(April 25, 2024, Kelowna, BC) Today, Ellen Boelcke, executive director of KCR Community Resources for the past 14 years, has announced her retirement effective September 30, 2024, citing her desire to dive into new adventures, to travel and to explore.
“This is truly a bittersweet moment for me,” states Boelcke. “I love this organization and the people I get to work with and to serve. It has been my absolute honor to lead KCR. Now, it is time for me personally to move on to my next adventures. The announcement of my retirement is to allow for the successful succession of the organization to its next Executive Director and to allow the Board of Directors the time to identify that person.”
David M. Brown, President of the volunteer Board of Directors, reluctantly accepted Boelcke’s resignation, recognizing that after her many years of dedicated service, she deserved to celebrate her retirement and the ability to pursue her personal passions without the constraints of a demanding and critical community role.
“The Board and I truly recognize the sacrifices that Ellen has made during her tenure and we are grateful for her dedication and commitment to this critical community organization,” says Brown. “In the past 14 years, the services KCR Community Resources provides have expanded significantly, growing to meet the gaps identified in the community. Under Ellen’s leadership the organization has grown from a team of approximately 25 staff and a budget of $1.4 million to a team of 100+ members and an annual budget of $10 million.”
“What is truly remarkable is that what fueled this growth was not an expansion of our service mandates,” continues Brown. “Rather this growth was based on a collaborative community model,
focusing on our own core competencies and developing community partnerships to identify and address serious gaps in the region’s social structures and to meet emergent and critical needs.”
“Ellen has also excelled at successfully accessing funding to meet these gaps, to steward the programs to be participant-centred and to ensure the organization remained stable and well-managed,” adds Brown. “We are very grateful to Ellen for what she has done for KCR, and so now we need to allow her to graciously retire, as much as we don’t want to see her leave.”
“The organization is very stable and with Ellen’s commitment to stay until the end of September, we are in a very good place to continuing the excellent work we have been doing,” affirms Brown. “The Board does have a succession strategy that we have been working on for several years and it will be our role to now execute on that strategy.”
“When I first thought about joining KCR I understood it to be a trusted and respected organization that was recognised for the quality of work done,” explains Boelcke. “Critical for me was that the values of the organization very much aligned with my own. Plus, the work deeply resonated with me, being an immigrant myself and coming from a background of working with vulnerable individuals and those with diverse abilities in the spectrum of volunteerism to employment.”
“I am grateful that my strengths have been of service to community,” Boelcke states. “I will continue to do so over the next five months, while I savour the opportunity to continue work with an amazing Board of Directors, Leadership, staff, volunteers & contractors, colleagues in the community and the community at large.”
“As for my next adventures, I am not sure what they will include,” laughs Boelcke. “But I can say that I am truly wanting to retire, to travel and to explore. I am very much looking forward to being able to expand my volunteer practice.”
– 30 –
Contact:
David M. Brown
Board of Directors KCR Community Resources
david@ascentemploymentlaw.ca
604-800-5725
Ellen Boelcke
President Executive Director
ellen@kcr.ca
250-763-8008 x132
About KCR Community Resources:
Kelowna Community Resources Society (dba KCR Community Resources) has been providing services to
the Central Okanagan since 1983. Our mission is to foster diversity, collaboration and resourcefulness by
tailoring services to meet community, family and individual needs. With a participant-centred approach,
and a values and equity-based lens, we offer programs through four core competency pillars: Immigrant
Services, Employment Services, Community Services and Family & Adoption Services.
Photo: Ellen Boelcke, Executive Director for KCR Community Resources, retires after for 14 years
(Photo Credit: Trevor Walker Photography)
“This is truly a bittersweet moment for me,” states Boelcke. “I love this organization and the people I get to work with and to serve. It has been my absolute honor to lead KCR. Now, it is time for me personally to move on to my next adventures. The announcement of my retirement is to allow for the successful succession of the organization to its next Executive Director and to allow the Board of Directors the time to identify that person.”
David M. Brown, President of the volunteer Board of Directors, reluctantly accepted Boelcke’s resignation, recognizing that after her many years of dedicated service, she deserved to celebrate her retirement and the ability to pursue her personal passions without the constraints of a demanding and critical community role.
“The Board and I truly recognize the sacrifices that Ellen has made during her tenure and we are grateful for her dedication and commitment to this critical community organization,” says Brown. “In the past 14 years, the services KCR Community Resources provides have expanded significantly, growing to meet the gaps identified in the community. Under Ellen’s leadership the organization has grown from a team of approximately 25 staff and a budget of $1.4 million to a team of 100+ members and an annual budget of $10 million.”
“What is truly remarkable is that what fueled this growth was not an expansion of our service mandates,” continues Brown. “Rather this growth was based on a collaborative community model,
focusing on our own core competencies and developing community partnerships to identify and address serious gaps in the region’s social structures and to meet emergent and critical needs.”
“Ellen has also excelled at successfully accessing funding to meet these gaps, to steward the programs to be participant-centred and to ensure the organization remained stable and well-managed,” adds Brown. “We are very grateful to Ellen for what she has done for KCR, and so now we need to allow her to graciously retire, as much as we don’t want to see her leave.”
“The organization is very stable and with Ellen’s commitment to stay until the end of September, we are in a very good place to continuing the excellent work we have been doing,” affirms Brown. “The Board does have a succession strategy that we have been working on for several years and it will be our role to now execute on that strategy.”
“When I first thought about joining KCR I understood it to be a trusted and respected organization that was recognised for the quality of work done,” explains Boelcke. “Critical for me was that the values of the organization very much aligned with my own. Plus, the work deeply resonated with me, being an immigrant myself and coming from a background of working with vulnerable individuals and those with diverse abilities in the spectrum of volunteerism to employment.”
“I am grateful that my strengths have been of service to community,” Boelcke states. “I will continue to do so over the next five months, while I savour the opportunity to continue work with an amazing Board of Directors, Leadership, staff, volunteers & contractors, colleagues in the community and the community at large.”
“As for my next adventures, I am not sure what they will include,” laughs Boelcke. “But I can say that I am truly wanting to retire, to travel and to explore. I am very much looking forward to being able to expand my volunteer practice.”
– 30 –
Contact:
David M. Brown
Board of Directors KCR Community Resources
david@ascentemploymentlaw.ca
604-800-5725
Ellen Boelcke
President Executive Director
ellen@kcr.ca
250-763-8008 x132
About KCR Community Resources:
Kelowna Community Resources Society (dba KCR Community Resources) has been providing services to
the Central Okanagan since 1983. Our mission is to foster diversity, collaboration and resourcefulness by
tailoring services to meet community, family and individual needs. With a participant-centred approach,
and a values and equity-based lens, we offer programs through four core competency pillars: Immigrant
Services, Employment Services, Community Services and Family & Adoption Services.
Photo: Ellen Boelcke, Executive Director for KCR Community Resources, retires after for 14 years
(Photo Credit: Trevor Walker Photography)
