Grace Reynolds is a people person.

Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Grace is the daughter of Vietnamese parents who immigrated to Canada as refugees. She’s the youngest of five girls and a proud first-generation Canadian who, since childhood, has always enjoyed helping people.

“Whether I was working in the service industry as I went to school, coaching younger girls in cheerleading, or volunteering on a fundraising committee, helping others has always been a priority of mine,” says Grace, a licensed mortgage broker who has been working in Peterborough for the last two years.

Grace started a Bachelor of Commerce at MacEwan University in Edmonton, later finishing her degree at Carleton University after relocating to Ontario. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Algonquin College in Ottawa.

Three years ago, Grace moved to Peterborough to be closer to her husband’s family, and she saw it as the perfect time to start her own business. For Grace, becoming a licensed mortgage broker allowed her to blend her passion for helping people with her background in commerce.

One of Grace’s assets is her ability to relate to her clients.

“I understand the feeling of working hard for your money,” she says, having juggled three jobs at one point while she worked her way through school.

Grace credits her strong work ethic and people skills with helping her break into the Peterborough business scene. Despite the time it takes to build up a business, especially in a new city, Grace has seen a great deal of progress within the last two years.

Grace was nominated for Best Newcomer Agent at the Canadian Mortgage Awards this year, and won the award for Best Newcomer Agent with less than two years in the industry at the Mortgage Awards of Excellence in May 2018. She was also recently recognized as one of Canada’s Mortgage Professionals Top Young Guns for 2018.

In addition to her award-winning work as a broker, Grace has also become passionately involved with the local community.

Grace is a proud member of both the Business Network International (BNI) group and the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough (WBN). She currently serves as Vice-President for the BNI and is going into her second year of being on the WBN board as Secretary.

Grace was also part of The Mombassadors, a group of 13 local women who came together to fundraise for a new fetal monitor for the Labour and Delivery Unit at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre. In mid-May of this year, the group hosted a Girl’s Night Out at Aria Nightclub in downtown Peterborough, surpassing their fundraising goal of $30,000.

“It was amazing to be part of this powerful group of women and to raise money for something that will help so many new mothers and babies,” says Grace. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know people in the Peterborough community and developing my business here.”

One need not spend a great deal of time with Grace to understand that her knowledge of the industry, combined with her genuine desire to help her clients, sets her apart from other mortgage brokers. She knows that when it comes to mortgages, one size does not fit all.

“Every situation is different and I get to know my clients on a human level,” she says. “Getting a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions in someone’s life. It’s where you spend your life savings, your future, where you raise a family.”

Grace prides herself on quality of service, not quantity.

“I try to help my clients plan for the future,” she explains. “My goal is to be there for them for life, rather than just a couple weeks or months.”

Grace keeps up with the latest industry information, stressing that the industry is always changing.

“Mortgages are no longer simple. After the American economy crashed ten years ago, regulations have gotten tighter. Even from five years ago to now, it’s all very different.

“You want someone who is on your side and who will take the time to understand your financial state. My clients can trust that I stay up to date on the latest information.”

Grace’s clients include those with good credit, bad credit, and all the special cases in between.

As she says, in a changing industry it’s always a good idea to have a mortgage broker at your side.

Grace Reynolds is a licenced mortgage broker with Toronto-based Northwood Mortgage Ltd. You can reach Grace at 416-833-3317 (cell) or at grace@reynoldsmortgages.ca. For more information, visit www.reynoldsmortgages.ca. You can also connect with Grace on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Karen Laws has never met a dog she couldn’t help and, after 13 years of working as the Ontario Dog Trainer, she’s made life better for a long list of dogs and their people packs by teaching owners how to be relevant to their dogs.

With a calm, steady and warm voice, Karen explains the difference with her training technique.

“I teach how to connect and communicate with the dog — on their level,” she says.

And this is different than training that requires the dogs to connect at the human level; where the focus is on command and control. Karen turns all of this around with an approach that uses awareness of physical energy and an understanding of what the dog is trying to communicate.

“Dogs move each other by bumping, by moving through space with an awareness of other dogs,” Karen explains. “We teach how to own the space in a benevolent, dog-like way and we teach what the dog needs to learn to remain in a harmonious relationship with its owners, and in its home.”

All of this is great news for the long list of people who have reached out to Karen over the years, looking for help with what they consider to be “bad dogs.” But, as Karen emphasizes, once you start to repair the broken relationship between people and their dogs, life changes for the entire pack.

Boarding school is where the change happens for many of the dogs that Karen works with. And while she loves working with new puppies, dogs of all ages are welcome to start the program that serves as the foundation of a lifelong relationship with dogs and their owners.

Boarding school is a bootcamp environment where the learning is continuous and by the end of a dog’s stay with Karen, they will be able to come when called, sit, stay, behave with strangers, with visitors and they will be a delight to walk.

Karen also offers specialized, longer-term boarding for dogs who have serious behavioral issues and, in every case, she’s willing to customize the experience.

Once the dogs are ready to return home, the training continues with videos, guidebooks, and the ability to always re-connect with Karen for a refresher.

Karen worked in the pet industry and trained retrievers for field trial competition for many years before transitioning into companion dog training. Her commitment to continuous learning with dogs and from others helped her use skills to offer behavioral support.

Karen admits to being naturally better with dogs than with people and she knows the efforts she puts in are making a big difference in the lives of frustrated pet owners.

“All dogs are trainable,” she says firmly. “I prepare you and your dogs for a lifestyle that will bring you together. I help to build a bond and then we simultaneously focus on providing consistent leadership while creating desired behaviour. Training time is all the time and you’re either training your dog or your dog is training you.”

Often, at the end of boarding, when the owners come to collect their dogs, there are tears. Especially from the owners who have told Karen she is their last hope.

“People just cry,” she says softly. “They can’t believe the change.”

This change is only the beginning for dogs and their families.

Karen’s clients often board their dogs with her for a refresher and, because training time is all the time, she now offers a weekly drop-in program called “Dogs on Walkabout,” where she leads people and their pets through different locations like parks and stores so that everyone learns how to be calm and work as a pack. These sessions show owners how to turn parks into training grounds where active play can help to re-pattern a dog’s brain in a really positive way.

With thousands of hours of training experience, Karen says that owners should never expect a quick fix when dealing with difficult behaviours. It’s a long-term investment in a relationship that will deliver beautiful results.

“You can get good results on your own,” Karen says. “But you’ll get great results with a skilled trainer.”

The Ontario Dog Trainer is located at 814 Lifford Road in Bethany. For more information, call Karen Laws at 705-277-1503, email karen@ontariodogtrainer.com, or visit ontariodogtrainer.com. You can also find Ontario Dog Trainer on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Not too many of us can claim the work we do every day affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of every age, ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic background — but Lesley Heighway can.

As President and CEO of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation, Lesley works hard to bridge the ever-increasing gap between government funding and the necessary costs of providing high-quality care at our region’s hospital.

For seven years, Lesley has led a team of professionals and volunteers who raise between $5 and $7 million every year for PRHC — more than $25 million over the past five years alone.

“Many people don’t realize the government does not fund hospital equipment or technology,” she says. “That’s why the most generous communities have the best hospitals.”

These community donations fund the tools and technology that form the backbone of patient care at PRHC and help bring new lifesaving services to our region. Not only that, but a hospital’s ability to fund state-of-the-art equipment and technology is key to attracting and retaining the best and the brightest health care professionals, and to keeping the standard of care at PRHC on par with the top hospitals across Canada.

A tireless advocate and ambassador on behalf of PRHC, Lesley is clearly passionate about health care philanthropy. She’s personally helped thousands of people understand the tangible ways their donations are transforming health care.

“Donors are touching the lives of people they’ve never met every day,” she says. “Our role as a foundation is to give donors an opportunity to give back, while at the same time seeing how their donations are making a real difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones.”

The PRHC Foundation is committed to supporting the hospital’s Regional Centres of Excellence for cancer care, cardiac care, and vascular surgery — some of the fastest growing and most innovative areas of health care, and which serve a population of up to 600,000 people from across Peterborough County and beyond.

With her wealth of business knowledge along an MBA specializing in leadership, Lesley aspires to match the private sector for innovation and creative thinking when it comes to fundraising, while still maintaining the warmth and compassion that fuels inspiration among her team.

In the last two years alone, Lesley has successfully led efforts to fund:

• Three new mammography machines needed for breast cancer screening in PRHC’s Breast Assessment Centre, part of a $1.9 million campaign.
• A $1 million investment in upgrading nine of PRHC’s 12 operating rooms for minimally invasive surgery, enabling PRHC to begin to transition from performing 35% of all surgeries using minimally invasive techniques to performing 80% that way.
• An $850,000 investment in upgrading and expanding the Cardiac Cath Lab with vital technology upgrades that have significantly reduced procedural radiation exposure for both patients and PRHC physicians and staff, as well as technology that’s brought brand new cardiac treatments to our community for the first time.
• $1.5 million in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment investments that enable faster, more accurate diagnosis and treatment, particularly in cancer care.
• Other vital investments in patient care areas across the hospital from the Emergency Department to ICU, in Women’s and Children’s, Diagnostic Imaging, Cancer Care, Palliative Care and more.

VIDEO: Amy Semple shares how donors helped her survival

While the success of PRHC Foundation’s fundraising efforts speaks for itself, Lesley’s passion for philanthropy extends far beyond our community. She is involved with an advocacy and advisory group of regional hospital foundation CEOs from across the province. As one of Peterborough’s foremost experts in legacy giving (giving through estate plans), she takes a lead role in working with financial and legal advisors.

She also shares her extensive knowledge and experience with the community through a wide range of board and advisory roles with other organizations and service clubs, as well as a variety of coaching and mentoring relationships with up-and-coming fundraising and young business professionals.

While Lesley is the first to acknowledge that the success of the PRHC Foundation is not hers alone, there’s no denying the impact of her expertise in leadership, motivation, and workplace culture in that success.

“I’m extremely proud of my team and I’m dedicated to supporting them to achieve their highest potential,” she says. “It’s all about creating an organizational culture that fosters passion as well as results.”

The Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation is located at One Hospital Drive in Peterborough. For more information about the PRHC Foundation and how you can make great health care possible in our community, call 705-876-5000, email foundation@prhc.on.ca, or visit www.prhcfoundation.ca. You can also connect with the PRHC Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo.

“I feel like I have created a story for myself in Peterborough,” Catia Skinner says.

Entrepreneur. New Canadian. Wife. Mother. Volunteer. Catia’s story is about constantly seeking out and overcoming new challenges.

Catia is the CEO of The Venue, a downtown Peterborough location for hosting events. She’s also owner and CEO at Mega Experience, a full-service marketing agency that specializes in brand experience.

Born in São Paulo, one of the largest cities in Brazil, Catia completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in marketing. Her work has taken her from Joinville, a relatively small city in Brazil, to Vancouver, and she is now firmly settled in Peterborough with her husband and their two children.

Catia arrived in Peterborough in 2009 after her former employer suggested she pursue an opportunity at Operitel, a Peterborough-based technology company now owned by OpenText. She worked at Operitel until 2015 when she took on her current role as CEO of The Venue.

The Venue is a unique, multifunctional event space in Peterborough that can host weddings, galas, fundraising events, sporting events, conferences, and more.

Catia believes the versatility of the space is what sets it apart from other venues, and she praises her team for their ability to quickly transform the space for different purposes.

“It’s always neat to see how the space is transformed,” says Catia. “We turned it into four different events in one weekend. There was a conference, then a concert, then a boxing event, and then a wedding. We have a strong team and they work hard to pull it all off.”

Always seeking new challenges, Catia continues to look for ways to grow her current businesses. The Venue will be offering packages for business meetings and is also undertaking a rebranding campaign with a new website in the works.

Catia’s other venture, Mega Experience, is handling the marketing for The Venue as it undergoes rebranding. Catia explains that Mega Experience focuses on assisting companies to develop their brands through a comprehensive marketing campaign.

“Marketing is not just about graphic design, it’s about the whole experience that the customer is going to have when dealing with a company,” says Catia.

In order to deliver for her clients, Catia believes a marketing strategy must consider all factors that contribute to business success both currently and long-term. Mega Experience takes a personalized approach to figuring out what a business needs and empowers their clients to implement strategies that will lead to lasting success.

“We focus on the results,” says Catia. “We want to make sure that the clients get the results they asked for. We want to know that we are meeting their goals.”

A testament to the success of this approach, Catia’s company was recently named a finalist in the Marketing & Promotion category of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce 2018 Business Excellence Awards. Mega Experience has been a finalist in the category twice before, winning the award for the first time in 2015.

Catia first encountered Mega Experience — originally a Brazilian company — while working in marketing in Brazil for a software company. Despite the winding road that took her to Vancouver and then to Peterborough, Mega Experience was never far from her mind.

“Mega was always on my radar,” she says. “Marketing is my passion. Without marketing you don’t see your business succeed.”

Despite her success, Catia sees a new challenge waiting for her.

“I want to grow Mega in Canada,” she says, noting that the company will be moving to a new location on September 4, 2018 and will also unveil its new logo.

Catia is quick to credit those who have helped and inspired her, including Lorrie McMullen, the Director of Operations at The Venue, and her husband, Michael Skinner.

“My husband is my mentor,” says Catia. “When we met, I admired that he was a young and successful entrepreneur. And he admired me for coming to a new country where I am a third language speaker and building a career for myself.”

Recently, Catia celebrated becoming an official Canadian citizen.

“I love Peterborough,” she says. “I have been here for nine years and on June 20th I became a citizen. I am very fortunate to be here. I came here to work, but I have made so many friends.”

Catia credits the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough (WBN) with helping to make those connections, noting it was the first organization she joined when she moved to Peterborough. Catia was on the board for a few years and she says being involved in the community is important to her.

“I think everyone should volunteer,” she says. “Choose an organization and do something meaningful for them.”

Catia is currently involved with the Bears’ Lair Entrepreneurial Competition and she’s on the board at Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services. She is also the co-chair of the New Canadians Centre. Recently, Catia and three other local women launched 100 Women Peterborough, a group that raises money for local charitable organizations.

With all that Catia has accomplished in the nine years she’s been in Peterborough, her story is still just beginning.

“I’ve built all this in Peterborough and I want to continue,” says Catia.

“I’m grateful to be here and I would like to give back. I want to help people and organizations. I want to get involved in anything that I can to help the community grow stronger.”

The Venue is located at 286 George Street in downtown Peterborough. For event inquiries, call 705-876-0008 or email events@kegi.ca. For band bookings, email concerts@kegi.ca. For more information and to find out what’s happening at The Venue, you can visit www.venueptbo.com or connect with The Venue on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Mega Experience Canada is now located at 150 King Street in downtown Peterborough. For more information, call 705-243-6989, email contact@megaexperience.ca, or visit www.megaexperience.ca. You can also connect with Mega Experience on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tracey Ormond, the woman behind That’s A Wrap Catering, has a huge heart for food — and for people.

She says she learned this from her family and whether it’s catering a party, a funeral, or even volunteering with food security organizations, this energetic caterer is infusing her special flavour of love and caring into every bite she serves.

And now, she’s got more opportunities to share her nature to nurture with her expansion into Classic Cooking, a local healthy meal delivery service.

From waitressing to working in institutional kitchens, Tracey has been cooking up compassion for as long as she can remember.

Even when she enjoyed life on the road, as a long-haul trucker, her mind stuck on the idea of making convenient, healthy wraps that are super-easy to eat with one hand.

When she was looking for commercial space to grow That’s a Wrap, her catering company, she found out about the Ashburnham Funeral and Reception Centre and it was a perfect partnership. Tracey now provides comfort food for funerals and she even makes sure
that there are fresh cookies available when the funeral directors meet with grieving families.

That’s a Wrap Catering is busy with private parties and functions but a few months ago Tracey partnered with Sally Harding of Nightingale Nursing to purchase Classic Cooking, a meal delivery service that delivers tasty, good-for-you home-cooked meals in the Peterborough area. Knife and fork meals, as Tracey calls them.

Tracey beams when she talks about her Classic Cooking clients. They’re mostly seniors, most live alone and she absolutely loves the connection she has made with them.

“I was breaking down chickens for stock this morning,” Tracey laughs. “It’s not very sexy but I do it with love and I’m really putting love into the food.”

And her clients appreciate it. Like the one senior who says he hasn’t eaten so well in 30 years or another client who greatly appreciated that Tracey sourced special lactose-free cheese — just for her.

And that’s the kind of person Tracey is. She understands that even the smallest gesture can make her community better and stronger, which is why she joined the Rotary Club.

“They’re about service above self,” she explains. “I don’t have the big cheque book but I can donate my time and Rotary gives me that.”

Through Rotary she helps with One Roof, a full-support community centre as well as a local breakfast club and Food Share.

Her list of volunteer commitments is long, but Tracey doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal. Like the great smells in her kitchen, it’s just who she is and what she does.

“This is who I am,” she says. “I’m not some business person in a suit. I love my community. This is just who I am.”

Tracey gives credit for her love of food and people to her family.

This is who taught her how to cook good, simple foods but with special touches — like pan frying meatballs until they develop a real crust before letting them simmer in a sauce for hours. Although Tracey is quick to explain that her Irish Gramma’s meatballs are a bit different than Italian ones. It sounds like there is a secret ingredient, but Tracey just laughs and says it’s love.

This simple food with a special touch is the foundation for Classic Cooking. There are some recipes on the fridge in Tracey’s kitchen and they have great names like “Fabulous Roast Ham,” which Tracey admits is actually a fancy cottage roll. There are also recipes for “Meatloaf Madness” and “Chicky-Licky Casserole,” that boasts ingredients like mushrooms, cream, and pimento. Tracey says with a firm nod that it is served with red pepper jelly.

And because all this work feeding clients is not taking up every single minute, the volunteer roles are still expanding.

She’s the President of the Women’s Business Network in Peterborough (WBN) for 2018-19 and her theme for this year is “better together,” so when she heard a Canadian Blood Services call for help on the radio, she picked up the phone and got in touch. Now she and the other members of the WBN are sponsoring a blood donor clinic where they will promote the event and they will also be donating blood.

Tracey is also involved with a women’s build through Habitat for Humanity.

“They’re building at Curve Lake and I’ve got my hardhat and I can’t wait to do this,” she enthuses.

Giving new meaning to what it is to nurture and care for people, Tracey Ormond hopes that through all her partnerships, meals prepared, parties catered, and cookies served that she can help her home town be a little bit better, one bite at a time.

“I just love what I do,” she says.

And it shows.

That’s a Wrap Catering is located at 840 Armour Road in Peterborough in the Ashburnham Funeral and Reception Centre. For more information, call 705-768-7168, email info@thatsawrapcatering.ca, or visit www.thatsawrapcatering.ca. You can also follow That’s a Wrap on Facebook and Twitter, and connect with Tracey on LinkedIn.

“A lot can change in a year,” says Shannon Gray, owner of Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio.

Last year, the studio was celebrating the move to a bigger space on Sherbrooke street in downtown Peterborough, a relocation that was prompted by a tremendous growth in clientele.

“We’ve been consistently growing, and the new space has allowed us to add more services and more staff,” says Shannon.

For those unfamiliar with the process, sugaring is a gentler and safer form of hair removal that can be used on all parts of the body. Shannon uses Alexandria Professional Body Sugaring products, which are all natural, so clients don’t have to worry about harmful side effects.

“Sugaring is a safe and effective way to remove body hair,” says Shannon. “I give my full attention to all my clients. I ensure they feel comfortable during the process and that they leave satisfied with the results.”

In addition to body sugaring, Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio now offers lash lifts, semi-permanent mascara, lash and brow tinting, a dead-sea salt body smoothie, a Sweet and Plump facial, and the Alexandria Professional full body facial.

But these aren’t the only changes that have been taking place at Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio.

Shannon started her sugaring business in 2011 after years of using the home sugaring products on herself. She began offering sugaring services out of her home in Buckhorn, then moved her business to a couple locations in Peterborough before settling on the current location.

After moving to the larger space, Shannon thought it was the perfect time to undertake a comprehensive rebranding campaign.

Last August, full-service marketing agency Mega Experience designed a new logo for Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio, which had been operating under the original brand logo Shannon developed herself in 2011.

The new logo symbolizes the natural elements of sugaring, and the new business cards are soft to the touch — just like your skin after sugaring.

Despite how effortlessly it all seems to be coming together, Shannon is quick to note that rebranding is not a simple undertaking.

“It’s important for us to show in our brand what we are all about,” she explains.

“We wanted to convey the softness in your skin in the rose-style symbol. The confidence sugaring can bring is shown in the bold new look. We started working on this project last May. We wanted people to know we were more than sugaring by just looking at the logo. But just working on the website alone takes a long time, so altogether it’s a big challenge.”

Shannon emphasizes that the rebranding campaign has been a collective effort. In March of this year, staff spent five days painting the whole studio to match the new brand colours. The year’s work culminated in a brand launch on August 29, 2018, where members of the public were invited into the beauty studio to witness the unveiling of the new store signage.

But rebranding is not just about new designs, new paint, and new signs. It’s representative of growth, success, and provides a foundation for the future.

“These changes show me that we’re succeeding in what I set out to do,” Shannon says. “The new brand is visually stunning, but it represents so much more than that.”

The rebranding campaign has also provided a professional space for Shannon to focus on her other passion: education.

Educating clients, other sugarists, and the public is important to Shannon, which is why in April of this year she completed the Alexandria Master series training and become an Executive Educator in Alexandria Professional body sugaring products. This training allows Shannon to certify others in the masters courses.

Making the decision to become an Executive Educator seems like a natural next step, given that Shannon has been leading the way in body sugaring in the Peterborough area for years now.

She prides herself on providing in-depth training to her staff and has already been teaching as an Alexandria On-Call Educator.

“I tell my students that I’m their mentor,” says Shannon. “I’m available to them after the class ends. I provide them with information that goes beyond Alexandria Professional training. Some students are just starting out like I was, and I can help them with the entrepreneurship process as well.”

Shannon’s advancement in certification not only enhances her credibility, but it also allows her to run more advanced classes to educating other beauty professionals.

“I want other spas, salons, and studios to know we have courses that will help advance their staff skills and service menus,” Shannon says.

She isn’t worried about competition — she sees only positive outcomes to educating and training others.

“When sugarists do their jobs correctly, the client has a positive experience with sugaring and then they tell others about their experience,” Shannon explains. “What I don’t want is someone having a negative experience and then thinking negatively about sugaring in general, because that affects everyone’s business.”

VIDEO: Shannon Gray of Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio

Though the practice itself is centuries old, the sugaring industry today is gaining widespread recognition as an effective and safe form of hair removal. As Shannon says, this is the result of educating people and she’s happy to be part of it.

Shannon has hopes of one day becoming the Alexandria Professional Academy in the Peterborough area, which requires extensive training and educating on a regular basis.

“We’re making headway to that,” she says. “My mindset is always focused on growth, new opportunities, and educating people.”

With all that Shannon has been able to accomplish in the nearly eight years since starting her business, the possibilities seem endless.

“It’s been a great year, and I’m excited to see what the next one will bring.”

Sugar Me Right! Beauty Studio is located at 161 Sherbrooke St., Unit 2 in downtown Peterborough. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 705-742-6000, email info@sugarmeright.ca, or visit www.sugarmeright.ca. You can also follow Sugar Me Right on Facebook.

Paula Kehoe is a storytelling machine. From Red Rock Communications in Peterborough, she creates content, manages media relations, produces social, and turns regular events into compelling storylines that engage and entertain.

And it all starts with listening: first to her heart and her gut, and then to others.

Paula started Red Rock Communications in 2016 after she had relocated to Peterborough with her husband. She had worked for years as a journalist and then as a corporate communications consultant but when her son was diagnosed with autism, she made a decision to work for herself so she could be present for her son and her family.

That tough decision has now, a few short years later, turned into a long list of grateful clients and unexpected business opportunities.

You can still hear Newfoundland in Paula’s voice. There’s a warmth and that musical lilt that draws you in as she talks about her business and the long hours and constant creative output that are just a regular part of her life.

“I don’t believe in balance,” she says. “As a working mom, the mindset that I live by is work-life integration, meaning the choices that I’m making are based on what’s a priority for me at that moment.”

And this integration might just be the secret to her success. It’s about working long hours on projects she connects with, for clients she respects, and taking the time to enjoy friends, family, community, and whatever else makes her feel content.

Paula works most days writing strategic and compelling content. She chooses words — spoken and written — with the frugality of someone who clips coupons. There is a plan with every phrase and each syllable has value.

Her projects are many and her clients are diverse. She works with agencies in team environments and she supports individual clients in collaborate relationships while keeping a mindset to see opportunities — which is how she recently ended up as the VP of Marketing and Communications for a virtual reality startup.

SoftCoverVR is a digital marketing agency that works with the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to create virtual reality, augmented reality and 360 degree video experiences. According to their website, written by Paula, they “create impactful stories for clients that inspire empathy, build deeper relationships with consumers and empower their business.”

“This is becoming the next great storytelling medium to engage people, allowing an entirely new interpretation and expression of a brand experience,” Paula explains.

Every platform that Paula crafts content for requires different language, style and methodology so she stays sharp by listening to podcasts and catching up on what’s new in the industry.

“You need to keep learning,” she says. “You need to keep honing your craft and understand what it takes to write great content. I believe it’s important to have great mentors and to learn from the best.”

Paula also learns from her two kids, who are a source of joy and inspiration.

“My kids are quite active now and they like to go for hikes and it helps me get out,” she laughs. “They keep me present and they are really funny. I like to tap into their sense of humour. They are really funny little human beings.”

Laughter is a theme for Paula. She’s always interested in sharing a laugh and a beer with her husband or friends and she believes that good people fuel her creativity.

She volunteers a lot, having just finished up her second term on the Women’s Business Network of Peterborough board of directors and recently joined the International Women’s Day Conference committee for a third year as communications lead. And although that adds to her plate, as she describes it, this helps keep her mind fresh and taps into her desire to keep building meaningful relationships which is something that has spilled over into her work life.

Paula doesn’t really advertise, and most of her contracts come through word of mouth. She chooses her clients carefully and only works with people she thinks she can have great relationships with.

Paula is also realistic in how she looks at work and the opportunities that she has. After years of creating a cozy niche, she understands the importance and the value of what she does.

“How can anyone do it all?” she asks. “You can’t. That’s why you specialize.”

Red Rock Communications is located in Peterborough. For more information, visit redrockcommunications.ca. You can also connect with Red Rock Communications on Twitter and Instagram.