2018/2019 Top Leaders Under 30: Bay of Quinte

Over the past weeks, I have been actively seeking out nominations from within our community to determine who are the “Top Leaders Under 30” in the Bay of Quinte region. To get these nominations, I reached out to the community as a whole and invited them to nominate the deserving young people in their lives.

The criterion was simple: that they be a young person who is working hard and making difference in our community. It was stipulated that there was no requirement to be an entrepreneur but as you’ll see below, most have either dabbled in entrepreneurship, are business owners or have taken risks similar to that of being an entrepreneur.  All of the winners listed below range from young people with name recognition already to those whose names I have no doubt will one day be landmarks in their community.

All endorsements are for the most part as they were received from the nominator(s). Some nominations submitted were a little longer, and some were a little shorter, but all are incredibly poignant.

Without further ado, I present the 2018/2019 Top Leaders Under 30: Bay of Quinte! Get ready to be inspired!

 

Alex Foster 

Age: 27

Location: Quinte West

Who they are: Owner of Glengarry Construction and Glengarry Landscape Innovations.

What makes them a top leader:

He began his construction company, Glengarry Construction, as a landscape architecture and maintenance company (Glengarry Landscape Innovations) through the Government of Ontario’s Summer Company program.

Excelling in the local area, and running out to other counties to branch out with further with his business, Alex Foster belongs on this list as one to continue watching. They support other local businesses and give back to our community!

 

Andrea Buikema

Age: 27

Location: Prince Edward County

Who they are: Owner of A. Buikema Design Co.

What makes them a top leader:

Note: Like Taylor Ramsay last year, the amount of nominations Andrea received this year was staggering. In the end, all of the nominations captured the spirit of this list, so I combined them as best I could.

She has created a successful kitchen and bath design company that operates in the Quinte area (A. Buikema Design Co.). She is also currently working toward getting her red seal certification to become a licensed general carpenter (in a male dominated industry). Andrea complements her construction work by having a sharp eye for design. She has helped many homeowners create the space they desire with her creative talent. Not only is Andrea is a very impressive designer and a skilled carpenter she is an absolute joy to be around. She has such a positive energy and infectious smile she will without a doubt impress anyone she meets.

She was also recently invited to mentor the ‘Girls Can Too’ program at Bolton camp, run by the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority. Throughout the summer they were rebuilding the camp to be an Arts and Culture hub for the community. She ran full day workshops to teach the young girls carpentry skills and get them involved in the trades. That inspired her to create the ‘County Build Club’ which runs weekend workshops for women in the Quinte area that teaches them the skills needed to build projects of their choosing (flower boxes, tables etc.). She continues her personal development by attending conferences, online courses and college classes. She was even invited to a women’s business group course all expenses paid in Bali!

 

Anna Goloshapov 

Age: 27

Location: Brighton

Who they are: Owner of Walnut Grove Daycare, Boarding & Spaw.

What makes them a top leader:

Anna started working at a veterinary clinic and working with rescue during high school. She went from working with animals to rescuing animals to working at a kennel. Anna decided that she wanted to do more. She found a place out in the country that she rented. She opened her own kennel called Walnut Grove. After doing this for a couple of years but still having restrictions on how many dogs she could help, Anna decided to buy some land and open a bigger kennel.

Anna built the kennel herself with friends and family helping. She now has more dogs waiting for their furever home. She has also taken in chickens, turkeys and ducks. The dogs have a large open pen for group play and many trails throughout the land as a walking path. She has done all this with support from friends and family but mostly because it is her dream.

 

Ashley Inglis 

Age: 27

Location: Quinte West

Who they are: Owner/operator of Guapo’s Cantina.

What makes them a top leader:

From her bubbly personality to her incredible food–she is warm, genuine, honest and incredibly hard-working! She was raised in Trenton with her 2 siblings and her parents and has since grown into an incredible entrepreneur. Her business, Guapo’s Cantina, is a satellite “pop-up” restaurant throughout the year (at beloved places such as the Brake Room and Wild Card Brewing Co.), with a permanent location at Keint-He Winery and Vineyards in the Summer. Guapo’s has catered weddings + parties big and small, all the while doing events from Peterborough to Bay of Quinte to Kingston.

She has overcome tremendous adversity and despite the bumps in the road, she has always come out on top. She has decided to make her home and her place of business in Quinte West and we are all very, very proud of her. Her dedication to the culinary trade and supporting her fellow local small business owners is something to be admired! Ashley has also participated in the TMHF Fashion for Foundation two years (2017 and 2018), and was invited as a guest chef, alongside many other amazing women at The Drake Devonshire for International Women’s Day, to celebrate women in our community and worldwide. She has also volunteered for/participated for The G May March for the past two years (October 2017 and 2018) in support of victims of childhood sexual assault and their families. Overall, it is unanimous that she is driven, passionate, and makes the community a better place.

 

Ashley Molino

Age: 30

Location: Belleville

Who they are: Owner of Pampered Bath Essentials and More.

What makes them a top leader:

Ashley works full-time at Quaker in Trenton and September 1st she opened a store at 212 North Front St. in Belleville called Pampered Bath Essentials and More to offer her all natural products she makes in-store to give everyone the opportunity to use healthy handmade all natural products on their bodies. All Recipes are approved through Health Canada. She makes: Bath Bombs, Sugar Scrubs, Lotions, Bath Melts, Creams that works Amazing for Eczema & Psoriasis, Body Wash, Shampoo Bars, Face Mask, Night Cream and, Hemp Bath Bombs. In the future, she will be adding more and more Hemp Products.

She got into making healthy products for the body when her mother went through breast cancer. She started making products just for her mother but then decided to offer her all-natural products to everyone when she saw how her products made her Mother feel and look better. Ashley’s Mother is now a Breast Cancer survivor and her products have helped with her Cancer not returning. She has the lowest prices out there, she doesn’t make these all natural products to get rich, she does it to help everyone get and stay healthy.

 

Ashley Watson 

Age: 25

Location: Quinte West

Who they are: Owner of SweetLegs Trenton with Ashley.

What makes them a top leader:

Ashley launched SweetLegs Trenton with Ashley in July 2017. You can find her at many events through Brighton-Belleville selling SweetLegs leggings, a Canadian company. Her goal and company mantra is “Self Confidence is the best Confidence”. She inspires women of all shapes and sizes to feel comfortable and look beautiful. She has many faithful customers and works so hard to keep her customers happy, and her business growing. She is extremely passionate about the product and cares for each and every customer like family. Ashley always makes sure to make her ladies feel like queens! Ashley is taking her SweetLegs and empowering women of all shapes and sizes to love themselves.

Ashley deserves to be recognized because of her willingness to go the extra mile to make sure her customers are always satisfied. She is an enthusiastic business women and mom of a 3-year old, who takes pride in her work! She has been able to grow her company all from her home, which is incredible! She is an amazing network marketer!

Special note from one of her nominators that smacked me right in the heart: Because of her leggings, as silly as it may sound, I have come out of my depression. I now get excited to get out of bed and choose an outfit for the day. I feel comfortable and not concerned about my appearance what so ever. It’s all because of Ashley’s great customer service and always thriving to make us happy. I’m now not only a happy customer but I now also help her with events and have become quite close. Not only have I gained great clothes, I’ve gained a great friendship.

 

Bobbi McCrae 

Age: 29

Location: Madoc/Belleville

Who they are: Owner of Upstaging Limited North.

Why they are a top leader:

Bobbi deserves to be recognized as she shows drive to improve herself and help others. She has been a fitness coach showing exercise and nutrition and the benefits of staying in shape and feeling good about yourself.

Along with this she has started her own interior design/staging business to help people who want expert advice on improving their home or also in the case of a home sale. She works with one of the local home builders putting her design expertise into their homes. Along with this she is also taking her Real Estate License and is the Mom to two very active twin boys!!

 

Carly Henderson 

Age: 18

Location: Stirling/Belleville

Who they are: Owner of The Scoop.

Why they are a top leader:

Carly purchased the Scoop in Stirling when she was 16 years old. She has such a strong business serving ice cream and milkshakes that she is able to provide seasonal employment for other young people in our community. She has operated it for three summer seasons along with working other jobs. She is a very successful young entrepreneur.

Despite the amount of time and energy that goes into her business, Carly still graduated Quinte Secondary School last June on the honour roll and is still active in sports and community events while she attends Trent University. She puts her heart and soul into everything she does and deserves to be recognized for her hard work!

Carly graduated from Quinte Secondary School as a Ontario Scholar in 2018 and now attends Trent University. Aside from all of these accomplishments, Carly is involved in many community events such as:

• 2018 Paul Paddon trophy for a Life-Long Career through Academics, Athletics and Participation at Quinte
• Annual Quinte Trash Bash
• Belleville’s Special Olympics
• Helped with Belleville Art Summer Camp for Kids
• High school Special Olympics basketball tournaments played, helped coach and referee
• Lower Trent Valley Fish and Game Club Youth Day
• Participated in a Junior Leadership Camp
• Quinte Little Hoops Program for several years
• Quinte Secondary School Grade 9 Day Leader
• Quinte secondary schools cuts for cancer
• Raised $600 for cuts for cancer
• Relay for Life- Quinte Secondary School
• Scoop participated in the Black Diamond Family Picnic
• Stirling Festival Theatre Scavenger Hunt
• Student Voice of Advocacy for keeping Quinte Secondary School open

 

Derek Kulker 

Age: 30

Location: Belleville

Who they are: Business Partner, Doug’s Bicycle.

Why they are a top leader:

Derek is an outstanding community member and young entrepreneur. Many may know him from his work with Doug’s Bicycle, but Derek is very involved in the community both through the business and outside of work.

He heads up Doug’s Bicycle’s Spin for Kids campaign with GoodLife Fitness, donates his time to local trail building efforts, visits local high schools to work with their outdoor education and eco venture classes, and is always looking for new ways to better our community.

 

Krissy Johnston

Age: 30

Location: Belleville

Who they are: Volunteer Fire Fighter with Quinte West Fire Department.

Why they are a top leader:

Krissy is a volunteer fire fighter who took a leave for medical issues, now confirmed PTSD. She also got fired from her full-time job in 2017 as she had so many health issues relating to PTSD that she couldn’t do the work. This all happened before getting diagnosis. I take her to Kingston weekly for her psychotherapist and neurofeedback appointments. Krissy has been doing research and a lot of sewing this past year. She sews weighted sensory items such as blankets, lap pads, scarves and toys. These items help with anything from autism to anxiety to dementia. She finds that helping others is great therapy for her.

She has started to donate baskets full of sensory items to local schools and hopes to continue. We have been doing craft shows and are finding that there is a huge need for this type of product and she wants to do all can to help. She wants to show others how to speak up and get help. She is the strongest person I know, as she fights for her life every single day. She us slowly learning how to live with PTSD but is so hard on her family, husband, 2 small boys and step daughter.

 

QUINTE, GIVE IT UP FOR OUR TOP LEADERS UNDER 30!!