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TODAY’S WOMAN 2022 I MERIDIAN SOURCE
Thank you, to all of Today’s Woman EDITOR Taylor Weaver
Welcome to the latest edition of Today’s Woman, a special supplement from the Meridian Source! This 24-page magazine highlights local women and the amazing things they do in, and for our community. I have had the honour of working on three of these magazines in the past and am always amazed at the stories that come out of them. I may not originally be from Lloyd, but over the years I’ve learned it’s a community built on the passion that drives us to do
good for others, and I think this year’s selection of women depicts that quite well. In past editions of Today’s Woman, we’ve interviewed mothers, women in business, CEOs chuckwagon drivers, artists, and many more, and I feel this year’s list of inspiring ladies are just as powerful as in years past. Source reporter Geoff Lee and I had the pleasure of interviewing and photographing the nine women in this year’s book, and we would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone featured for trusting us with your stories. We know it’s not always easy when the red record light glows from our voice recorders, but we hope everyone enjoys this feature as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
This year’s Today’s Woman has a bit of something for everyone. Whether that’s reading about a business owner on the cusp of celebrating 28 years of success, a teacher reflecting back on a career in the classroom, or someone just starting out as an independent business owner, you can read all about it here. These are the stories of women in our community who have gone above and beyond the norm to better the community and the people living in it. Every year that we put one of these together I am blown away by the sheer sense of community shared by all who call Lloyd home. The interesting thing about that point is, that many of the people who call Lloyd home aren’t orig-
inally from here, and they’re the ones who can truly tell the tale of a warm and embracing community. You get out of a community exactly what you put into it, and the nine women in this year’s supplement are shining examples of that. There were quite a few nominations for women to be featured this year, but unfortunately, we couldn’t cover them all. Luckily, we’ll be back next year with the 2023 edition of Today’s Woman and we’d love to hear more of those inspirational nominations from you, the reader! If you have someone in the community in mind and would like to nominate them to be featured in future Today’s Woman supplements, please email them to deanna@meridiansource.ca
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TODAY’S WOMAN 2022 Whether it be a local business owner, community volunteer, CEO or all of the above, these Border City women make us proud to call Lloydminster home.
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Colena Baker
Stephanie Dobson
Cheri Lloyd
Business Owner, Mother, Community Supporter Pg. 5
Lawyer, Mother, Fitness Enthusiast Pg. 7
Super Teacher, Retiree Pg. 9
Jackie Tomayer GM at the Lloyd Ex, Wife, Mother Pg. 11
Lindsay Sedgwick
Carly Pollard
Larissa Scott
Business Owner, Mother, Multi-tasker Pg. 14
Boundary Ford Marketing Manager, Wife, Mother Pg. 16
Business Owner, Trainer, Mental Health Advocate Pg. 18
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Gerry Maier Community Supporter and Organizer, Mother Pg. 12
Rena Simons Downtown Business Owner, Mother Pg. 21
Twenty-seven years and counting at Sheepskin
Colena Baker Business Owner, Mother, Community Supporter
Born in Kelowna, B.C., Colena Baker has called the Border City home since her family moved here in 1971, and she is now almost ready to celebrate the 28th anniversary of her business, Sheepskin Loft. “My Aunty Linda started Sheepskin Boutique in Kelowna, B.C. years ago,” said Baker.
“She was more custom and did well and she also set up for many trade shows all over B.C. She is certainly an inspiration and is a wonderful mentor; you could say she showed me the ropes of the business.” Baker took her Aunty Linda’s idea and started her own Sheepskin Boutique, borrowing the name, which she ran as a kiosk in the LloydMall for 11 years. “We sold lots of specialty items like sheepskin slippers, mitts, moccasins, mukluks, sweaters; anything that’s soft and warm,” she said. The next step came in 2014 when Baker purchased an acreage east of the Border City and decided to create and build an 800 sq. ft. garage and changed the name to Sheepskin Loft. “It was a beautiful country set-
ting,” she said. “Only a beautiful 20-minute drive out of Lloyd and you were there! It was a fun and exciting time.” At this location, Sheepskin also hosted painting classes with wildlife artist Gayle Adams, hosted tea parties, and visitors could pick berries outside. “We found out the spot we’re in now was vacant and it was a match made in heaven, and that was 12 years ago,” she said. Baker also noted she and the Sheepskin family have annually enjoyed setting up at the Chamber of Commerce Christmas preview for the last 25 years. “Trade shows are so great,” she said. “There’s such an amazing feeling to work with other entrepreneurs, serve the community and help others.”
Community, and giving back to the community that’s supported you, have always been very important to Baker, and over the years she has never shied away from donating products to non-profits to be auctioned off. “You don’t go to Wal-Mart to get a donation for your ball team,” said Baker’s daughter and employee Kaleen Bell. “We give back to the community, and we’re all about customer service. When you come into our store, we want to help you. You don’t just wander around, we want to help you. We’re going to show you how it fits, we’re going to make sure it fits, and that you’re getting the best for you.” Baker explained she and the team had to get creative in 2020 when in-person retail wasn’t an option. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
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Carrying on a warm and fuzzy tradition
BAKER FROM PAGE 5
“During one of the most unsettling challenging times in our world, we accentuated the good and sifted through the bad,” she said. “Again, our community really pulled together to support local businesses and we really appreciate that,” she said. Baker explained Sheepskin started its online store five years ago, which is when she hired her daughter, Kaleen, and it’s been a dream working alongside her ever since. “We’re learning to keep walking with technology and market with Instagram and Facebook. It’s an innovative team effort and we are truly blessed with an amazing staff of six, plus me.” Baker also noted that being an independent business owner is all about growth and keeping up with
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the times. “It’s always important to apply yourself and to pivot when things aren’t going quite the way you wanted them to,” she said. “Yo u ju st change gears and you do it a different way to make it work, and I have a lot of really good strong friends that are in business and you learn from each other. “Women have that unique strength, and I love this job and this business because I like helping people.” Baker attributes the majority of her business sense to her parents, who taught her everything she knows growing up in Lloyd. “I’ve had great mentors in my life,” she said. “My parents moved us to Lloydminster in 1971 and opened up a sign shop and rental equipment shop, so I learned
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the office end from my mom and resource, customer service and advertising experience from the dad.” Baker wanted to thank the community for its continued support over the years and is hopeful for
more growth in the future. “Thank you, Lloydminster and area, for supporting us and keeping us all paying it forward,” she said. “Special thanks to God, family, and adventurous customers, we couldn’t do it without you.”
Lawyer’s process keeps divorce out of court
Stephanie Dobson Lawyer, Mother, Fitness Enthusiast Stephanie Dobson is the master of her own universe on multiple fronts. She’s the sole proprietor of Henka Divorce Law & Mediation as a mediator and collaborative divorce lawyer, helping parents stay out of court. Her two-year-old practice is based on supporting healthy
thriving families through the separation process. “I am so committed to delivering that for them with their help,” said Dobson. On a personal level, Dobson is focusing on improving all aspects of her health this year and is training to compete in the Wild Rose Triathlon for women only in Calgary on Aug. 14. She bought a bike in April and is off to the races. “I did a marathon in 2002 so this is now 20 years later. I’m just going to give it a go,” she said. It’s all part of her work/life balance as a busy married lawyer with three kids to raise at home in Paradise Valley. “I manage my calendar to prioritize my family’s needs first, and given that 100 per cent of
my work is done virtually, I can work wherever I need to in order to be able to manage life,” said Dobson. “I don’t personally absorb the emotional turmoil of the families that I serve. To do my job well, it’s important to stay objective and to be a calming, supportive professional,” she explains. In her mediator role, she stays neutral helping both parties. “The three of us try to resolve their post-separation issues,” she said. In collaborative divorce, each spouse has their own lawyer who is trained in collaborative divorce. “We resolve everything by way of four-way meetings — lawyer, lawyer-client, client,” she explained. The approach fits with the
meaning of her business name Henka, which is Japanese for growth and transformation in a positive way. It represents her clients’ journey through separation and divorce. Dobson has a love for languages and learned to speak Japanese by earning her undergraduate degree in Pacific and Asian studies at the University of Victoria, along with two study exchanges to Kyoto, Japan. Her passion for law dates back to growing up in Richmond. B.C. and playing in the coffee room in an office where her dad was a lawyer. She says being a lawyer was her only wish and hope as a child. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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DOBSON FROM PAGE 7
“I didn’t have any other aspirations. All throughout high school, I worked at his office doing secretarial-type things,” she said. She also worked in a Vancouver law firm as a student lawyer at UBC and moved to Lloydminster upon becoming a practicing lawyer to follow her boyfriend who she went on to marry. She says a law degree is a great degree for a single or married woman because of the diversity in the types of jobs you can hold as a lawyer. “It’s not just working in private practice, it could be working for the government, being a politician, working as in-house counsel at a corporation, and many other professions,” said Dobson. “The skills and ways of thinking that are taught in law school provide a great base for tons of careers.”
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Her career goal from the get-go at Henka Divorce Law has been to offer a caring, results-focused approach to help parents navigate a family separation while they support their children. “I know my clients come to me for the words healthy, thriving families,” she said. “I come to work every day simply to help families create a better path forward.” The most satisfying part of her job is recognizing how many families she has helped to truly become healthy, thriving families after separation and divorce with little impact on their children. Dobson founded Up A Notch Learning, an e-learning platform to inform and empower separating and divorcing families globally. She also sits on the boards of the Alberta Law Foundation, the Legal Education Society of Alberta and provides her share
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of free legal services with the Lloydminster Community Legal Clinic. Dobson loves being part of the business community in Lloydminster and is running a Think Local campaign that showcases “the wonderful local businesses we have in our region,” as she put it. Oh ya, she also recently pro-
duced a film that links collaborative divorce, creativity and innovation. It’s called The Essential Link between Creativity, Innovation and Collaborative Divorce: Perspectives from Around the Globe suitable for the public and lawyers. Who knows? Her next film could be about lawyers like her who swim, bike and run to chill out.
Teacher learns her retirement ABCs
Cheri Lloyd Super Teacher, Retiree Cheri Lloyd is a teacher who practises the Kindness Wins lifestyle of not seeking recognition and putting children and other adults first. That applies to anyone who may want to attend her retirement bash this summer after more than 31 years of teaching elementary school-age children in the Lloydminster Catholic School Division. “I want it to be really simple. I don’t want people to be stressed that you have to pay anything,” said Lloyd, who has taught grade-schoolers at St. Mary’s School for the past 20 years. “I just want a little gathering where people can come and go.” That may backfire, knowing she’s taught hundreds of youngsters and exerted her positive influence by allowing them to be themselves and who they would like to be.
In turn, she says kids always have a way to make you feel really special. “Your moods and what you do can affect children, so it’s super important to be at your best every day,” added Lloyd. Her artist friend, Michelle Lake, is making her a collage of excerpts from card notes and gifts she has received from students over the years as a retirement keepsake. “I’m retiring because I am age-appropriate to retire. I’m still loving it. I think it’s a good way to leave the profession just out on top,” she said. “I am retiring in June and I’ll sub after that to stay involved in the school.” Teaching is in her genes as she was raised in Humbolt in a family of teachers and has lived and taught school in the Lloydminster area since 1990 to keep up the tradition. Her dad was a principal, her mom was a teacher, her brother is a director of education and she taught swimming lessons to youth. “I think I really enjoy children. I love them. They keep us young and energized. There is not a dull moment ever,” said Lloyd. She began her teaching career at St. Joseph School as a Grade 5 music teacher and will wind up her career heading up a Grade 2
class at St. Mary’s after years of teaching Grade 4. She says students have also taught her to be kind to yourself and be patient with yourself because life is a journey and there’s no set route. “You have to be able to adapt and make changes. Every day is a gift,” said Lloyd. Her advice to other women thinking of teaching today is for them to stick with it. “Even when times are tough, there’s a lot of beautiful moments. Even at the end of the year, if one child says thank you—you’ve made a difference,” she said. “It’s a difficult journey, but it’s a beautiful one. I don’t think you can have a better profession than teaching. You can enrich the lives of others.” Lloyd says after two years of COVID, for example, it was magical when they did their Kindness Wins projects, making tie blankets for seniors and pets. “It was just the simple joy of kids being able to do something for someone else,” she said. “One thing we can teach children is that it’s always better to give and you don’t need to be recognized for it. Sometimes you need to teach how to give becau se child ren d on’t really know that.” Lloyd thinks teaching is a
career well suited to women who have a family life and kids of their own. She says when her daughter, Tori, and her son, TJ, were young, she would go to school on weekends when her husband was home and do some prepping and planning. “For after-school child care, you might have your extra-curricular activity, but then you can get your kids to hockey practise and dance lessons,” added Lloyd. “In summer times, you are home with your kids and that’s great.” Her daughter Tori is now finishing her master in business degree and TJ plays NCAA hockey at Bowling Green University in Ohio. Lloyd and her husband relocated to Sandy Beach five years ago knowing they would soon be empty nesters. “It’s kind of like our retirement thing. You have the lake and you’re still close to town,” said Lloyd.
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Career comes full circle for Tomayer
Jackie Tomayer GM at the Lloyd Exhibition, Wife, Mother As a young girl, the Lloyd Ex was a place for Jackie Tomayer to hang out with friends and ride her horse. Fast forward a couple of decades and she’s running the show as the organization’s GM. Now married to her long-time love, Shane, the two have raised two kids together, CJ, eight, and Cam, 11, and the Ex has always been a staple in the kids’ lives. Tomayer officially took over as GM at the Ex in August 2021 but has had a full-time position on staff since 2017 when she was hired to lead the team’s marketing department. “At the time I was a stay-athome-mom and wasn’t really interested in going back to work as I was enjoying my time at home with CJ, who was four at the time,” she said. “Mike Sidoryk had a marketing job available and wanted me to come in and chat
about it with him. An hour after we chatted he called and offered me the job.” Although a bit intimidating at first, Tomayer said it wasn’t long before she felt as though she had spent a lifetime working with the organization. Prior to working for the Ex, Tomayer wore many different hats. “I ran my own business, I did a short stint with the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, for many years I worked for the Meridian Booster as a sales rep and I loved dealing with clients and making those relationships,” she said. “Before that, I worked for a real estate company, but I actually went to school in Fairview, Alberta for two years for agriculture majoring in beef production. When I got back to Lloyd I couldn’t really find a niche I wanted to be in. I never really found a job in agriculture until I started here, so that background definitely ties into what I do here as far as advocacy for the industry goes.” And before you go thinking farming and agriculture are male-dominated industries, think again. “Farming and agriculture seem to be a male-dominated industry, but it’s definitely changing and is very inclusive of women,” she said.
“Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, my board, which is very male-dominated, was very accepting of my role in the organization. I feel like I have a tremendous amount of respect and support from my board and from our volunteers, and I greatly appreciate this.” Something else Tomayer has a great appreciation for is the sense of community found at the Ex. “When I talk about Lloyd Ex, we are a community hub that’s been here for over 100 years. We have helped raise millions of dollars every year for other charities, gatherings, connections, culture, art– if we weren’t here, there would be so much loss to our community, and that’s what drives me every single day, to do better and to
strive to make our organization better,” she said. “We’re the ones that gather for a fair and the little three-year-old gets to see fireworks for the first time and remember them. We also get to honour and acknowledge people through volunteer opportunities.” Jackie and Shane have also always been heavily involved with the Lloydminster Junior A Bobcats, starting out as billets shortly after getting married. “We were billets as soon as we came home from college together,” she said. “We were 20 and our first billet was 19. The boys kind of got away with murder because I’m a bit of a softy, but we started billeting right away and Shane’s been involved ever since.”
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Bringing community together to heal
Gerry Maier Community Supporter and Organizer, Mother For Lloydminster’s Gerry Maier, community is everything, and that point hits a home run every year during the annual sold-out Lori Craven Memorial Tournament, which she founded 21 years ago. Born in Loon Lake, Maier moved to the Border City at the
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age of six and has called Lloyd home ever since. She now has two adult children and her and her partner of 20 years, Walt Whalen, are patiently awaiting her first grandchild. The Lori Craven memorial tournament was berthed as a one-time thing to help Lloyd resident Lori Craven, and it quickly snowballed into something much larger than Maier and the organizing committee every dreamed. “Our friend, Lori Craven, who played a lot of ball and pretty well every other sport, she was on our slow-pitch team and was diagnosed with cancer and wanted to go to Seattle for treatment,” said Maier. “We thought what better way to go out, have some fun, play some ball, and raise money for her to
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go. She wasn’t able to do that, she never made it to Seattle.” Maier is a genuine example of someone who helps others purely for the greater good, and is far too humble to take credit for the work she’s done over the last 21 years. “It was an idea I had 21 years ago, and it’s such a huge event there’s not one person that can do that, I need to stress that,” she said. “Every year we’ve hosted it there’s been a committee, and we’re all committee members, that’s what we’re all known as and always have been, and I think that’s why it’s worked.” Maier explained for the tournament’s first year, Craven was literally handed an ice cream pail full of cash to be used for her cancer-treatment trip to Seattle. “We paid Lori with an ice cream
pale with $5,100 in it, and that was our first year in 2002. That’s where the Lori Craven started. We took an ice cream pale full of money and that changed everything. “We didn’t have any bank accounts or anything when we first started this,” she said. Over the years, the ball tournament has grown into one the largest summer gatherings in Lloyd and funds raised aren’t only for those fighting cancer anymore. “For local families with any kind of medical expenses, we try to help out. We try to help out everyone we possibly can. Right now it’s in between years so there are no funds available, but we don’t like to say no to anyone.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
MAIER FROM PAGE 12
“It was just going to be a one-year thing, but everybody enjoyed it so much. Every year after that it was like a get-together, a reunion, therapy for everybody that was going through something similar.” There was a total of eight teams registered for the tournament’s inaugural year. Since then, a steady list of 32 teams has annually filled Driven Energy Legion Ball Park, with many still on a waiting list. Due to the tournament’s growth, Maier explained the funds raised have been able to help out more than one family per year. “Because of the amount of money we raise we are able to help more than one family, and last year I think we helped out 10 families,” she said. Not only can Maier always rely on Lloydminster and area ball-
players to come out and support the tournament by playing, but she can also always rely on their generosity. “This is an amazing community and every year it’s refreshing to get together, especially with everything going on in the world. I just can’t say enough about this community,” she said. “I often think ‘all of these people in the community that have been with us for 20 years. They don’t ask any questions they just write out a cheque, it’s just, wow. I don’t even know how to explain it, it’s just overwhelming, the community support we’ve had for over 20 years.” Outside of the annual ball tournament, Maier is an adjuster 2 with SGI Canada in property claims and can’t wait to become a grandmother. “I’m so excited; I love kids,” she said. Maier also noted the Lori Cra-
Taylor Weaver Meridian Source Photo
Balloons are released to remember lost loved ones during the 2021 Lori Craven Memorial Tournament at Driven Energy Legion Ball Park in Lloydminster.
ven tournament wouldn’t be what it is today without Charlene Jezowski. “Char passed in 2017 and was a
huge part of it and we truly miss her every day and every year. With the tournament, she was huge with that.”
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Knowledge is her secret business sauce
Lindsay Sedgwick Business Owner, Mother, Multi-tasker Failure is not an option. That’s the philosophy that Lindsay Sedgwick takes as the owner-operator of Can-Do Auto & Lube, a family-owned business that provides full-service auto repair and quick-lube service. It’s also her message to other women who aspire to follow in her footsteps.
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“I just think never give up. There’s always going to be those that support you and I think there’s always going to be those that try to criticize or discount your worth,” said Sedgwick. “My message is, to urge you to just keep going anyway because you have a vision for it and others do not.” Her secret sauce for succeeding in what is a male-dominated business is knowledge. “I believe knowledge is power. The more you know, the better you are equipped to handle different situations,” she said. Sedgwick initially realized that when her parents, Gary and Karen Ollen who founded Can-Do in 1984, put her on the payroll as a 16-year-old in 1995. “I had my licence, so I did shuttle service, went for parts, did
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some basic invoicing at the front counter and helped my mom with the books because she did the books back then,” she said. Sedgwick was born and raised in Hillmond, and after graduating from high school, earned a diploma in business administration and marketing management at Mount Royal College and returned to Can-Do. “Basically, I just wanted to show my parents everything I learned in business school since, at that age, I thought I knew everything,” she said. Sedgwick says the idea was to come back for a bit before she decided if she would stay in Lloyd and she never left. “I just got right into the business and the rest is 22-year history,” she said. Along the way, she married
her husband, Tyler, and bought out her parents in retirement in 2017, the year her twin son and daughter were also born. She was no longer the boss’s daughter, but the owner on another learning curve. “I had to trust myself and learn as much as I could about the business and mechanics so I would be taken seriously and not take things personally and always be better equipped to handle different situations to run the business properly,” said Sedgwick. She says being the boss is no different than it was over the years she worked at the business. “I always treated it like it was my company even when I wasn’t an owner, just because it was my family business,” said she. CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
SEDGWICK FROM PAGE 14
Sedgwick says she’s a little “softer around the edges” than her dad about her management style, focused on encouraging communication to fix problems together as a team. “I want it to be a happy, positive environment where everyone feels at ease and can work with each other. I think it shows when you work as a team to outsiders. They feel confident in our work and our business,” she said. Sedgwick also noted she is hands-on in the shop and involved in every aspect of the business, including acting as the head service writer and managing accounting and payroll for 10 employees. Her younger sister, Terri Tindall, is also a service writer with accounting and payroll functions. “I am not afraid to do anything. I do what needs to be done. Whatever it takes. That’s pretty much my life motto,” said Sedgwick.
W h e n i t c o m e s t o t h e o v e rall work/life balance, she says running the business and being a mom of five-year-old twins, there’s no other time left. When possible, she burns off stress at work during noon-hour spin classes at Pure Vibe Studios and has a gym at home. “I try to do the best I can with both. I want to be the best mom I can be, but also I want to give everything to my staff and customers as well,” said Sedgwick.
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Instilling her past into her kids, community
Carly Pollard Boundary Ford Marketing Manager,
Wife, Mother, Community Supporter After being blessed with two beautiful children and proudly playing the role of stay-at-homemom while her husband, Preston, worked, the only way Carly Pollard was getting back into the workforce was if the job had something to do with community. Fast forward to the present date. Liam is eight, Ella is 11, and Pollard finds herself in her dream job as the marketing manager at Boundary Ford and the Boundary Ford Gives Foundation. Prior to working for Boundary, Pollard was the community relations coordinator at Lloydminster Sexual Assault Services for a number of years before moving over to the Lloyd Ex as their events manager. “Prior to LSAS when I was a stay-at-home mom, I worked with Terri Tindall and put on the Chic Showcase in town,” said Pollard,
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who is originally from Saskatoon but has called Lloydminster home for 15 years. “That’s what I did when I was a stay-at-home-mom, and that’s when I started getting that feel for community and how important it was to give back, and to be part of the community. “Putting on the Chic Showcase was a women’s-inspired event that motivated me to get back into the workforce after being a stay-at-home-mom, but it absolutely had to have something to do with the community, working with people. A give-back was a bonus, for sure.” Pollard has been with Boundary for just over a year and through the Boundary Foundation, she has been a part of fundraisers such as Give N Goals in partnership with the Lloydminster Bobcats, where $10,000 was raised and donated to the Lloydminster Interval Home Society to support the community youth centre. The Lloydminster and District United Way was the smiling recipient of $10,000 to support its Seniors Need a Santa, Too, campaign, which gifted $25 Co-op gift cards to 800 area seniors at Christmas time. The Lloydminster Rescue Squad also received over $120,000 throughout 2021 to support the purchase of life-saving and recovery equipment.
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“What I find interesting about this job, and what I love about it is, I’ve always been on the asking end working for non-profits, so it’s interesting to be on the other side,” she said. “To now be a part of this group that has the pleasure of alleviating some of the needs in our community is huge. To me, I couldn’t ask for more, being in this supportive position.” A major part of who Pollard is today stems from her childhood; many of the things she learned growing up are now being instilled in her kids. “To be a community supporter and a community member goes back to who I was raised by, and I wasn’t just raised by a mom and
dad,” she said. It’s been six years since her father passed, but to Pollard, it still feels like yesterday. “Coming from a family of strong people that did everything they could for me and understood compassion and empathy really shaped who I am today.” Pollard also attributes her upbringing to her older siblings, brother Michael and sisters Dana and Heidi. “They were super inspiring to me, I watched them go through University and accomplish so many amazing things. They motivated me to be myself and to never stop searching for what makes me happy,” she said CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
POLLARD FROM PAGE 16
Coming to Lloydminster from a larger centre, Pollard explained she feels Lloyd’s a city with a small-town feel where making connections comes naturally. This sense of community, and what a community looks like, was something she wanted to ensure her kids were familiar with. “I wanted my kids to know what empathy and compassion look like, and to not do things because they’re self-serving, to do it because it feels good, and you don’t need acknowledgment,” she said. “It’s really important to teach my kids what it means to give back without reward. When you see someone, even if you’re in school, and maybe they’re not having the greatest time or great day, there’s always an opportunity to give back. It doesn’t always have to be monetary.” It’s also this sense of giving back
that’s made her role with Boundary Ford that much more rewarding. “When it comes to giving back, I think everyone has a story,” she said. “Seeing people in hard situations, whether it’s working at LSAS or meeting people through Boundary Ford Gives, I think being able to provide compassion and empathy to those in my community is super important. I think it is needed and I think it’s my way of giving back to a community that embraced me when I moved here and got into the workforce. I’m right where I think I need to be.” One important lesson Pollard learned growing up was to never stop chasing your dreams, which she was able to watch her older siblings do. “My dream is to be a community member, give back and be heavily involved in my community. Not for the reward, but for what it’s going to do for generations to come in this community.”
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Road less taken was worth the journey
Larissa Scott Business Owner, Fitness Expert, Mental Health Advocate Six years ago a post-university job landed Larissa Scott in Lloydminster after she completed her bachelor of science in Kinesiology at the U of S. She is now the proud owner and head strength and conditioning coach at GRIT Athletic Performance, a title and career path she didn’t see coming.
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GRIT is located at 5408 51 St. and shares a building with Crossfit Lloydminster. Originally from Melfort, Sask., Scott completed a twoyear diploma in Red Deer before transferring to the U of S. After completing her schooling she got right into the workforce. “I initially wanted to go into physio,” she said. “Right after university I got a job in a physio setting, but I think because I have an athlete background, that’s the one thing I think I missed. The clientele I was working with was more MBAs and workers comp, and I just really wasn’t enjoying it.” From there, Scott moved to Alberta Health, and yet, it still wasn’t what she was looking for. “I started working with Clayto n C ond it ioning while I was
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working with Alberta Health, and that’s when I started working more with athletes, and it all worked out, I guess for the better. The Claytons moved out of Lloyd and they were kind enough to let me rebrand and start my own thing,” she said. The stars kept aligning for Scott as the owner of CuJo Conditioning was planning on taking a step back from the business and she was able to purchase all of their equipment. “So, that’s when I met Scott Noble,” she said. “Scott bought the Crossfit side and that’s where we joined forces. I needed a facility, and we bought all of CuJo’s equipment and went from there.” That was almost three years ago, and despite the hardships of opening a new business just
before a global pandemic, Scott regrets nothing. Just before Scott opened GRIT she actually had another job offer on the table and was having a tough time deciding whether or not to take the “easy route” by accepting the position. “Even my parents, I thought they’d tell me to take the easy route, but they were 100 per cent supportive of me putting it all on the line and starting this,” she said. “At all my other jobs, it wasn’t really filling my cup, it was only filling my bank account.” When she was forced to shut down during the pandemic, Scott realized she wanted this more than she initially thought because it was fulfilling for her. CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life SCOTT FROM PAGE 18
“My main thing is it’s all about the athletes,” she said. “I think I’m a very personable person, and I want to provide the best for our kids. Through COVID, I understood they were going through a lot of diversity, so if we could make anything easier for them, we tried to do that too.” Having started the business just prior to a pandemic, Scott noted things were stressful straight out of the gate, but she wouldn’t change anything since it’s such a rewarding job. “We’re scared to take these big risks, but I think our reward can be a lot bigger.” Scott explained GRIT primarily provides sport-specific training that works with all types of athletes, but mainly hockey players. Her passion for the game also stemmed into an assistant coach-
ing position with the U18 AAA PWM Steelers, a role she’s held for one season. “The year before last I was the assistant coach, but I don’t really count it because we didn’t really have a season due to COVID,” she said. Over the past year, Scott has also played a more active role
when it comes to mental health awareness. “I lost my partner last summer,” she said. “It was a suicide, which is a big thing, and I think last year, with everything going on in the world, everyone had their own battles. CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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SCOTT FROM PAGE 19
“Going back to normal life after that, I found the gym was a safe haven for me, and I think it was because all of our athletes and the community supported me through that time,” she said.
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I find it’s more than a gym, it’s a spot for kids and I’ll have athletes reach out to me if they need a place to go or a place to vent.
“I just wanted to give back as much as I can, and I think working with kids, suicide is a tough conversation to have, but I think it’s also important for them to realize it happens more than you think and that we’re all here for each other.” Not only has Scott been advocating for mental health awareness, but she’s also been doing
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some fundraisers with some of her athletes. “One of our athletes who is a goalie in P.E.I. started a campaign called Saves for Mental Health. So, every time she or one of the other goalies made a save, they had a guy matching donations. I flipped it on the Steelers and told them that for every shot they took I would donate a dollar from then until Christmas,” she said. “I got a handful of local businesses to jump on board and we ended up raising around $1,500 and donated it to Project Sunrise in Lloydminster.” As she previously stated, the gym has become more than a gym, and even more than a safe haven. “The main thing our gym has become, I find it’s more than a gym, it’s a spot for kids and I’ll have athletes reach out to me if they need a place to go or a place to vent, I think that’s the biggest thing I’m proud of with this gym, is that we’re kind of a home.
Eyeglasses empower female owner/staff
Rena Simons Downtown Business Owner, Mother Rena Simons, who owns Heritage Optical downtown, is a big believer in empowerment. She saw what it could mean to make her own decisions for customers during her one year of work for the former business owner in 2008. That led her to buy it in October 2019 when they retired. Looking back, she recalls their
store was so welcoming and family-friendly and the owner could offer customers a discount. She couldn’t work like that in the following 11 years of managing a franchise optical store the way Heritage Optical did and she valued that ability to be flexible. “It just seemed so gratifying that they got to make decisions immediately, the product they wanted to carry, who they wanted to affiliate with and how they wanted to express themselves through their store,” said Simons. As an owner, she has the freedom to make her own decisions and set the store up the way she wants. “I like the environment to be tidy and organized and carry the collections we have. That was important to me,” said stressed. She also renovated the interior in 2021 to freshen the look.
Looking back, she says sometimes working for a chain, the decisions were made for her, but she gathered enough experience over time to know she could be successful as an independent owner. Simons has gone from running the business as the sole employee to four female staffers she is empowering to follow in her own initial footsteps as an apprentice optician. She saw an ad for an apprenticeship to become an optician in the Booster back in 1996, researched it at the library, became an optician at NAIT in 1998 and worked eight more years for a local optometrist. Two of her employees are currently studying at NAIT with one of them set to be licensed this summer. “I empower the girls to make the
decisions that they see best,” said Simons. “I give them access to past clients, so I never want them to feel they need to come to me and say ‘John has bought six times, I want to give him a discount.’” Simons says she empowers them to make the decision at the time it’s best for the customer. “That’s a moving target, but we try for really good repairs and sameday service if possible,” she said. Simons says the number-one thing they do as opticians is to take a prescription from an optometrist and fill it with new eyeglasses. “We discuss their needs, pick the glasses that best suit the prescription. There’s a bit of artistry to help someone pick a frame that suits their personality and look,” she said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
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SIMONS FROM PAGE 21
“It’s a fashion concept as well as functional.” It’s no surprise that about 70 per cent of her customers are women— female optical store owners outnumber men. “It does seem to be more of a ladies’ touch. Women want fashion,” she said. “Even when the men come in, they like a woman’s opinion. They want to know this looks good to us.” Simons says the key skill for an optician is customer service because they are on the retail end of it. She noted NAIT teaches her apprentices how to run the store and all of the logistics involved. Prior to buying Heritage Optical, Simons took an entrepreneurial course through Ethos Career Management Group on things like time management and scheduling. Some of her business functions
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like GST accounting are outsourced since her main role is engaging with retail customers in the store. Nothing she studied prepared her for the shock of COVID and lockdowns shortly after opening the doors—and the local support she received. “People everywhere were just like ‘hey shop with Rena, shop local, go to Heritage Optical.’ I feel like the community was backing me. It was great,” she said. Her way of giving back to customers is her anniversary sale in October. “That really draws the community and gives a thank you back to the community, so our product is discounted,” said Simons. Her business also supports the Kinsmen, minor hockey and ball and Fur-babies. Simon was born and raised in Hillmond and lives in Lloydminster with her partner Owen Bushey and their two sons.
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