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The KWBWA has welcomed many new members recently. At a recent meeting, we had introductory talks from two new members.

As a Principal Advisor with Cowan Private Client, Rhonda di Cristofaro of Cowan Group brings over 23 years of experience and a collaborative, client focused approach. She is know for building strong relationships and helping families protect their legacies through tailored personal insurance solutions rooted in trust and open communication. Her professionalism, adaptiabilty and strong work ether guide her work as she navigates complex insurance needs with confidence.

Website: https://pages.cowangroup.ca/en-US/template-cowan-at-a-glance

Heather McKague of Parallel Financial Services, shared her experience as a Certified Financial Planner. She takes a Friends and Family approach to long term financial planning. She has been working in the financial services industry for over 25 years and has a passion for helping individuals and families plan for financial success... Sometimes it is simply opening a first Tax-Free Savings Account or helping with insurance needs and other times she does detailed financial planning for retirement and beyond.

Website: https://www.parallelfinancial.ca

The KWBWA's most recent Out of the Box lunch took place at Evolv1 in Waterloo.

evolv1 is Canada’s first Zero Carbon Building. Built in 2018, this is a uniquely modern 104,000 square foot urban space, designed for today’s millennial tech-savvy workforce. Our members enjoyed a boxed lunch in their open concept Hub, before embarking on a tour of the facility. We were impressed with the 40 foot living wall in the main atrium with 4500 individually potted plants. Our guide pointed out all of the environmental features of the building: from the solar panels over parking lot and on the roof, to the geothermal heating system, triple pane windows, LED lighting and low flush toilets.

It was explained that building this way costs more upfront, but the pay on return is in the long run. Long term partnerships were forged with local vendors in the maintenance of the solar panels and EV chargers.

KWBWA members were wowed by this impressed new building development from The Cora Group. Thank you for hosting us.

Website: https://www.sustainablewaterlooregion.ca

Suzanne Flinn, a personal concierge, recently gave a member presentation.

Her diverse experience includes working in various settings, such as hospitality at Langdon Hall, real estate, weddings at Cambridge Mill, and golf course hospitality. Throughout her career, she’s always loved helping people.

Her background in the hospitality industry perfectly aligns with the definition of concierge work, which resonated with her lifelong passion. Building relationships has been key to her business growth. She has worked alongside fellow KWBWA members Trudy Fraser: Professional Organizer and Move Manager of Tartan Spaces, and Allie Comerford: Lifestyle Consultant at Briarfield Gardens Retirement Residence.

Suzanne’s hourly rate is a minimum of two hours, and she relies on word-of-mouth and referrals. She’s also a member of the KW Chamber of Commerce. "I get to do work that I generally love, helping people live their lives, a little more easily, and with a little more support."

Brigitte Gingerich, Travel Consultant, Northstar Travel spoke to our members about her recent trip to Bali.

She shared some amazing pictures and stories!

It was a great escape from the never ending winter we've been having.

We also loved hearing about the group travel trips that Brigitte books for her clients.

Visit her website, https://www.facebook.com/travelwithBrigitte/ and speak with Brigitte to plan your next vacation!

Ellyn Winters-Robinson of Ignition Communications was a guest speaker at a recent meeting. Ellyn is a very busy lady doing amazing things: from marketing, communications and tech PR, to writing a bestseller, being a top-notch Speaker and CEO of the Lyndall Project. Ellyn is using her breast cancer experience to create an online resource for people experiencing breast cancer and survivors.

"AskEllyn.ai is the world’s first AI companion for those on the breast cancer journey. Infused with the lived experience of a breast cancer survivor, AskEllyn.ai is forever free for those who need her, completely private, speaks every language and always available." Ellyn has spoken to doctors around the world, bringing a human with feelings, back to the view of patient treatment.

From her website, you can connect to AskEllyn https://askellyn.ai/, buy her bestselling book "FLAT PLEASE HOLD THE SHAME", access her blog, book her for a speaking engagement or subscribe to her newsletter.

The members of KWBWA enjoyed her engaging talk, and reminders to go for their mammogram screenings.

Our tour was entertaining and gave us an update of this vibrant and inspiring community resource. We enjoyed a healthy lunch by our KWBWA member, Irene Divaris of Meal in a Jar upon arrival and then experienced a 20-30 minute guided tour.