Margaret Meade tells us to “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Over the past six years with Accelerate Okanagan, I have had the privilege of working with an incredibly talented team of individuals—witnessing first-hand the power and impact of our combined commitment. 

With the year coming to a close, I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge two long-standing team members who are celebrating milestone work anniversaries. Sara Scott is celebrating 5 years and D’arcy Schaerer is celebrating 10 years with Accelerate Okanagan. Both of these incredible team players continue to bring creativity, high energy, and unwavering commitment to their roles here at AO. There is not a doubt in my mind that our community would not be the same without them.

Before joining the AO Team, Sara spent over five years working in Guest Experience with Disney Interactive while balancing her passion for event management. Sara’s deep roots within the OKGNtech community combined with her strategic skills and rigorous attention to detail make her an invaluable member of our team. Born and raised in Kelowna, she is also an excellent tour guide for the Okanagan. 

A highly motivated self-starter with strong analytical, communication and interpersonal skills, D’arcy has worked with diverse groups of people throughout her career. Her experience in project coordination, supervision, and office management with the likes of seismic jug hounds, archaeologists, paleontologists, railcar buffs and condo consultants gives her all the skills she needs to work with this diverse group of techies. D’arcy treats all of our OKGNtech community like family and that kind of love and caring nature is what makes her such an invaluable member of our team! 

We’ve all heard the adage “teamwork makes the dream work”, but teamwork is not an inherent by-product of hiring colleagues, it can be quite elusive. In my experience, the key to building a strong team lies in developing shared values. At Accelerate Okanagan, one of these values is the collective understanding that we are, in fact, better together.  

 Congratulations to Sara and D’arcy on these service anniversaries and cheers to the next chapter!