MEDIA RELEASE
Kelowna: The Kelowna Chamber announced its new Board of Directors following the conclusion of electronic voting earlier this week. “We are pleased to welcome several new directors with some very relevant new skill sets as a result of an election that generated an unprecedented level of interest,” said incoming Chair-Elect Maryse Harvey.
Directors will be ratified at the in-person AGM April 4 at the Coast Capri Hotel.
Table Officers were elected by acclamation and include incoming Chair-Elect Maryse Harvey of MH2 Advisory Services; Derek Gratz of UBC Okanagan Industry-Liaison as Vice-Chair-Elect; and Patrick Bobyn of Pushor Mitchell as Secretary-Elect.
Eleven Director positions were open during member voting over two weeks in February and the following candidates received sufficient votes through electronic balloting to be among those to represent membership on the Board for 2024-2025. Three new Directors - Dobrila Braunstein, Laurel Hogg, and Ryan Malcolm - join eight incumbents.
- Braunstein, Dobrila – Sandhill Winery
- Gokhale, Sarang – Mission Group
- Hogg, Laurel – Rush Ihas Harwick LLP
- Malcolm, Ryan P. – Emil Anderson Group
- Lalli, Amarjit – TS Lalli Holdings
- Piva, Treena – Real Property Management
- Quinn, Paula – KF Aerospace Centre for Excellence
- Rempel, Carmen – Kelowna's Gospel Mission
- Tarapaski, Curtis – Cairo Developments
- Warrender, Marina – KPMG
- Wills, Chris – Venture Commercial, Division of Venture Realty Corp.
The Board also currently includes four advisory positions representing the City of Kelowna, Okanagan College, Westbank First Nation and the Okanagan Business Students Association. Incoming Chair-Elect Maryse Harvey, on announcing the Board, said “We are very pleased to introduce this new Board to our members."
“The Kelowna Chamber’s growing influence, both within B.C. and as part of the broader Canadian network of chambers, is something we can all be proud of. Over the next year, our focus will be on further strengthening our collective voice to secure the outcomes that our local businesses need in these challenging yet promising times. Working collaboratively with like-minded organizations and in a spirit of inclusion will further enhance our success. This approach, underpinned by sound and modern governance practices, will be the key driver of our Board over the coming year.”
“I also would like to thank our outgoing chair, Dan Price, for leading us for the past year including through the development of our new strategic plan. We are pleased that Dan will stay on the Board as an ex-officio member this year. I also would like to offer our gratitude to those Directors who are stepping down. You were important contributors to our success in 2023.”