College alumni group honours pair
Aboriginal education advocate from Penticton, country music artist from West Kelowna receive highest honours
In recognition of outstanding contributions to the college and its surrounding communities, two Okanagan College alumni have earned the top honours awarded by the Okanagan College Alumni Association (OCAA).
Penticton’s Grace Greyeyes is the recipient of this year’s OCAA Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes excellence in the areas of leadership, the environment, business or industry, public or community service, the arts and/or support for Okanagan College. Ben Klick of West Kelowna will receive the 2017 OCAA Young Alumni Award, which recognizes extraordinary contributions of alumni under the age of 35.
Greyeyes has been a passionate advocate for education all of her adult life, first in her nursing career, which spanned more than 35 years in Canada and the United States, and later as a volunteer, adviser, elder and aboriginal knowledge keeper in the South Okanagan. She has been a member of the aboriginal education advisory committee for School District No. 67 in Penticton for more than a decade and recently began developing curriculum for School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen).
For the past five years, she has also volunteered with the Penticton Indian band’s Grandma program, which provides support to local elementary, middle and high school students. She also recently founded the band’s Snpinktn Elders Society.
Her passion for education has been recognized locally and at the national level. In 2016, she was honoured with the Okanagan Nation Transition and Emergency Housing Award for her commitment to education in the community. This September, she will be participating in the National Gathering of Elders hosted in Edmonton.
Greyeyes’ connection to Okanagan College dates back to the institution’s earliest years. She completed her practical nursing training at the college (then B.C. Vocational School) in 1968. She returned in the early 1990s to continue her education, pursuing arts courses at the Penticton campus. Since 2015, she has served as elder in residence at the college’s Penticton campus.
“I’m humbled and grateful to be recognized by the OCAA,” says Greyeyes. “Education has always been very important to me. I really do believe that education transforms lives, and so I continue to encourage our young people to think about their education, set goals and reach for them.”
At only 21 years of age, Klick has already made his mark in the country music scene in Canada and the U.S. and continues to amass fans and accolades, along with the attention and respect of his fellow artists in the industry.
Klick enrolled in the audio engineering and music production program at Okanagan College in 2014. He set out to learn as much as he could about the music industry, from the technical aspects of the recording studio to the finer points of marketing and entrepreneurship that go into launching a successful career as an artist. After graduating in September 2015, he released his debut EP Today and went on to play nearly 60 dates across North America the following year.
Despite a hectic recording and touring schedule, and an ever-expanding list of awards to his name — including 2015 Global Country Star Search Winner, 2016 Canada’s Walk of Fame Top 7 Emerging Artist, British Columbia Country Music Association (BCCMA) Award (2016 — Best Website), and 2017 First Round JUNO Award Nominee — Klick maintains close ties with the college and his community.
In January, he headlined the “North of Nashville” concert at the college’s Kelowna campus. The show was produced by students from the very program from which he graduated. The net proceeds of the concert, $1,500, went back to students in the program through bursaries. On March 23, he once again dazzled a hometown crowd when he took to the stage at the Kelowna Community Theatre to open for country music legend Tanya Tucker. Klick is currently working with producers in Nashville on new singles.
“Okanagan College is near and dear to my heart, so this award is very special to me,” says Klick. “Given all the incredible young OC alumni out there in the world doing great things, I feel supremely honoured and humbled to be recognized.”
“Grace and Ben share a remarkable dedication to the college and to community involvement,” says Kara Kazimer, president of the board, Okanagan College Alumni Association. “On behalf of my fellow OCAA board members, I congratulate both of this year’s award recipients on their accomplishments. Those accomplishments — and the example they have set — will no doubt inspire our future alumni to consider the impact they too can have.”
Greyeyes’ and Klick’s achievements will be celebrated at the OCAA awards ceremony and reception on Sept. 19 at the college’s Kelowna campus.