Joe Roberts is an expert on resiliency and change. In 1989, he was homeless living under a bridge. 12 years later he was a celebrated CEO. In 2017, he finished a 9,064km charity walk across Canada. Joe helps companies and individuals redefine impossible.

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In this keynote, Joe shares his story of redemption; a transformative story that relates to the work you support through The Salvation Army. He teaches how anyone can transform and overcome perceived limitations and live their dreams with the right help and guidance.

As you walk with Joe through the tough streets of East Vancouver in the 1980’s you will experience the depths and degradation of a former homeless derelict, to the heights and triumph of a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. You will see and feel how your contribution made this happen and continues to do so in the lives of others.

Shirley Hunter is a third-generation Victorian who is proud to live in British Columbia. A passionate advocate of the marginalized and of common-sense economic solutions Shirley has worked in community development and property management, and chaired the federal Employment Insurance Appeal Board.

Throughout her career, Shirley has worked with clients whose needs fell in the gap between social services, probation, education, and health. She has assisted neighborhoods in developing local solutions to community problems, and has also worked with resource groups, providing support services to people living in sheltered housing and dealing with mental health and addiction issues.

Shirley has shared her knowledge as a member of The Salvation Army Victoria Advisory Board for several years. In 1988 she was the Founding Director of Crime Stopper Victoria and has since worked with the Greater Victoria Hospital Foundation, BC Women’s Hospital Foundation, the Victoria Foundation and more. 

Chief Constable Scott Green, a Vancouver Island native, joined the Saanich Police Department (SPD) in February 1988; moving up the ranks he was promoted to Chief Constable in 2019.

In 2018 he was invested by the Governor General of Canada, as a member, into The Order of Merit of the Police Forces.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Double Major), a Master of Public Administration, and a Master Certificate in Project Management; all from the University of Victoria.

Chief Green is a vocal advocate for the prevention of gender-based violence and believes strongly in their Mission to provide quality police service by working with the community to keep Saanich safe. Two of his many goals as Chief is to be an employer of choice and a service provider of choice; both of which he believes are equally important.

We are pleased to welcome Chief Green as our special guest this year.

Prior to being sworn into office in 2018, Her Honour spent 15 years as Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Metro Vancouver, and earlier as Executive Director of Big Sisters of the Lower Mainland.  As such, she knows and understands the challenges that we face as a non-profit organization and as a society. We are excited to hear her insights into both and look forward to her impassioned style as she helps us understand how to improve the lives of those in our communities who need our support.

For many Canadians, that moment that defines Canadian Skating is the performance delivered in front of the home-crowd by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in Vancouver 2010. They became the youngest Ice Dance champions in Olympic history. The golden duo, however, was not content.

The partnership that started when she was seven and he was nine would continue through to Sochi 2014 where they delivered an artistic and athletic performance that would define the pair’s legacy. They danced beautifully and despite a seasonbest, settled for silver. This only fuelled their fire.

After a short hiatus, Tessa and Scott believed that they still had the competitive fire and artistic depth to make a return to their third Olympics. It was in PyeongChang 2018, where Tessa and Scott captured the imagination of the world with emotionally-charged and provocative performances, drawing on twenty years of creative commitment to one another. They skated magically to Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge earning their second gold medal of the Olympics.

The medal was their fifth medal overall making them the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history. Applauded internationally as the sweethearts of the Games and revered as Canadian royalty, the pair truly represent what it is to be Canadian.