The 琉璃神社 Chamber鈥檚 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 琉璃神社 - Councillor
鈥淵ou can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You can not have both.鈥�
鈥� 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 琉璃神社 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 鈥� Paige Mathison
Another Chapter Counselling (Owner & Clinical Counsellor)
鈥淚 am perfectly imperfect and getting better at it every day!鈥�
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 鈥榮afe space鈥� 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鈥檚 most memorable achievements is moving to 琉璃神社 where she hit milestones she never knew existed, through empowerment and readiness for new adventure. This has contributed to Paige鈥檚 community contributions, from speaking at fundraisers to working with Mamas for Mamas on the 鈥楨mbracing Joy鈥� series and continuing support at Third Space Charity.
Hounouree 鈥� Jared Lee
Director/Co-Owner of 鈥� that D.B.A Central Kitchen + Bar & Central Sports Club
鈥淵our body is not a temple, it鈥檚 an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.鈥� 鈥� Anthony Bourdain
Jared Lee is part of the business team that built Central Kitchen + Bar and Central Sports Club into local downtown 琉璃神社 community staples. For the last 10 years, they have successfully grown their business from 90 employees seasonally. Jared has been in 琉璃神社鈥檚 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 琉璃神社 awards and are recipients of 鈥楤est Employer鈥� at the British Columbia Small Business Awards 鈥� 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 琉璃神社 General Hospital.
They鈥檝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.
