post archives
Not many people can say they fly themselves to work in the morning then home again when the day is done. Barry Delaney can.
First West’s senior vice-president, lines of business strategy, bagged his full commercial pilot’s license two years before his driver’s, and the latter was only because his dad got tired of ferrying the teenager to the airport.
Barry, now 47, has been flying for over 30 years—and such is his passion that the family home is located...
No matter the industry, it all about listening and serving
It’s another sunny Sunday afternoon in the Okanagan and after another marathon week, Jackie Baron, First West’s senior vice-president of governance and corporate strategy, is finding some quality downtime with one of her best friends—her acoustic guitar.
“Playing guitar relaxes me,” says Jackie. “Maybe it’s because it reminds me of my first job. You know,...
Never-quit attitude takes former teller to the president’s chair
There’s something disarming about first meeting Shelley Besse. Maybe it’s the kindness in her voice or her down-to-earth demeanor. But it’s more likely the sense that this forty-something credit union star already has more than a lifetime of experience.
“Everyone has those pivotal moments, those life events that shape their future,” shares the new president of...
“Treat people fairly and give people the right opportunities.” It’s a recurring phrase for Paul von Saarn. He wants to bring out the best in people and situations, and it’s what he does everyday in his roles as senior vice-president of enterprise risk management and chief credit officer at First West. If he wasn’t helping fund today’s go-getters and entrepreneurs in B.C., he’d likely be in Ghana, assisting credit unions there like he did as a mentor...
As an eight-year-old, Shawn Neumann remembers going down to the local Clearbrook Credit Union branch to open a savings account.
“My grandfather was one of the founders of Clearbrook Credit Union,” says Shawn. His grandfather was account #4 at the credit union, which would grow into First Heritage Savings and Envision credit unions, eventually becoming First West Credit Union. Shawn deposited his first few dollars in 1980 and he’s been a member ever since.
With...
New generation of women entrepreneurs ready to grow small business into big business
Out of necessity or passion, women throughout history have been active entrepreneurs. In Canada today, it’s reported that up to 50 per cent of small businesses are women-owned. But as plentiful as women-led small businesses may be, there are challenges. A 2009 University of Ottawa survey sums it up like this: women-owned businesses are “significantly smaller, less...
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