My goodness, what a year! As a team, it has been a pleasure to stay connected with you during such an unusual time. We are so grateful for the relationship we have built with you and the opportunity to support you on your financial journey, especially during uncertain circumstances.
It is a great privilege for us to learn about your families and the many highlights of your adventures. Although our experiences were all a little closer to home this year, we thought you might enjoy hearing about our families as well.
From our families to yours, we would like to extend our best wishes for a beautiful holiday season and health, happiness and prosperity for the new year.
Rhonda, Jason, Callum, Owen & Kaia
As a family, we enjoyed many silver linings and blessings this year. With our children growing up (too fast), Jason and I were incredibly thankful for the extra time we had to enjoy each other as a family in our little bubble. We were grateful to move into our new home in February. Sticking close to home also provided us with a welcome opportunity to slow down, get re-acquainted with the Okanagan and get more involved in our community. As a team and family, we connected with the KGH Foundation to volunteer at the Perking Lot. We were proud to support Mamas for Mamas and the Child Advocacy Center in the critical work they are doing in our community, especially during this pandemic. With a Peloton bike now part of our home gym, Jason and I look forward to taking the winter to work on our 2021 fitness goals. If there were ever a year for that, this is the one.
Darren, Trudi & OJ Zalay
Trudi and I enjoyed exploring the Okanagan and camping throughout this year. I also spent a lot of time outdoors, riding my bike and taking advantage of the Okanagan weather.
Kuan, Trang and Ella Ho
Two big things happened to us this year: we finally bought a house in Kettle Valley, and celebrated Ella’s first birthday. This is the first time we have ever owned a house, so it has been a year of “adulting” tasks, like learning how to mow the lawn, plow the driveway and many other home-related chores.
Marnie, Marin & Kaiden Laing
Common experiences for us all this year have included change and overcoming challenges. As my children and I navigated our days at the beginning of COVID-19, we found ourselves becoming more organized at home, getting better at communicating and settling into the idea of “one day at a time.” I’m grateful for my loving family, supportive friends who bring passion to their pursuits, the ability to seamlessly working from home while maintaining a strong connection to our team and clients, and the many positive changes in 2020 that brought us all closer together.
Kait Rihel, AJ & Mabel
2020 was a big year for our family. We left Toronto and relocated to the Okanagan in February. Driving across Canada was a bucket-list item for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We spent most of the year exploring our new home and taking advantage of all the outdoor activities that are now accessible to us. During the winter months, you’ll find us touring the many ski resorts now in our backyard, and actively recruiting our families to make the move to the West coast themselves.
Rossi, Owen, Maggie & Ilo Wiltse
Our family had a great year spending time in our home and neighbourhood. From January to August, I was focused on completing my Family Enterprise Advisor designation, which was a challenging and rewarding experience. Over the summer, we completed a major kitchen renovation and have been loving our updated space. Maggie and I have really enjoyed volunteering at the Perking Lot in KGH, and we look forward to continuing to spend time together volunteering in the New Year. Although all of my races were postponed or cancelled this year, I’ve been fortunate to have a great group of people who continue to run weekly, and I’m looking forward to chasing new time goals in 2021.
Pia, Colin, Tianna, Darian & Bentley Garbutt
2020 was a year full of life lessons! It taught my family and me that it’s okay to take a step back, slow things down and appreciate what is in front of us. “Staycation” was our theme this year, and Colin and I got the opportunity to explore more of what the Okanagan has to offer (even in our bubble), whether it was discovering new hiking trails with Bentley or taking time for us to golf. In exciting news, I am officially a “gramma” to my daughter’s cardigan corgi puppy, Bowie. As we look forward to a new year, let us remember to be kind, live honestly and be the best version of ourselves.
Pam & Wes Wiebe
Projects took centre stage for me this year. When the spring came, we jumped right into our backyard overhaul! It was great to be able to spend the time outdoors, although tricky to get materials, as I don’t believe we were alone in spending time and money on house projects this year. Our summer was spent enjoying our new space with family and friends. We are looking forward to the year ahead and hoping to have the opportunity to do some travelling in next year!
Cynthia & Devon
2020 was just as busy as the previous years, however, it was a different kind of busy! We decided our home needed a refresh and finally started the home renos. The house has a fresh coat of paint from top to bottom, the bathrooms have been tiled and we are once again enjoying that “new home” feeling. Renos aside, we have also been spending lots of quality time with both of our families.
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"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each other’s burdens, easing other’s loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of the holidays." ~ WC Jones