– Dan Rogers is the General Manager at the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and can be reached at manager@vernonchamber.ca.
VERNON – The Chamber in partnership with KPMG announced the Rising Star Award recipients as it celebrated the 2016 KPMG Top Twenty Under 40 Award winners. The community celebration event was held as part of Small Business Month in Vernon.
David Hamm who owns and operates Coldstream Mechanical was one of three recognized with the Rising Star Award. He began in the trades in 2007 and in 2015 he founded Coldstream Mechanical. He has been busy and steadily growing the company ever since.
The Rising Star Award was a new initiative this year and recognized those 30 or under who are already making a significant positive impact on the economy in the North Okanagan. The other two Rising Stars that were recognized at a special community celebration event were 30-year-old Danny Robert who is a chartered accountant with KPMG and Kristina Sidorczuk who owns and operates Cracked Pepper Catering and opened one of Vernon’s newest restaurants, EATology in 2015. Not a bad start for someone who will turn 24 later this year.
“The Rising Stars program was a new initiative this year that was developed as a means to recognize some of our youngest entrepreneurs,” says Dauna Kennedy Grant, chamber president. “These are our next generation of leaders and they deserve acknowledgment. By doing so it is our hope that we can encourage other entrepreneurs to dream big and realize that anything can be accomplished with vision, passion and determination.”
The evening also saw the 2016 Top Twenty under 40 award recipients honoured by civic officials including Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund and representatives from the Chamber, KPMG, and other program partners. The recipients included Josh Dueck who is a Canadian alpine skier, and was the Flag Bearer for Canada at the Closing Ceremonies of the Sochi Paralympics.
The award winners also included a number of business owners, lawyers, a social media manager for a local orchard, a veterinarian, an optometrist and an educator who is running his own outdoor school for youth. You can learn more about the 2016 recipients by checking out their bios at www.20under40vernon.ca.
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In other news, the Greater Vernon Chamber is pleased to welcome a number of new members including www.ShopVernon.com, Buzz Brite Janitorial Services, Sun West Resources (Apartment & Motel), Kal Safety, RGM Fitness Supplements, and Down Under Pipe Inspection. Welcome to the Chamber network!