Pictured above  Sierra Hammond, Carly Craik, Nikki Brar, and Gagan Ganger

An ambassador is defined as an official envoy or an authorized messenger or representative. Locally, we have a program which offers youth the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to fulfill the role of ambassador for the Town of Oliver. The Oliver Ambassador Program has a mandate to develop youth who will be prepared to become leaders within the community and positive role models for their peers. The skills that the committee focusses on are public speaking, personal presentation, self-confidence and organizational skills. The duties of a local youth ambassador once chosen for a one year term, are two-fold:
1. Working as a volunteer for Town of Oliver, Regional District and Parks and Recreation events, as well as helping local non-profit organizations with their fund-raising and benefit events, and 2. Travelling to other community events to represent the Town of Oliver, tell others about our wonderful town and activities, and encourage people to visit our town. It is now the time of year when the Oliver Ambassador Committee invites youth to become candidates for the role of Oliver Ambassador. Candidacy is a 5-month program of development available to students in Grades 9 – 11; including meetings, workshops, teamwork activities and fund-raising. Candidates also participate in local events as volunteers as an introduction to the duties of Ambassadors. During the final months of the program, candidates prepare for public speaking, interviews and personal presentations which will be evaluated by a panel of judges. On August 24, and 25, the public will have the opportunity to see the results of all their hard work. WHY would you want to be an ambassador? Nikki Brar comments on completing the candidacy program: I am proud of “the strength I gained, and the friendships I’ve made. I could talk in front of a crowd, I didn’t care about what others thought of me, I had a mind of my own, I learned about society and ways of life, but most of all I learned about myself and who I was. There was so much hiding behind me that came to the surface after completing the program.” Ambassador coordinator, Lori Martine, and Candidate coordinator Lisa Kunz along with committee members Joanne Schaffrick, and Bev LeClerc are busy planning for the approaching season and welcome others who may be willing to volunteer time to assist in this rewarding undertaking. Current ambassadors Nikki Brar, Carly Craik, Gagan Ganger and Sierra Hammond will be manning an information booth at Southern Okanagan Secondary School, the week of February 27 to March 2nd, and will set up in the local shopping mall on Saturday, March 3rd. Please stop by to find out more about the program, or follow updates on our blog,

Deadline for candidacy registration is Friday, March 16, with activities beginning the first week of April.

For more information please contact Lori at oliverambassadors@live.ca.

Photo and story submitted by Lori Martine