Proudly Sponsored By Mares Insurance Services
Eligible individuals, 35 years of age or younger, include those that:
- Reside in Wallaceburg or North Kent (temporary residence outside of the area is acceptable for education or volunteer endeavors).
- Create a positive impact in their chosen field.
- Contribute beyond their professional and elected duties.
- Contribute to the development of our community and neighbourhoods to be a great place to work, live, and play for young persons.
Andrew Bourdeau [Winner]
Andrew Bourdeau is a young entrepreneur at the age of 19. This year he decided to follow his dreams. Not only is he going to St. Clair College for accounting, but he’s opened up a toy and collectable store in Wallaceburg, Ontario named Toy Wars and Collectables located on 21 Arnold Street. Andrew has a passion for collecting, something he’s inherited from his grandpa and his father who also have an interest in collectables. During his childhood, he always complained that Wallaceburg never had any decent toy stores, and it was always his dream to open a very cool store of his own. He loved the idea of having new, retro and vintage toys as well as rare finds, in a store that people would appreciate as much as he does.
Before COVID-19 Andrew got to meet many people within the industry as he travelled and collected himself for years. Not knowing that he would end up making amazing friends that would help him on his journey today. He was granted a beautiful gift, with an amazing backing to open the store he has today. It was unfortunate that COVID-19 hit, and the store had to close on such a short opening. When he reopened, he started back on track with his adventure. He had an amazing grand opening with social distancing and safety protocols put in place, and the help of his mom and the staff of Wallaceburg Martial Arts.
Andrew is a mentor to many children within the community, who he teaches karate to here in Chatham-Kent. He’s an extremely hard worker and lives by the principals of a black belt. Andrew believes in helping people and paying it forward. He donates and supports local businesses in our community where ever possible.
Justin Everaert
I am Justin Everaert, currently a sole proprietor of my own business, Justin Everaert Technology Solutions. I’m 22, living with my girlfriend, and spend most of my time working or learning electronics and computer science. Last spring, I graduated from Mohawk College in Mechanical Engineering Technology. I’m passionate about 3D design and manufacturing and have put that to good use as a freelance designer/prototyper. As somebody who enjoys unique and unorthodox challenges, I find that starting my own business gave me the freedom to find new customers and use different skills across a variety of challenges from designing and building scale prototypes to repairing industrial sewing machines. I always welcome new opportunities and look forward to forging new connections and business relationships.
I am the kind of person who doesn’t like to settle or spin their wheels. I felt a deep personal responsibility to lend my unique set of skills to designing and manufacturing the snorkel mask respirators, and when I graduated into a workforce on lockdown, I started my own business so that I could be in control of my employment. I’m constantly working to expand my skills so that I can do increasingly valuable work for my customers, and because I believe in learning as a lifestyle to better myself. In the future I intend to invest in more powerful manufacturing tools such as newer, larger, and more advanced 3D printers, as well as expand into electronic and programming services. I look forward to facing whatever challenges are ahead of us, and hope to continue to be a productive member of society as well as a valuable resource to my customers.
Shelby Pearce (Lunar & Co.)
I grew up in a small town in South Western Ontario called Wallaceburg. Following high school, I moved to the big city of Toronto and began a career in the non-profit sector organizing leadership tours and speaking in front of thousands of youth Canada-wide. I also led international volunteer opportunities in Kenya, Ecuador and Mexico working with local communities and building much needed infrastructure. After going back to school at 24 and studying Advertising and Marketing, I brought my expertise to a communication and blockchain technology start-up where my knowledge and hard work paid off. Starting as a Coordinator, team of 1, I quickly moved up the ranks to become the Marketing Director of a team of 10.
Due to COVID and some other extenuating circumstances, I found myself looking for a job for the first time in my career. Obviously not a great time to be looking, however, job posting after job posting, I just wasn’t finding anything I was interested in.
I’m an experienced and creative leader bringing a growth mindset to my work – using content and marketing to help organizations grow in fast moving industries. I’m also an eternal optimist, a proud feminist, and well, a bit of a control freak to be honest, but in the best way possible. I know what I want, and I go for it. That’s how I’ve decided to branch out on my own and start Lunar & Co. It’s something I’ve dreamt about for a long time, and am proud to say, I’ve channeled all of my wisdom into action, and this is the result!
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with and seeing so many women in business, and one common theme, no matter what industry or experience level, is the undying support we have for one another. Seeing this and being inspired, I knew Lunar & Co. needed to stand for something and be different from every other agency out there. I also knew that I wanted to work with people that I would admire, and there’s no one that I admire more than female bosses killing the game.