Celebrating excellence: Meet the 2026 Employee Excellence Award recipients
The 2026 Employee Excellence Awards were held last week at Okanagan College, celebrating the remarkable individuals whose dedication, innovation and leadership make the College an exceptional place to work and learn.
These awards recognize employees who go above and beyond in advancing our mission, supporting students, and fostering a vibrant college community.
The College also honoured employees with Years of Service milestone awards.
View the 2026 Years of Service Milestones here
2026 Employee Excellence Awards honourees:
Community Impact Award
Jevon Pals
Dr. Shona Harrison
The Community Impact Award honours and recognizes employees who have participated substantially in community-building and outreach initiatives that have made a positive impact and contribution to community.
Courage to be Creative Award
Dr. Tim Walters
The Courage to be Creative Award honours and recognizes the scholarly or creative activity of an individual or team who have bravely made a contribution to the advancement of knowledge through their work.
Instructional Excellence Award
Mark Ziebarth
Emilie Lougheed
Anne Marie McKinnon
The Instructional Excellence Award honours and recognizes instructional excellence at Okanagan College. It is awarded to those individuals with instructional responsibilities who have exhibited consistent excellence in teaching and who have had a significant impact on student learning environment, growth and success.
Leadership Award
Melissa Larsen
The Leadership Award honours and recognizes an employee who has demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities.
Service Excellence Award
Christoper Chasmar
Emma Dalsvaag
The Service Excellence Award honours and recognizes Okanagan College employees who have consistently gone beyond their regular duties and responsibilities to meet the needs of Okanagan College and contribute to our mission of transforming lives and communities.
Service Excellence Team Award
Chad Shannon
Cliff Brownie
David Beckenhauer
Milan Bertucci
Wayne Sali
Frithjof Petscheleit
Shu-Han Lin
Ken Plowman
Shawn Brager
Ryan Scott
Steve Sampson
Lonny Dainard
Ken Gibbs
Reidar Anderson
Ken Ritchie
Kailey Smith
The Service Excellence Team Award honours and recognizes Okanagan College employees who have consistently gone beyond their regular duties and responsibilities to meet the needs of Okanagan College and contribute to our mission of transforming lives and communities.
President’s Award
Ryan Savelieff
Kevin Parnell
The President’s Award honours and recognizes a current employee who consistently demonstrates a commitment to and significant contribution to the values and priorities of Inspire, the Okanagan College Strategic Plan.
