Meet 2018's third batch of 10 Future 40 winners

CBC Saskatchewan is celebrating 40 Sask. people under age 40 who are working hard to make the province better.

From Monday, Nov. 12 to Thursday, Nov. 15, CBC Saskatchewan is announcing 10 of 2018's Future 40 winners each day.

Meet some of this year's winners at the 2018 CBC Saskatchewan Future 40 Gala:

The submissions below are written by the nominators. They have been edited for length and clarity.

Jeanny Buan

Jeanny is the reigning Mrs. Canada Worldwide who was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in an International Pageant for her work geared toward empowering women through livelihood and youth through education.

She is the owner and creative director of the first Filipino-Indigenous fashion brand in Western Canada, Viahera, as well as Mylynh Bridal.

She has partnered with Aspect Advanced Speaking Centre, the first-ever English school in Raha, Indonesia. The school allows young girls the opportunity to learn English. As of today, she has helped over 200 girls.

In addition, the women who are ethically creating her eco-friendly bags are victims of the most disastrous calamity in the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan, who are still weaving their lives back together.

Ricky Forbes

Entrepreneur, community leader, volunteer, and professional storm chaser are a few hats Ricky Forbes wears. A Saskatchewan native, Ricky is the driver for one of North America's top professional storm chasing teams and star of the TV show Tornado Hunters on Netflix.

When not on the road chasing storms and adventures, Ricky is back home in Saskatoon where he stays busy as a co-owner at Blue Moose Media, a social media training and consulting agency.

A strong believer in giving back, Ricky volunteers for many worthy causes in Saskatchewan, including being a big brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters, MC for STARS Ryde the Hangar, participant with Sanctum Survivor and his recent announcement to be a contestant in Swinging with the Stars for the Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation.

Ricky is a positive role model to many across North America, volunteers his time to local charities and has helped build a successful business in Saskatchewan.

Karen Gaudry

Karen Gaudry just won the title of Mrs. Native America Globe 2018 in Palm Springs, CA on June 16, 2018. With her title she will be heading to China on November 20 to compete for the title of Mrs. Globe.

Karen is also the Vice President of Lupus SK Society Inc., a non-profit organization that provides support for those affected by lupus through understanding, education, public awareness and research. She volunteers at the annual lupus walk and at fundraisers.

She also volunteers at various events with her daughter Kayde (such as CIBC's Run For The Cure and the Small But Mighty Gold Walk). Karen is also the director for Royal Saskatchewan Pageantry, a group that prides itself on family, philanthropy and bringing out the best in each contestant.

Eric Anderson

Eric Anderson is an incredible communicator, and he takes great joy in meeting new people and bringing communities together. Whether it's through his job as Communications Leader at Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon, or through his podcast YXE Underground, Eric takes great pride in telling the stories of remarkable people doing incredible things.

Eric started the YXE Underground podcast to showcase cool stories from people in Saskatoon who are making a positive impact in their community, but who are flying under the radar. Since it's launch in early September of 2018, Eric has produced and released five YXE Underground episodes, and in total YXE Underground has been downloaded or streamed by nearly 2,000 listeners. This is just the start for YXE Underground.

Eric has many plans for future episodes. Eric also sits on the board of VOID Art Gallery in Saskatoon, and he is currently working on a podcast showcasing the positive contributions of community members in North Battleford.

Kristy Thienes

The brains and beauty behind Harvest Eatery, located in Shaunavon, Kristy is not only the co-owner but also the graphic designer, social media manager and full-time restaurant manager of the award-winning restaurant in rural Saskatchewan.

Originally from White Rock, BC, Kristy relocated here several years ago with her husband, Garrett, to open the restaurant of their dreams. Now in its fifth year, Harvest continues to defy expectations of what a small town restaurant should be. It has become a tourist destination in its own right, bringing life and energy back into the small town.

Not content with just one project, Kristy has put her graphic design skills to use to help build and brand other local companies and just recently she turned a small contract position as the town of Shaunavon's social media manager into a part-time position as the Economic Development Officer so that she can continue to help the community and surrounding areas to grow and prosper.

Her love for the prairies and its beauty shows through in her social media posts. One need only visit the town's Facebook page or any of the restaurant's social media sites to see her engaging work, which has helped to raise the visibility of both her business and the community it operates in.

Jefferson Wourms

Jefferson has been a leader in the LGBTQ2A community for over three years.

He was the Vice-President for the Gay and Lesbian Community of Regina (GLCR) and is a Director on the board for Carmichael Outreach Inc.

Jefferson is the owner of the event coordination company, Jefferson Presents, and has coordinated multiple successful fundraisers for non-profit organizations on a volunteer basis, including the sell-out success High Heels & High Hopes — a Gala supporting the relocation of Carmichael Outreach into their new building, as well as Ride for Pride Home, a spin-a-thon supporting Saskatoon's LGBTQ2A youth and Welcome To The Club, a fundraiser for the GLCR.

Jefferson has also worked with other not-for-profit organizations including the Government House Foundation, where he coordinated the organization's most recent event Building our Foundation, a re-launch event raising funds for the maintenance and enhancement of the national historic site in Regina.

Jennilee Cardinal-Schultz

Jennilee is the founder of Green Tree Beauty, a conscious Saskatoon company with clients across North America. With both a physical location as well as an online shop, GTB curates natural, cruelty-free, and sustainable cosmetics and personal care products.

She believes strongly in giving back and therefore committed to planting a tree for every GTB product sold. In 2017 she led a team of volunteers in planting 3000 trees in Northern Sask. 

Instead of a marketing budget, she chooses to allot time and resources to donating to dozens of community organizations and fundraisers including Saskatoon Pride Festival, AIDS Saskatoon, The Princess Shop and more. In its two years in business, GTB has seen tremendous growth, recently launching a sustainable fashion department.

Despite her hectic schedule, Jennilee still finds time to share her knowledge with anyone and everyone (the girl can talk your ear off) and mentor others in the beauty industry as it is important to her to build community over competition. Incredibly stubborn, her integrity and passion to lead in business and entrepreneurship with kindness and care never wavers.

Kevin Chow

Kevin Chow, co-founding partner of Rawry & Pohly, is one of Saskatchewan's most prolific artists.

The company's motto, "celebrate your inner child," captures the essence of childhood nostalgia, employing the modern techniques of stylistic minimalism and pop-art. As a company, Rawry & Pohly's calculated use of medium, hand-painted canvases, and shared cultural icons as subject matter, showcase Chow's ability to grant the viewer a piece of their childhood mirrored back at them - and for a brief and glorious moment - set them free in the living memory of their youth.

Kevin has traveled throughout Canada and the U.S. sharing his artistic vision and begging the question: what is art but the characters of our childhood imaginings? He has negotiated the same space as many other contemporary artists and presented an unabashed and multifaceted approach to returning the viewer to a place of childhood vulnerability.

The name Rawry & Pohly derives from the name of his childhood teddy bear, Pohly, (which he carries with him) and his co-founding partner and wife's teddy bear, Rawry, a bear of the same exact model. The wit and humour present in the art is well-received and commended. He has, as of today, sold over 5,000 pieces of traditional, hand-painted art worldwide.

Jacqueline Hoffman

Jacqueline Hoffman has made such a tremendous impact on the province of Saskatchewan.

She sat on the Friends of Leipzig board for three years and spearheaded the Randall Leipzig non-profit fundraiser, highlighting sobriety within the community, as well as showcasing local talent. In 2016, she took over as CEO of the Leipzig Serenity Retreat and re-branded it Prairie Sky Recovery Centre where she has seen amazing growth.

She has since continued renovations, stabilized the finances, and developed 8 new (much-needed) programs. This centre is the largest employer in the Landis, Sask. area, employing over 20 people. She currently sits on the 300 Fisher Parent committee for Cadets as well as the Biggar Gymnastics board, while still continuing her work with Prairie Sky helping people achieve sobriety.

She recently won the 2018 BBB Torch award for Ethics, and was nominated for the Priority of Focus Abex award.

Michelle Brass

Michelle Brass is deeply committed to the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples and communities and a passionate leader on issues of food sovereignty, climate change, and Indigenous health and wellness. She is a member of Yellow Quill First Nation and resides on Peepeekisis First Nation with her husband and son.

Michelle is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur and coach. Michelle is on the steering committee for Indigenous Climate Action, a national organization that inspires action for climate justice by supporting Indigenous communities to build power and drive solutions to climate change. Michelle is currently organizing and hosting climate change workshops in Saskatchewan First Nations' communities.

She is tackling the most vital issues of our time and ensuring that Indigenous voices and knowledge are front and centre. She is channeling the wisdom of traditional practices and knowledge, which carry the kinds of relationships to the land and each other that are needed to solve today's wicked problems. Please check out her recent contributions to the Just Transitions summit in Regina published by the CBC.