“I love everything about it—working with a great proactive board of directors and the opportunity to meet new artists,” said Arts Council Administrator and board member Sonja Waller. Sonja is the one person who knows the most about what is happening in the organization. She is the point of contact for all committees and often the first face of the arts council to the public.
Before assuming her current duties in 2017, Sonja worked primarily in administration at the Summerland Review, the Summerland Chamber of Commerce, and the Kettle Valley Railway. She was in charge of member services and was Events Coordinator for the Chamber, and organized the Festival of Lights for two years as well as the 2009 Canada Day Celebrations. At the Kettle Valley Railway she did marketing and managed the gift shop.
The Winnipeg native came to the Okanagan after finishing high school. She hopped a Grey Hound bus bound for Penticton, intending to spend the summer. “When I got off the bus, I was wearing snow boots and the locals were in shorts. I never went back,” Sonja said.
The Arts Council and the community at large have benefitted from her decision to stay.