Internationally-known leadership development coach David Irvine has been named president of the Wayfinders Wellness Society.

The sought-after speaker, best-selling author, and trusted leadership advisor is seeking others to join him on the board of directors to help support the work of Wayfinders.

"I've done a lot of work in leadership development and law enforcement across the country, and I understand the issue of trauma with law enforcement," says Irvine. "I just want to roll up my sleeves and be involved. I travel around the world to do presentations on leadership development, but I want to be involved in something locally that I can help build."

For several years, Wayfinders has been expanding upon its diverse range of programs for veterans and first responders battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Irvine says to further advance their work, they need a strong board.

"They've got so many great programs, but we haven't supported them at the board level," he says. "There have been some board members that have really made a good contribution, and we just want to build on what's been done and build a stronger board."

While recruiting a secretary is a priority, he says they welcome all interested people to reach out.

"If they're interested in sitting on the board, that's all that's required right now. Then we'll assess as a board where they would fit and how they can contribute to the board, so I wouldn't worry about whether people are feeling like they're qualified.

"Our job. Is to serve this organization, provide the infrastructure that they need, provide the funding, and we are always interested in people who want to contribute in any way, financially or time-wise. That is our passion as a board and we want to make sure we get that right."

The best way to connect with Irvin is by emailing info@wayfinderswellness.ca.

The work of the Wayfinders Retreat continues to grow and evolve. It has added a wrap-around deck to facilitate some of its programming, including yoga. To the back of the ranchhouse is a tipi for Indigenous land-based workshops. Not far away is beekeeping, which has continued to expand since being introduced last year. And to the side is an area for equine workshops.

Art, music, as well as community garden workshops, are among the other regular offerings.

"We've got quite a variety of things to suit the responder, military, and their families that have suffered through service trauma," explains Paul Wagman, co-founder of Wayfinders. "Currently, we've also offered peer support, online or in-person, and our numbers are growing. Some of our workshops even have waiting lists.

'We assist between 75 and 85 first responders and military a month, so our numbers are fantastic."

Each workshop is limited to between four and eight people to make it comfort for all participants.

They are also reviving their podcast and about dozen of previously recorded ones remain available.

"And we hope that we're going to be able to offer much, much more because we've got quite a network of partners that we work with in our local community that support mental health," says Paul Wagman, who co-founded Wayfinders.

Information on Wayfinders is included on the Cochrane Care website, which is an online resource that connects residents to mental health tools, information and services close to home. 

To learn more, you can visit Wayfinders' Facebook page or website.

Irvin is a sought-after speaker, best-selling author, and trusted leadership advisor who serves an international client.

He's a long-time Cochrane area resident and has been involved in many local initiatives. That includes being a presenter during the "Bouncing Forward into Well-Being" campaign of FCSS and Cochrane's social recovery task force during 2021 National Mental Health Week at the peak of the pandemic.

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