Two Comox Valley residents are among Vancouver Island’s “Top 20 Under 40.”
The 2018 Top 20 Under 40 Business and Community Achievement Awards took place in Nanaimo last week. The island-wide program recognizes leaders in their chosen fields under the age of 40.
One hundred finalists were announced earlier this year and the top 20 were revealed at a black-tie event on April 21.
The Comox Valley had a strong showing with 10 finalists, including Alyssia Simser, Brendan Somers, Brian Bailey, Chris Becir, Grant Powers, Greg Chadwick, James Flawith, Leah Knutson, Kris Trudeau and Sonia Waring.
Local business owners James Flawith and Kris Trudeau took home hardware, being recognized as two of the “Top 20 Under 40” on Vancouver Island.
Flawith is the vice-president of L’il Worker Safety Gear, a line of clothing for children with reflective strips similar to what construction crews wear. He appeared on the Canadian television show Dragons’ Den last year.
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“I am extremely honoured and humbled to have been selected as a recipient of the 2018 Top 20 Under 40 Business and Community Achievement Awards,” wrote Flawith on his business’s website. “Thank you to Flawith Family President Shannon Flawith and our three awesome Lil Workers for your wicked help and support.”
Trudeau owns Halftone Pixel Website Design and Consulting, which is a Comox Valley-based website design and graphic design firm. She was a finalist in the Top 20 Under 40 in 2013 and 2015, as well.
She is also a novelist, having written Time Shift in 2016.
Finalists and winners are chosen using multiple criteria, including business success and contributions to and involvement in the community. Each nominee must submit supporting information on accomplishments, experiences, and contributions that will be first evaluated by a panel of regional judges, followed by an executive panel.
Regional judges for the Campbell River and Comox Valley region included John Watson, executive director of Comox Valley Economic Society, Don McRae, former MLA for the Comox Valley, and Jeremy Dunn, executive director for the BC Salmon Farmers Association.