Four Residents to Be Recognized as Okanagan College’s Honorary Fellows

Four mainstays of the Okanagan will be honoured at Okanagan College’s 2015 Convocation ceremonies in June.

The four people to be recognized are renowned chef Rod Butters, entrepreneur Norm Embree, lawyer Rick Pushor, and social planner Annette Sharkey. “I am extremely proud to announce these four individuals as Honorary Fellows of Okanagan College,” said president Jim Hamilton. “Much like the College, they are diverse, unique and represent a wide range of interests and communities. We recognize them as Honorary Fellows for demonstrating excellence in their chosen fields and decades of service to the people of our region.”

Chef Rod Butters. (Photo Credit: Contributed)

Butters is known as one of Kelowna’s top chefs, but his reputation goes much further. Butters is the chef and owner of both RauDZ Regional Table and micro bar & bites in Kelowna. He was inducted into the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Canadian Chefs Federation Honour Society in 2013. Credited with advancing the farm-to-table movement in his local restaurants, Butters is also involved in not-for-profit initiatives and supports organizations like Kelowna Food Bank, Growing Chefs, and Nature’s Trust. He has also been active with Okanagan College, serving as Chair of the Culinary Arts program advisory council and mentoring and hiring many Okanagan College apprentices and Red Seal chefs.

Entrepreneur Norm Embree. (Photo Credit: Contributed)

Norm Embree is an entrepreneur and the former Chair of the Interior Health Authority Board of Directors as well as the Chair of the Board of Governors in the transition from Okanagan University College to Okanagan College. Embree began his career in securities and when he was 34 years old, he bought his family’s machining business from his father and became President and CEO. He eventually grew the company to have several million dollars in annual consolidated sales. He moved to Salmon Arm in the late 1990s and became involved in many not-for profits, serving as a Board Member for the Salmon Arm Economic Development Advisory Committee, OUC, Haney Heritage House, Shuswap Hospice Society, Nature Trust of BC, and the College of Pharmacists of BC.

Lawyer Rick Pushor. (Photo Credit: Contributed)

Rick Pushor is a founding partner of Pushor Mitchell LLP, which is the largest law firm in B.C. outside of Vancouver. Until he retired in 213, Pushor's preferred areas of practice were business formation, financing, restricting, acquisition, and share and asset transactions. He is a founding director of both the Rutland Rotary and Ogopogo Rotary Clubs as well as a past director of Pathways. Pushor has also had positions as the past president of the B.C. Curling Association and the B.C. Interior Junior Downhill Ski Association, and he was heavily involved in the Kelowna Minor Baseball Association.

Social planner Annette Sharkey. (Photo Credit: Contributed)

Annette Sharkey acts as the Executive Director of the Social Planning Council of the North Okanagan and attended classes herself at the college’s Vernon campus. She went on to get a bachelor’s degree at the University of British Columbia and has worked in the not-for-profit sector since graduating, working with agencies like the RCMP, women’s centre, and immigrant services. She also advocated the Partners in Action model, which has brought more than $6 million in capital to the North Okanagan.

Each of these Honorary Fellows will address a unique graduating class in June, and the four new Honorary Fellows join many other prominent members of the Okanagan community.