
He believes in the power of community and supporting social priorities to empower personal development, connection and consensus. Loyal strives to identify commonalities, extrapolate key intentions, and lead discussions to a place of understanding, respect, negotiation, and advocacy to deliver results for emerging challenges.
Loyal continually works to convene community organizations to overcome emerging challenges and has helped secure new detox and secondary housing for the Bridge Youth & Family.
One of his most memorable achievements was leading communications during the Grouse Complex Fires in 2023 to elevate confidence of members of the public in the Central Okanagan and being one of the political negotiators with provincial partners to secure disaster relief funding for recovery post fires.
An active volunteer, Loyal created a memorial foundation to commemorate his late mother that has funded community organizations to support youth programs, healthcare, animals, and housing for vulnerable people. He volunteers at numerous community and non-profit events like the YMCA, BCSPCA, and KGH Foundation, aiming to shine light on initiatives people might not be aware of.
Honouree 含羞草研究社� Paige Mathison
Another Chapter Counselling (Owner & Clinical Counsellor)
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Paige Mathieson is the owner of owns Another Chapter Counselling where she works as a clinical counsellor. She leads her team with compassion and creating a 含羞草研究社榮afe space含羞草研究社� for people to explore their authentic selves at their own pace.
Her goal is to positively impact systems and those that work within them by showing how being valued and supported decreases risk of trauma in the workplace and adds longevity to their challenging careers.
Having worked in the Canadian medical system, Paige developed her business model to support and positively impact mental health professionals she works alongside of. She completed her Masters degree while working as a psychiatric nurse, growing her counselling business to a practice with eight professionals as of 2024. Paige offers mentorship for wellness professionals, volunteers to educate on mental wellbeing, and is a positive example of a woman changing careers.
One of Paige含羞草研究社檚 most memorable achievements is moving to Kelowna where she hit milestones she never knew existed, through empowerment and readiness for new adventure. This has contributed to Paige含羞草研究社檚 community contributions, from speaking at fundraisers to working with Mamas for Mamas on the 含羞草研究社楨mbracing Joy含羞草研究社� series and continuing support at Third Space Charity.
Hounouree 含羞草研究社� Jared Lee
Director/Co-Owner of 含羞草研究社� that D.B.A Central Kitchen + Bar & Central Sports Club
含羞草研究社淵our body is not a temple, it含羞草研究社檚 an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� Anthony Bourdain
Jared Lee is part of the business team that built Central Kitchen + Bar and Central Sports Club into local downtown Kelowna community staples. For the last 10 years, they have successfully grown their business from 90 employees seasonally. Jared has been in Kelowna含羞草研究社檚 food and beverage industry for 18 years, first with Earls Kitchen + Bar where he learned invaluable skills that he continues to develop.
He believes in open and frequent communication with their team and leads with humility, ensuring all partners understand how the importance of every job within leads to a superior customer experience.
Trough the pandemic, Jared and team aggressively expanded by increasing space 100 per cent.
They are consistently represented in the Best of Kelowna awards and are recipients of 含羞草研究社楤est Employer含羞草研究社� at the British Columbia Small Business Awards 含羞草研究社� one of his most memorable achievements.
They were a young company, working 80-hour weeks, and were recognized for the culture they committed to building into the business.
As community boosters, Jared and Central have been involved in several major philanthropic initiatives, including the Heart of Gold Gala with the Kelowna General Hospital.
They含羞草研究社檝e also held fundraisers for regular patrons facing health crisis: a young girl battling (and who eventually beat) a rare and aggressive form of cancer, and another to support a local woman living with Lyme Disease.
