Andria Brady is the current Board Chairperson for Community Futures (CF) Sunrise, a position she's held since April 2010. Andria has guided the organization through many exciting changes and developments, always with an eye on the goal of supporting businesses in the southeast Saskatchewan region. Andria states, "when I joined the Board initially, I was interested in supporting businesses in my community and at the time I was living here but working out of town. This was a way to stay involved and support prosperity in my community."
Andria has been an active member of the CF Sunrise Board for 11 years, and is Sunrise's current representative on the provincial CF Saskatchewan Board. Throughout that time, she's remained committed to the organization, rarely missing a Board or committee meeting. When asked what drives her to continually share her time and expertise on the Board, Andria replies, "the feeling I have when we approve a loan and get a business up and running, or someone pays back a loan because they are operating successfully. I feel like I am giving back to the community I live and work in, and making it a better place by supporting these businesses." Andria is particularly interested in reviewing the loan applications that are brought to the Loans Committee, and also in considering new projects for Sunrise to be involved in.
And it's no wonder she is so active with CF Sunrise. Andria has a background in the financial services and banking sectors, and currently holds the position of Executive Director of the Weyburn Wor-Kin Shop. As Andria outlines, "the Weyburn Wor-Kin Shop is a non-profit corporation that supports adults with intellectual disabilities. I have been in this field for almost nine years, and my job entails all facets of management – human resources, financial, business development, marketing, government liaising, fundraising, advocating for persons with disabilities, and much more."
Outside of the CF world, Andria has a long list of volunteer activities. All of the work she's done has been to better her community and make a difference to its residents. Andria has been:
1. A founding board member of a local humane society and helped fundraise for, and build, their facility in Weyburn.
2. A part of a ladies' sorority that does volunteer work in Weyburn
3. An active volunteer for various provincial committees, related to her job, and
4. A volunteer for many one-time opportunities in her community, whenever possible.
It's through these volunteer activities that she's found a way to give back to those less fortunate or those who need extra assistance. Meeting new people and learning about opportunities within southeast Saskatchewan has been very rewarding for Andria.
Due to the consistently outstanding leadership she's provided to numerous organizations she's been involved with, Andria was nominated for a Quota Club Woman of the Year Award in Weyburn.
When asked if there were any milestones or achievements of her work or volunteer life that she was particularly proud of, Andria offered up this insight. "In my work life, I'm very proud that the Weyburn Wor-Kin Shop has lobbied and fundraised to the point where we have completed construction on two new buildings, and will soon move into the third and final one. It has been a very long struggle to get to this point but we have remained committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities and growing our organization and its many divisions. To date, I feel like this has been the most significant achievement in my professional life."
Always a proponent of the CF program, Andria is a true leader and outstanding contributor to the programs' objectives and CF Sunrise mission of supporting the development of business in the region.