An organization that has been performing wonderful community work in Osoyoos for almost three decades will be hosting more than 100 visitors as the Osoyoos Soroptimists play host to the Soroptimists Western Canada Region Conference this weekend.
Soroptimist members from as far away as Winnipeg will be travelling to Osoyoos to participate in the conference, which will take over Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa from April 30 until May 3, said Doreen Janko, past president with the Osoyoos Soroptimists and member of the organizing committee for the Western Canada conference.
This will be the 82nd annual Western Canada Region Conference.
“We made it clear at last year’s conference that Osoyoos was ready to host the Western Canada Region Conference and we got the call several months ago that we have been selected as hosts,” said Janko. “It’s a real honour to host this conference and we’re excited about having more than 100 Soroptimists from all over Western Canada visiting our community.”
Local members will be picking up women attending the conference at airports in Penticton and Kelowna on April 29 and 30 and driving them back to town for the conference, said Janko.
Besides attending the conference, attending workshops and listening to an impressive list of guest speakers, all visitors will have access to wine tours, shopping in Penticton, Kelowna and Osoyoos, a wine and cheese party on the rooftop at Spirit Ridge on Thursday evening, a Friday night beach party and Saturday evening closing banquet, said Janko.
“We want all of our visitors to have a memorable trip and that means allowing them to have some fun,” she said. “We will keep them very busy from the time they arrive until they leave on Sunday.”
Most participants will arrive on Thursday, April 30 and will participate in wine tours and shopping before the evening reception.
The official opening ceremonies will take place at 8:30 a.m. at Spirit Ridge.
Susan “Sam” Buchenau, president -elect of the Soroptimist International of the Americas board of directors will be in attendance, as will Heather Rollins, governor of the Western Canada Region and Rita MacKenzie, governor-elect of the Western Canada Region.
The remainder of Friday will be a closed session, as participants will take part in a business day, said Janko.
On Saturday, May 2 there will be an awards luncheon followed by guest speakers.
They include Joy Smith of the Joy Smith Foundation and Dr. Tanyss Munro and Gem Munro from the Amarok Society.
Smith is a Member of Parliament who worked for 23 years as a teacher in math and science. She also holds a music diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
She is also a bestselling author and recipient of the Hedley Award for Excellence in Research. She was nominated as Manitoba’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. She is also a wife and mother of six children.
Before becoming MP for Kildonan-St. Paul, Smith was a member of the Manitoba Legislature for Fort Garry and served as critic for Justice, Education and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Two months ago in January, Smith announced she would not be seeking re-election, stating she wants to focus on combatting human trafficking in Canada and around the world.
The Joy Smith Foundation works to ensure every Canadian man, woman and child is safe from manipulation, force or abuse of power designed to lure and exploit him or her into the sex trade or forced labour. This is achieved through educating the public and providing funds and support to front-line organizations that rescue and rehabilitate victims.
Dr. Munro and her husband Gem and their four children founded the Amarok Society.
Dr. Tanyss Munro has devoted her life and career to improving educational opportunities for disadvantaged people across Canada and abroad.
She has achieved extraordinary success as a teacher, principal, district director and senior advisor in the federal government and with First Nations government.
She has been active in international education as a special with the Commonwealth of Learning and other international organizations and advises two international development organizations.
The Amarok Society teaches uneducated mothers how to read and write and then teaches the mothers to be neighbourhood teachers and help educate their neighbours’ children at home.
“We’re very proud to have attracted guest speakers of this calibre, who are making a difference on the national and international stage,” said Janko.
The Soroptimist International Osoyoos chapter was chartered in 1986 and serves the South Okanagan communities of Penticton, Oliver, Keremeos and of course Osoyoos, all located in the heart of Okanagan wine country.
Major fundraising activities include fashion shows, yard sales and hosting the sunnyosoyoos.com community website.
A tradition for us for many years has been the Rocking Horse Raffle, which provides financial support for the South Okanagan Safe House for women and children. Raffle tickets are available through the month of December.
This community website is our main fundraiser and supplements most of our projects.
Club members sell “pages” for $50 a year it includes one picture and links to their own sites. You can find out more at www.sunnyosoyoos.com.
There is a wealth of information on Osoyoos and it has been of real interest to locals and people planning to visit or move to the area.
The club is able to donate $3,000 to $5,000 annually to local projects from this source.
Some local projects the clubs assists are the Osoyoos Food Bank, women’s shelter and high school bursaries.
For further information on these awards you can contact us at [email protected].
Dinner meetings change locations monthly but they are held at 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month.
Board meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Cactus Centre in Osoyoos.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
