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Summit Youth Centre kicks off 20th anniversary with gala fundraiser
Beckham and Wilson and fun, oh my!
While there can be a lot of tried and true (and serious) reasons to support Invermere’s Summit Youth Centre, there are ways for that support to be upbeat, colourful and oh, so much fun!
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Windermere Valley Youth Centre Society (WVYSC), and to celebrate this milestone the board is teaming up with honorary chair, W. Brett Wilson and keynote speaker Ash Beckham (pictured above).
An Evening With… Ash Beckham and W. Brett Wilson is slated for Saturday, May 24 and will be held in the Amber Room at Copper Point Resort, with cocktails, four course dinner, speaker and a time and talent auction.
The WVYSC is bringing back the popular event after a few year’s hiatus, and this year, the focus is on youth, colour, and fun, and Wilson and Beckham are a big part of that.
Beckham, who hails from Boulder, Colo., hit the speaking scene last year with a blend of humor, personal reference and wonderful charisma that caught the attention of Stephanie Stevens, former Summit Youth Centre (SYC) executive director and one of the gala organizers.
“Ash had me from the first time I heard her speak,” said Stevens. “She has a passion for youth, a passion for supporting them, and I love the way she gets her message across, no matter what issue she is tackling.”
Wilson, who has been an avid supporter of the SYC for several years, is happy to lend his name to the cause yet again.
“The Summit has been doing wonderful work in the valley for a long time,” said Wilson. “I am very pleased to see them still going strong, and I am proud they asked me to be honorary chair.”
Wilson is well known for his role as the lead deal-making dragon for three seasons on the Gemini Award winning CBC television show Dragon’s Den. He is chair of Canoe Financial, a privately owned investment management firm and chair of his wholly owned Prairie Merchant Corporation, a private merchant bank focused on business opportunities in the energy, agriculture, real estate, sports and entertainment industries.
In 1993 he co-founded FirstEnergy Capital Corp, the leading Canadian brokerage firm providing investment banking services to Canada’s energy sector. Brett has been a part-time resident of the Columbia Valley for 15 years.
Wilson has never balked at offering his support to the youth centre; either when it has been requested, or when it has been of his own volition.
His regard for The Summit was evident when he made the youth centre the recipient of his then company’s former FirstSplash event more than one year in a row.
“We rarely held it for the same charity twice as there are so many worthy causes out there, but the Summit truly resonated with us,” he said.
It resonates still for Stevens as well, who resigned as executive director to follow another dream in 2009, but just could not stay away.
“Getting through those teen years, even in the best of circumstances, is a rough go,” said Stevens. “If we can provide youth with a place to stretch their wings and be themselves in a safe, sober environment, we are planting amazing seeds for our future.”
She moved back to the valley in 2011 and joined the board of the WVYCS last fall.
“What I found was an amazing new board, an incredible new coordinator and an ability to step back and just be a part of the team,” she said.
Heading up that team is president Sherry Doerr, who joined the WVYSC four years ago and put together a board of directors that work hard to ensure SYC program coordinator Magali Larochelle has the backing, and funds, she needs to continue her work.
The fundraising aspect of the gala comes in with a time and talent auction, which the gala committee is in the process of canvassing for. Any sort of talent or donation of time that can be offered for bid is welcome, and you do not have to be a business to offer it.
“We hope to have regular auction items as well, but to ease the pressure off of our generous local businesses who receive more donation requests than they could ever accommodate, we are asking for some time and talent to auction off,” explained Stevens. “Everything from a chef coming into your home to create a dinner party for you and some guests, a golf lesson from a pro, riding (of any kind) lessons, photography sessions, art sessions, lunch with a celebrity if you happen to be one, anything that is giving of your time and talent. It is something just a little different to bid on.”
They are also looking for monetary donations to help offset the cost of the event.
“Everything and anything is truly helpful and appreciated,” Stevens said.
“There are always lots of fundraisers going on, so we want to make ours a little different,” she added. “Traditionally it has been black tie formal, a chance to dress up that we don’t often get in the valley, but to make it a bit more fun we just want everyone to dress up with as much fun and inventiveness as they can.”
You can dress any style you like really: for fun, to show off, or just let loose and have lots of fun and with colour and personal style.
And as for that theme, Wilson, who is known for his sense of style and fun, said opening up the dress code from simply black tie is a bonus.
“Black tie can be a bit… stuffy. So I am loving the idea of the dress code for this event being colour and flair.”
For more information, to donate to the event or purchase tickets ($75), you can contact Stevens at 250-347-9909, Kathy Sutherland at 250-270-0254 or Doerr at 250-688-0553.
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