“It made sense to me,” says Kevin. “It’s local – it’s supported by local people and it helps local people and organizations.”
“We have been fortunate to have been able to raise our family in this wonderful community and it has always been our wish to give back to the community that has supported us,” adds Wendy.
The couple met in Grande Prairie just a few months after Wendy returned home to work at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a year as she had received a Northern Alberta bursary for her schooling. “The rest, as they say, is history,” she smiles. They’ve now been married 33 years and have three adult children.
A respiratory therapist at the QEII Hospital for more than 20 years, Wendy moved on to work for home care, before taking on her current part-time position with Respiratory Homecare Solutions, providing marketing to local and regional physicians and clinics.
Kevin owns and operates a number of local businesses including Hi-Tech Business Systems, with partnerships in Maxim Storage, CCSI, Focus Bookkeeping, Dominion Lending Centres and Signature Falls development.
As a part of the local business community Kevin says he was inspired and influenced by a number of local business people including Bill Bowes, John Spero, Chuck and Pearl Upshall, Roy Carter, as well as his father-in-law Mike Fedyna.
Wendy’s parents, Mike and Isobel Fedyna, were themselves longtime residents of Grande Prairie. They owned and operated the Wigwam hair styling shop until “Mike the Barber” retired at 65. Mike passed away in 2014 at the age of 80. Kevin and Wendy along with many members of our community saw it fitting to honor Mike and donate to this fund to help support our community. Isobel is sadly living in long-term care due to her dementia.
For both Wendy and Kevin, seniors’ care is an important cause they believe in supporting through the Szakacs Family Fund, a Community Impact Fund, which addresses the needs of the community as they arise in areas such as youth, culture and seniors.
“It would be good to see that seniors receive the care and support they deserve,” says Wendy. “They have given so much to our community and it is important that they are treated with the utmost care and respect.”
Planning on being in Grande Prairie for years to come, the Szakacs’ are motivated by the sense of community experience in the Swan City. “Grande Prairie is our home,” says Kevin. “We have built our lives here and want to ensure that others can experience some of the wonderful opportunities that this community has to offer.”
Wendy agrees, noting the legacy they have established through the Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta will ensure that continues for years to come.
“We are inspired to be part of an organization that continues giving to the community that has given us so much…long past our time here,” she says.
You can make a difference in our community – not only for today but forever. When you make a donation to the Szakacs Family Fund, we invest that gift into a permanent endowment fund and the original gift is never spent. Donations can be made online here – https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/39295 or by calling the Community Foundation at (780) 538-2820.
