Resourceful scientist, adventuring entrepreneur, pioneering playwright among latest Sask. CBC Future 40 winner
2020 CBC Future 40 winners announced Dec. 2 to 6
Meet 10 more winners of 2020's CBC Future 40. Each day from Dec. 2 to 6 we'll announce another batch of finalists.
This lot includes a resourceful scientist, an adventuring entrepreneur, a pioneering playwright, a caring queen and many other amazing Saskatchewan folks who are striving to make the province the best it can be.
The finalists were chosen from a larger pool of nominees by a panel of judges composed of CBC Future 40 alumni.
All of the nominations below were written by members of the public and have been edited for length and clarity. Additionally, CBC provided all finalists with the opportunity to respond to their CBC Future 40 win in a questionnaire. Select answers from these appear below.
Adrianne Vangool
Category: Business, Entrepreneurship and Economy
Age: 35
CBC: How does what you do make a difference in our community?
Adrianne Vangool: My intention with Vangool Wellness was always to be more than just a clinic. I wanted to create a safe place for people to heal and come as they are. An inclusive space to move through injury and trauma.
During COVID, especially, we've worked really hard to support people mentally, emotionally and physically through our online programs and therapy services, while providing in-person as we can. I think we've made a small difference in our community by helping to create a place to gather to move, connect and stay well.
Adrianne's nomination: Adrianne's passion is making physiotherapy and yoga accessible to all so they can improve their lives by achieving their health and movement goals. She is a licensed physical therapist and yoga instructor, and owns a business where she leads a team of wellness practitioners.
After opening a successful new clinic location in fall of 2019, Adrianne had to work tirelessly during the start of COVID-19 to ensure the health and safety of her patients and employees. This included making the difficult decision to close her clinic the week before it was mandated.
She quickly figured out how to continue providing services to her patients through virtual physio appointments and online yoga classes. By maintaining these client relationships during the shutdown, the clinic reopened strongly and has had a successful 2020 in spite of the pandemic.
Adrianne continues to work hard to grow her team and find innovative ways to deliver her services, and has begun providing teacher training to help expand the reach of chair yoga. Recently she has also started a podcast to help those in need of coping mechanisms to deal with these difficult times. During her career as a high-performance U of S Huskies pole vaulter she spoke to young girls to promote health, sport and wellness, and she continues to advocate strongly for women's health.
Adrianne is a mother to two young kids and in her spare time volunteers as a pole vault coach with the Running Wild athletics club, and as a member of the Reconciliation Saskatoon Business Action Group.
Ben Borne
Category: Business, Entrepreneurship and Economy
Age: 31
CBC: What does it mean to be acknowledged for your endeavour?
Ben Borne: To be acknowledged for my endeavour validates the path I am on. I have many aspirations as I grow my business and grow who I am professionally and personally. For example, I'll be taking on a master's degree next year with research interests that will be very beneficial to my work and to me personally.
I think this acknowledgement erases any doubt I have about what I am doing and where I am headed in the coming years.
Ben's nomination: Ben has a true passion for communications and building relationships and it shines through in the work he does in our community.
When I first met Ben, I was immediately drawn to his energy. He has been an active board member of the International Association of Business Communicators Saskatoon for several years and has taken the organization to a new level, hosting the first CommuniCon to bring together communications professionals to share ideas, network and learn from each other.
As a member of Yellow Quill First Nation, Ben also champions a focus on Indigenous issues and reconciliation. He co-hosts a podcast called Reconcile: Everyday Conversations, in which he tackles conversations among non-Indigenous Canadians around their role in reconciliation. He is quickly becoming an expert in Indigenous community consultation.
Ben is Canada's first self-identified Indigenous certified communication management professional. Ben is passionate about learning and growing, and has been accepted to complete his Master of Arts in Professional Communication with a desire to focus on effective communication and engagement strategies used in corporate consultations with Indigenous communities.
Ben also has a strong entrepreneurial spirit. In the midst of the pandemic, he and his longtime friend and colleague launched Symmetry PR, a boutique firm of award-winning communications professionals. I am proud to have worked professionally with Ben and to also call him a friend. I can think of nobody that would be more deserving of recognition as a future leader in Saskatchewan.
Candice Evans-Waite
Category: Business, Entrepreneurship and Economy
Age: 36
CBC: What does it mean to be acknowledged for your endeavour?
Candice Evans-Waite: I feel proud to make the cut!
Being a role model has always been important. I want young entrepreneurs to take the leap and go after that idea and work hard to make your dream your reality. I thought this business up from a hospital bed and don't know if I could ever bring it to life and the moment I felt strong enough to do so there is no turning back.
Candice's nomination: Candice, a proud Métis mom from Buffalo Narrows, is the definition of tenacity and has no fear. After fighting cancer for 4 years and beating it, she came out stronger and started her dream business smack dab in the middle of COVID.
From the shores of northern Saskatchewan, in summer 2020, The Local Adventure Co. came to life. It's a kayak rental business that takes customers out of their comfort zones and into rivers and lakes in their area. It has a strong focus on the positive effects of being in nature and taking on the challenge at hand.
Most customers become friends and tourists in their own hometowns. Candice has also teamed up with the local airlines to offer flyover town tours.
Candice gives back by offering free rentals to youth in her community and was honoured to send a plane full of first-time flyers out this summer with the help of a generous donation. Candice developed her own brand, policies and marketing plan along with a WaterSafe program for young people and hopes to open these services up to more communities and First Nations.
She has an education background in recreation and community development with her heart in the right place. This is just the beginning of a great career in business and she is shining a great light on tourism in the North.
Markus Brinkmann
Category: Technology
Age: 34
CBC: Tell us the moment you realized your work was successful.
Markus Brinkmann: In the summer, when case numbers were low and we started generating the first results, we really had no idea where this whole research endeavour would lead us.
I remember well seeing the first notable increase of traces of the virus in wastewater. We were puzzled, as case numbers were still low at that time. But when we started seeing a marked increase in new cases in the following week, I knew that this could be a gamechanger.
Markus's nomination: Markus is a stellar new faculty member and toxicologist in USask's Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS). Born and raised in Germany, he and his family moved to Saskatoon in 2016. He came for the outstanding research environment and stayed for his love of the city, the province, and its warm and friendly people.
One of his key goals is to conduct world-class research to improve environmental quality for everybody in Saskatchewan. His research encompassed projects focusing on stormwater contamination in Saskatoon and water quality in the South Saskatchewan River.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, Markus could not stand the idea of watching it unfold from the sidelines. He wanted to be part of the solution and started looking for ways in which he could contribute.
He became aware of research that showed that COVID-19 trends could be tracked through quantifying traces of the virus in wastewater. Intrigued by the idea, Markus assembled a team of scientists from the University of Saskatchewan and reached out to the city to begin monitoring Saskatoon's wastewater. Since the inception of the project, Markus and his team have continued to gaze into the "sewage crystal ball" to provide Saskatonians with regular updates and accurate predictions of upcoming increases in new COVID-19 cases.
Markus exemplifies USask's slogan, "be what the world needs," and helps the city and the province prepare for the sustained impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nahanni Olson
Category: Education
Age: 37
CBC: How does it feel to know you're succeeding?
Nahanni Olson: It is hard for me to feel successful because I am working toward a goal that feels so unattainable at times. But when I look at the steps in between graduation, student engagement, feelings of safety and acceptance, finding connection with culture and identity, and even just knowing that our Indigenous kids have someone they know they can talk to, this is where I feel successful.
When I see kids in my school taking advantage of leadership opportunities, sharing their experiences in classes, sharing their knowledge and expertise in class, it is an incredible feeling. But I don't see it as my success, I see it as their success. I am so proud of them. I grew up as an urban kid with no connection to my culture. The successes of these young people in turn provide me healing and strength to keep going.
Nahanni's nomination: Nahanni Olson is an advocate, an educator and, most importantly, is raising up Indigenous youth through self-empowerment.
Nahanni was raised in Treaty 6 and is a member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation. Her family has overcome the legacy of Canada's residential schools and she was raised by a fourth-generation survivor.
Nahanni channeled her lived experience into her work and brings with her a wealth of wisdom and experience in the area of advocacy and understanding the needs of Indigenous children and youth. Nahanni has taught in community — or inner city/core neighbourhood — public schools since 2008. She was a key contributor to the development of the Cree language and Culture program at the wâhkôhtowin School. Four years ago, she became the first Indigenous Student Advocate at Bedford Road Collegiate Institute and has developed this position from its inception.
Nahanni has demonstrated through her leadership and her passion for Indigenous identity and culture that Indigenous academic excellence is achievable when systemic barriers are addressed and students are supported. In her work, Nahanni has empowered student voice through the creation of spaces for Indigenous youth to participate and share their experiences through the Indigenous Student Council and the onethunderousvoice.com e-journalism project.
She also connects youth to culture. When the pandemic shut down schools in March, she created an online group called "Beading is medicine" to keep youth engaged.
Nahanni exemplifies excellence and resiliency at work and at home as a mother of three. She is Indigenous empowerment: past, present and future.
Rachel Drew
Category: Business, Entrepreneurship and Economy
Age: 33
CBC: What's your hope for Saskatchewan as we battle together against COVID-19?
Rachel Drew: My hope is that we remember kindness. Kindness toward ourselves and others. A quote that I find fitting during this uncertain time is to remember, "we are not all in the same boat, but we are all in the same storm." Be kind.
Rachel's nomination: Rachel Drew is one of the smartest, most driven, successful and ingenious people I've ever met.
She is a great entrepreneur. She owns and operates a safety consulting company called Farside Safety that serves many local businesses.
In the midst of running this business Rachel used her ingenuity to start a business in the tech field. She founded and launched Cadence, a digital final documents service. She participated in Co-Launch, a tech start-up contest that awarded her first place and $10,000. She pours endless hours into Cadence now and hopes to see it launch shortly.
Rachel is intelligent. She got into law school at the U of S in 2019 and completed her first year with great marks. Rachel is compassionate. She has volunteered with prairie hospice for years now and spends nearly every weekend volunteering with the elderly. Hospice care is something that Rachel values highly and happily gives her time to.
Rachel loves her family. She has two young girls and a husband who adore her. She has a loving heart and is always spending time with her girls and husband when she is taking a break from running companies, studying the law or volunteering.
Accomplishments are something you won't hear Rachel bragging about. She is humble and one of the kindest souls you'll ever meet. She is an absolute gem of a human being, and I can't think of someone who deserves to be honoured more than her.
Logan Martin-Arcand
Category: Arts, Culture and Entertainment
Age: 26
CBC: How does what you do make a difference in our community?
Logan Martin-Arcand: I am making a difference in our community by creating space where there's been no space before. I want society's most marginalized to have a voice and a say in what goes on in the world around us. And most importantly, I want to be heard.
Logan's nomination: Logan Martin-Arcand is a Queer Indigenous playwright, producer, designer, actor, and advocate for human rights and representation. He is the founder of Sexual Spacewalk Theatre, a company dedicated to bringing diverse storytelling to a prairie landscape, including The Politics of Happiness, which he co-wrote, starred in, and produced at the 2018 Saskatoon Fringe.
His most recent play, The Gay Card, toured prairie-made Queer theatre to the international stage at the FRIGID Festival in New York City last year and was a part of the Art Apart livestream series by the National Theatre School of Canada. He was also the costume designer of Reneltta Arluk's critically-acclaimed Pawâkan Macbeth with Akipik Theatre.
He currently lives on Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon, where he has been one of the influential leaders of the many conversations regarding problematic racism harming BIPOC artists in the greater Canadian theatre community. His anti-racist advocacy and hard work alongside several other BIPOC artists led to a community inquiry into the structural systems at Persephone Theatre, including a recent change in their leadership.
Logan holds a BFA Honours degree in Design and Acting from the University of Saskatchewan, and is currently working toward his Bachelor of Education.
Lenore Maier
Category: Arts, Culture and Entertainment
Age: 36
CBC: What does it mean to be acknowledged for your endeavour?
Lenore Maier: It feels really wonderful. I don't often receive feedback from others so this is a welcome surprise.
It's particularly important for me to listen to those whose voices are systemically silenced. That's where the real acknowledgement comes from.
Lenore's nomination: Lenore Maier is a community arts organizer and musician. As the Technical Director at PAVED Arts (an artist-run centre in Saskatoon) Lenore coordinates workshops, manages membership development, fosters community partnerships, and has also programmed and facilitated several artistic workshops and camps designed to serve underrepresented youth.
She is a long-time active organizer with Girls Rock Saskatoon — in particular the All Grown Up! rock camp — and is also a long-time host on community radio station CFCR, most recently as co-host of the station's first show centring women and non-binary musicians (Hysterio!).
When she isn't making music as drummer for surf-rock band The Garrys, or via her solo ambient project Ursa, she is working with musicians in Saskatoon and beyond to organize shows, write grants and book tours, and always does so with a consideration for fair artist compensation, economic sustainability, and de-mystifying the channels of music industry access.
She is the head organizer behind the Manitou Boogaloo, a massively successful and growing music festival held at Manitou Beach, Sask., and is also the co-founder of Saskatoon record label and show promoter, Grey Records. In her event and concert planning work, Lenore is a mindful and vocal proponent of booking and venue practices that foster diverse representation, inclusivity and safer spaces for all attendees.
She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in public health and constantly looking for innovative ways to make the arts a central and vital part of a larger vision for community health and wellness.
Terry Van Mackelberg
Category: Arts, Culture and Entertainment
Age: 39
CBC: How does what you do make a difference in our community?
Terry Van Mackelberg: The funds I raise provide a safe place for displaced LGBTQ2S+ youth. Knowing that our youth have a safe place to be their true authentic selves, are loved and know that they are welcome is what is most important.
Terry's nomination: Terry is a selfless, dynamic and fierce advocate for the LGBTQ2S+ community. As a drag artist, Flo Mingo, based in Regina, he has dedicated his work to LuLu's Lodge in Regina, Sask., which provides a safe residence for LGBTQS+ youth who have been displaced from their homes due to living their authentic lives. Through this work he has raised thousands of dollars for the John Howard Society and has spread awareness, education and light across North America.
Terry himself has had a difficult (but not rare) journey to live his authentic life and works tirelessly to ensure no one else has to choose between love and safety or their true self. Terry's passion, hard work and fabulous approach is what makes our community unequivocally brighter.
Rimara Smallboy
Category: Bright Lights (under 18)
Age: 14
CBC: Tell us the moment you realized your work was successful.
Rimara Smallboy: I feel that our community was brought together by simple gestures that made others in our community also to be kind. I never advertised or told others about the posters I hung to thank the Prince Albert Police, I just did it. The hundreds of positive comments shows that one good deed had others responding in a positive way.
Usually police are put down, insulted and not appreciated. This time everyone was positive toward them.
Rimara's nomination: Rimara is 14-years-old. She has volunteered to feed the homeless and has powwow danced for virtual positive community programs, bringing happiness to the world. She has recently made posters and hung them outside the Prince Albert police station and fire department wishing them well, as some have COVID-19. She told them our community is behind them and went viral across Canada.
Rimara is very community-oriented, always caring about her community. She dances as a fancy dancer, praying for the community, and for those affected with COVID-19. She smudges and prays for safety for all. She is planning another project to support our local emergency response teams to show she is thinking of them and for our community to come together.
Rimara always has ideas and puts them into action to make her community happy and spread positive vibes. She prays and wears her ribbon skirts to honour and model caring and respect. COVID-19 is a time to bring people together, no matter their race, money or colour. It's important for her to get her community to be positive and that's exactly what she does by spreading beautiful, amazing positive messages.