2011/2012 Board of the Kelowna Ballet Society

Jamie Maw
President
After Co-Honorary Chairing Pirouette 2009 with his lovely Yvonne, Jamie has graciously accepted our nomination to President.   With his depth of involvement in both the Vancouver and Kelowna business, culinary, wine and publishing communities, and his rapid embrace of Ballet Kelowna, Jamie is going to provide the strength of leadership necessary to take our fledgling company through its next evolutionary phase.

Birgit Bennett
Past President
Birgit joined the Board at the 2008 AGM and has acted as Board President for the past two years.  She moved to Kelowna 20 years ago with her husband Brad who was born and raised here.  With an International Business education, Birgit’s main career was in marketing and public relations with the BC Ministry of Tourism.  While raising her children Birgit volunteered in the community in various capacities, most recently as Co-Chair of Hospice House and as ongoing director of the Kelowna Art Gallery. She has also been a life-long dance fan.

Ingrid Hansel
Treasurer
Ingrid assumed the Treasurer position October 2010.  She is a chartered accountant with Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants in Kelowna.  Having grown up in Summerland in the Okanagan, she appreciates the dance company's commitment to touring and performing in smaller communities.  She is thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful organization and all the passionate individuals that work so hard to drive the success of the Company.

 

Glenna Turnbull
Secretary
Ballet Kelowna has been incredibly fortunate to have Glenna and her stunning photographic skills on the Board since 2005.  As a freelance writer and photographer she has been published in Beautiful British Columbia, several inflight magazines and dance magazines across Canada.  An avid supporter of the arts, Glenna was also on the Okanagan Arts Awards advisory committee.  Glenna serves as Ballet Kelowna’s secretary, and has participated in Events and the Merchandise Committee.  This year will see the end of her six year term with Ballet Kelowna.

Directors
Linda Aldous
Linda joined the Board at the 2008 AGM, purely for the love of dance and culture for the City.  Having resided in Kelowna for 20 years, Linda has been involved with fundraising for many activities and sports teams for children, a member of the Leadership Committee for fundraising for the Rotary Centre for the Arts, past Co-Honorary Chair with husband Pat for the RCA Evergreen Gala, a member of the event team for CNIB, and a 6-year Director with the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation Board.  Linda chairs our Golf Tournament Committee and frequently hosts Ballet Kelowna functions. She and Pat were Honorary Chairs for our 2009 Pirouette.

Patricia Burns
Patricia is a past Ballet Kelowna Board member and we’re extremely fortunate to have her back, having worked in all areas of marketing and communications, including sales, promotion, and public and media relations.  Her indefatigable energy, creativity, and arts marketing and publicity skills will serve her well as she assumes the chair of the Audience Development committee.

Cheryl Claeys
Cheryl has volunteered for Ballet Kelowna for the past two years since moving to Kelowna, most notably as contributor to our newsletter.  She has a diverse background that includes property leasing and management, communications, corporate relations, event & project management, and charitable giving.  She will eventually move into the Board Secretary position upon Glenna’s term completion.

Sandy Dawson
Sandy has been working with the Board for several months now and was the ideal candidate to produce Ballet Kelowna’s Nutcracker debut in Kamloops this year, having produced the Canadian School of Ballet’s production for 10 years.  A long time Okanagan broadcaster and very recognizable community citizen, we are indeed fortunate to have Sandy’s consummate professionalism on our team.

Aaron Dow
Aaron acts as our legal advisor and is a lawyer at Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP.  Aaron’s legal skills have been an important asset to Ballet Kelowna as it navigates the diverse issues that confront our growing organization.  Aaron joined the Board in 2009 and, new to the world of dance, quickly became a fan.  We are also grateful to Aaron for securing a home for our meetings in Farris & Co.’s beautiful boardroom.

Ken Gordon
Ken has been involved with Ballet Kelowna for over 4 years as our IT volunteer and joined the Board at our 2011 AGM.  His 2 young daughters and aspiring ballerinas brought him to our organisation via the Canadian School of Ballet and he has been around the studio and our many performances ever since. Ken is an IT project manager, social media advocate, webmaster and all round technology enthusiast. He is currently assisting on our marketing and special events committees.