Entrusted to govern, and committed to the mission.

Peter was born and raised in Vancouver and graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1973 with a Bachalor of Arts Degree majoring in Commerce and Economics. Upon graduation, Peter joined Royal Bank Financial Group, promoted to a number of positions in both administration and credit until leaving in 2001.

In October 2001, Peter was appointed as Vice President Business Development, Western Canada for RBC Capital Markets Asset Based Lending, a division of Royal Bank Financial Group. Peter was responsible for development of the Bank’s Asset Based lending portfolio for both existing and non Royal Bank clients located between Victoria and Winnipeg.

Peter retired from RBC in December 2008 and focused on his love of meeting and enabling people to meet their goals. He became a Marriage Commissioner for the Province of British Columbia, and found it very gratifying help couples plan a marriage ceremony that is uniquely theirs and hold personal meaning. After 10 years, in 2021, Peter retired from the Marriage Commission.

Peter has a long legacy of volunteer leadership. He is a three time Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, Past President Rotary Club of Osoyoos, Past President Rotary Club of Abbotsford, Past Member and Board Member: Northwest Turnaround Management Association and Past Member Association for Corporate Growth, Vancouver Chapter.

In 2003, Peter and his wife Ilene moved to Osoyoos and shortly after joined the SOS Medical Foundation Board, becoming Board Chair in June 2019. Apart from his love of helping others and serving the community, Peter can frequently be found on the golf course or cruising the Southern Interior in his motorhome. Peter has 3 children residing in Kamloops, Vancouver and London England respectively, and is the proud grandfather of 2 beautiful grand-daughters in Kamloops.

Lorraine has served the SOS Medical Foundation Board since 2017. She was a Registered Nurse, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing and a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership. Lorraine was born in Winnipeg, moved to Edmonton to work in Intensive Care and became the manager of several nursing units before she was 30 years old. In 1986, Lorraine and her husband moved to Penticton as she accepted the post of Director of Nursing then advanced her career as Administrator of acute community and residential care in the South Okanagan until 2012.

Following her retirement, Lorraine joined the Health Professions Review Board and Hospital Appeal Board for the province of BC. These days, you will find Lorraine golfing, volunteering at the Penticton Seniors Center and during the COVID pandemic, volunteering at the Penticton COVID vaccine clinic. Lorraine sits on the Foundation’s Governance and Board Development Committee, and sits on the Development and Profile Committee, and is one of the Foundation’s representatives on the Care Closet Committee.

As the Executive Director, Clinical Operations for the South Okanagan, Madeleine is a seasoned healthcare leader with 25 years of progressive leadership experience. Madeleine’s clinical and leadership experience spans acute, community and long term care, which is a key asset to the South Okanagan portfolio. She has spent most of her career in public health care administration working in the lower mainland with the different health authorities, and before joining the South Okanagan, was a leader within the Fraser Health Authority.  She was born and raised in the greater Vancouver area, and with her husband they spent many busy years raising two boys. Madeleine holds a Masters of Education, Adult and Higher Education as well as a Bachelor of Science, Occupational Therapy, both from the University of British Columbia. She is a compassionate, patient-centered and innovative leader who promotes a collaborative approach. When not immersed in work, Madeleine can be found hiking, training on her road bike or golfing.

Mark is a Senior Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager with Bowland Wealth Management Group of CIBC Wood Gundy in Penticton. Born and raised in Richmond, BC, Mark spent his youth developing his entrepreneurial skills in his family’s business. He went on to own and operate a successful retail business before finding his passion for finance and the desire to help others achieve their goals. This passion, led him to the world of wealth management where, since 2005, he has excelled at building trusted client relationships that focus on achieving financial peace of mind.

As an active member of the community, Mark spent several years coaching district soccer, managing his son’s hockey teams and participating in a variety of charity events annually. Mark is a proud father of four children and currently resides in Penticton with his wife and their two teenagers. In his leisure time, you can find Mark on a golf course, at the rink or adventuring with his family and their pup Sam. Mark serves as the Chair of the Development and Profile Committee.

Gar grew up in Courtenay BC. He attended the University of British Columbia in the Faculty of Dentistry. Upon graduation in 1977 he and his wife, Barb moved to the Penticton area where he established a successful dental practice and enjoyed caring for his patients until retiring in 2018. He valued giving back to his community & making lifelong friendships as a member of the Penticton Skaha Rotary Club. In 2009, Gar joined the Agur Lake Camp Society and served as Head of the Building Committee for 5 years.

Gar and Barb made Summerland their home where they raised three successful children who have blessed them with 5 grandchildren. You can find this family outdoors golfing, riding bikes, motorcycling, skiing and generally living life to the fullest.

Gar is a Director on the SOSMF Board and sits on the Finance Committee as Portfolio Investments Liaison.

Tara is the Regional Manager Commercial Banking at Valley First a division of First West Credit Union.  Specializing in commercial lending, Tara works with small and medium sized businesses providing advice in all aspects of their banking needs, including both growth and working capital solutions. She enjoys building relationships with her clients and helping them reach their financial goals. Tara began her career in banking in 2000 and in 2005 transferred to Penticton. Tara and her husband decided to raise their family in Penticton and have happily lived here ever since. Tara was raised in the small farming community of Morrin, Alberta, with a population of only 240.  In this rural setting, she learned the importance of community and at a young age, fostered a commitment to giving back to the community in which she lives.  Tara has been a member of the SOS Medical Foundation Board since 2018 and she is serves as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee.

Dr. Little is a general internist at Penticton Regional Hospital. He was born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland where he completed his B. Sc. Hon and M.D at Memorial University. He then moved to the west coast to complete the Internal Medicine Residency Program and General Internal Medicine Fellowship Program at The University of British Columbia. He also undertook further training at McGill University in cardiac echocardiography at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

Dr. Little is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UBC in the Division of Community Internal Medicine and associate member of the Division of Critical Care. He is committed to improving the quality of medical education at Penticton Regional Hospital. He has developed a bedside teaching curriculum for the Family Medicine Residency Training program as well as created learning opportunities through the newly implemented General Medicine Assessment Clinic. Beginning in 2022 he will be the primary investigator in the South Okanagan for a clinical trial looking at a new drug directed at lowering cholesterol in high-risk cardiac patients. Dr. Little lives in Penticton with his partner Ashley and their two cats and can often be found looking for fresh powder turns at Apex Mountain or riding his mountain bike on one of the local trails.

James holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and a law degree from the University of British Columbia. Prior to forming Handford Smirle LLP with Nicole Handford, James articled and practiced with Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP. Raised in Summerland and a graduate of Summerland Secondary School, James is an active member of the community and has coached for both the Penticton and Summerland Minor Hockey Associations. Outside of the office you’ll find James enjoying time with his young family, at the hockey rink or on a golf course. James lives in Summerland with his wife and 2 children; both children born at Penticton Regional Hospital!

Carole Ohan has worked in the law enforcement field for 29 years. She joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 1989 beginning her RCMP career in Manitoba providing policing to First Nations communities and later worked in highway patrol, federal and rural policing.

She commissioned as the first Officer in Charge of Business Continuity Planning, subsequently leading the RCMP’s Technological Crime Program Management Support Services and the Strategic Partnership and Heritage Program. In 2011, she was asked to lead the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR). In this role, she spearheaded the implementation of the National Centre as well as the development of specialized services for police, medical examiners and coroners across Canada. She retired from the RCMP in 2015 with extensive experience in leading change and innovation in policing.

In 2015, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Merit (M.O.M.) of Police Forces in Canada. In 2016, her work titled “Leading Change and Innovation in Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Investigations in Canada” was published as part of the book “Missing Persons: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Disappeared.”

She has presented at both national and international forums and participated in a number of national and international working groups. She has served as a consultant for the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation.

Her board experience includes the Board of Directors of AMBER Alert Europe (2015-2022), Missing Children Society of Canada (2014-2019), and the Mounted Police Foundation (Non-Voting, 2008-2010).

Carole currently lives in B.C.’s Okanagan and has been a director of the SOSMF since 2021.

Greg graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy in 1998. Prior to moving to BC from Guelph Ontario, Greg graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry. Greg and his family have made Penticton home for more than 23 years. Greg has been a local pharmacy owner for twenty years. He previously owned Skaha Pharmacy in Penticton for ten years. Currently, he owns Oliver Pharmacy, City Centre Pharmacy, and Rose Valley Pharmacy located in Oliver, Penticton, and West Kelowna, respectively. Greg is in his third year as an elected director on the BC Pharmacy Association Board of Directors, and he was an advisor on the National Advisory Committee for the Retail Banner Group at McKesson Canada representing all the Remedy’s Rx, IDA, and Guardian Independent Pharmacies nationally. He also represented community pharmacy for many years on the South Okanagan Clinical Ethics Committee. He was selected as a member of the UBC Task Force for the Development of the new Pharmacy Professional Master’s degree program and he was also the Community Pharmacy Consultant for BC Transplant. Greg has actively promoted the benefits of clinical community pharmacy to government and other allied healthcare providers such as Interior Health, the Okanagan Division of Family Physicians, UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences, the BC Provincial Renal Agency, and BC Transplant. His collaboration work with Nephrologists and Renal Teams has been well acknowledged and his current pharmacy practice includes collaboration work with the healthcare teams within local family physician clinics.

TOTA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ellen Walker-Matthews, has worked with the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association over the past 14 and a half years, working in various roles until taking on the lead position in the spring of 2021.

Prior to joining  TOTA, Ellen had a long career in the tourism industry, and specifically the hotel industry, joining CP Hotels in 1979.

Ellen has been an active member in industry associations as well as service groups, including director positions for the BC Summer Games and the Okanagan Wine Info Centre, the District Governor’s Representative for the Penticton Rotary Club and served previously on the Board of the South Okanagan Medical Foundation. Ellen is a long standing member of the  Summerland Rotary Club, is on the board of Colorectal Cancer Canada and the board of the Canadian Culinary Tourism Alliance.

As a personal passion, Ellen founded and was the Chair of the Giants Head Grind – Christopher Walker Memorial Race, and event that she hosted for 10 years is in honour of her son, who died of Colorectal Cancer in 2013 and has raised funds for initiatives focused on the early detection of Colon Cancer in young persons as well as building and enhancing the trail system on Giants Head Mountain Park in Summerland.

Married for 26 years to Tom Matthews, Ellen is proud to  have  Krista and Stephen (Tom’s daughter and son ) in her life along with their partners Andrew and Taylor and the “littles” Will (3) and August (1) and while Chris is no longer with us he and his memory remain a big part of her life, and his former finance Hannah together with her husband Luc and their children Waylon and Francis are very much a part of her family.