By meadowlakeNOW

Tolko women’s strategy helps support M.L. youth

Jul 19, 2017 | 3:52 PM

A local company is engaging and appreciating the women that work for them by supporting community involvement.

Several female staff members from the Meadow Lake OSB – a division of British Columbia-based Tolko Industries – volunteered at a track and field event with the Positively Parenting Summer Program today. Earlier this year, Tolko donated $10,000 to Positively Parenting to help revive the summer program, so the partnership was a fitting one.

The initiative is part of the organization’s women’s strategy, which was launched earlier this year to attract, retain and engage more women in the forestry industry.  

Jade Pikowicz is a maintenance clerk at Meadow Lake OSB. She said she was happy to be a part of the initiative, and she feels valued as a woman in her workplace.

“Tolko is a really great place to work,” she said. “[The company] did a survey to get some input so that they could plan some initiatives that would promote women in different areas of the company, because a lot of it is male-based.”

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She and her colleague, payroll administrator Bri Coones, ran the potato sack race together for the summer program kids. Coones echoed Pikowicz’s sentiment about being able to participate in a positive community program.

“They just want to retain their women and support them,” she said. “We have women in each department.”

In a media release from the company, plant manager Trevor Brander said women from various departments took time away from their daily posts to invest a few well-spent hours supporting kids in their community, including those from shipping and stores, woodlands, lab, planning, and accounting.

“Community involvement and inclusiveness are important to us here at Tolko Meadow Lake OSB,” he said. “It’s great that we can bring the two together and have women from every area of our operation volunteer for this program.”

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath