Top 10 Kootenay Business People

Our 14th annual top 10 business people of the year

This year's list of Top 10 Kootenay Business People celebrates big dreamers from around the Kootenay region. Every person we spoke with has dared to step outside their comfort zone to try something that would not only earn an income but bring them personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Their ability to take a leap of faith might just give others the incentive to spread their wings and take flight as well.

Bob and Heidi Evans

It’s like a movie script: boy meets girl, they fall in love and get married, open up a burger shop and live happily ever after.

Florio Vassilakakis

Coming from a family with a 50-year history in the restaurant business, Florio Vassilakakis seems destined to follow along.

Al Miller

Al Miller, the manager of Invermere Home Hardware, is passionate about what he sells.

Heidi Romich

Showing grace through adversity is part of what makes Heidi Romich a successful business owner.

Paula Sittler

Paula Sittler moved home to Greenwood, B.C., three years ago and purchased a commercial building—now home to Deadwood Junction.

Phil Gadd

Formerly a commercials editor in British film and TV, Phil Gadd is happy to be Fernie’s new rising breadmaker.

Jim Ogilvie

Mayor Jim Ogilvie, first elected as Kimberley’s mayor in 1972, has dedicated his life to public service.

Tracey and Bart Larsen

How do a nuclear physicist and a biology major make a living in Revelstoke? By starting a regional brewery, of course.

Bob Hellman

Bob Hellman started building cedar-strip canoes 25 years ago as a hobby and quickly realized that he had found his life’s work.

Julian Ross and Ruth Porter

This couple’s business got its start in the ’80s when Ross was in university and looking for a way to manage his busy schedule.