“We’re all going to face challenges and moments in motion in our lives, it’s up to us to choose how we will allow those moments to define us and who we will become because of it.”
Local business owner Roxanne Pashniak hoped to leave those words of wisdom with the students at the TEDx Talk hosted in Bonnyville on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre.
This was the second year the event took place, and it expanded to include discussions in Cold Lake at the Energy Centre on Oct. 10.
The theme was Moments in Motion, which organizer Patty Srisuwan hoped would get the students thinking about the events that can change the trajectory of their lives.
“Sometimes we don’t realize how important these moments are, but I think it’s important that those good or bad moments might change your life for the better,” she said.
Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) Grade 11 student Ella Baxter took that message to heart after hearing the speakers during the Bonnyville portion.
“It was really enlightening, especially for high school students since we’re all kind of looking towards what we want to do for the rest of our lives. I thought that it was really interesting,” she expressed.
Both events included local presenters from all walks of life sharing the moments that changed the direction of where they were headed.
Pashniak explained how her family never could have guessed where they would go. She was a stay at home mom to their son, while her husband worked in the oil field.
“He wanted to build a secure future for our growing family, and he had a new opportunity with a new company so he decided to take a chance and advance his career,” she said, adding a short time later their daughter was born.
“When our daughter was two-months-old, he was diagnosed with cancer. He was only just 30 at the time, so that kind of shook our life and we didn’t really know what to do except to just continue on.”
While her husband underwent cancer treatments over the next eight months, Pashniak re-entered the work force and tried to keep a roof over their head.
“We had two small babies, and I just prayed in that moment that they wouldn’t lose their dad and I wouldn’t lose my husband,” expressed Pashniak.
Determined to recover from what had happened to them, Pashniak and her husband continued to work in the oil industry until the economic downturn. A desire to live a healthier lifestyle due to her husband’s illness also emerged during this time.
“At this point, we didn’t change our plan, we just changed the approach to our plan and we opened the first of two Pita Pit restaurants.”
While they closed their location in Cold Lake, they’ve expanded their storefront in Bonnyville and promote healthy choices through their food.
It was stories like Pashniak’s that inspired Srisuwan to pick the speakers that she did for this year’s event.
“They’re self-starters, and they’re self-finishers. I think those two things are very important to me, and it’s just a normal, simple person just like you and I that are trying to do something for themselves, for their families, and for their community,” she said. “I think that’s saying something, including the choice of Pita Pit. Roxanne talked about how she wanted to focus on healthy living, and she wanted to open a healthy restaurant in the community. I think that’s an intriguing angle.”
Joining Pashniak on the Bonnyville stage were BRFA deputy fire chief Dan Heney, Jennie Hamel, owner of Jennie’s Diner and Baker, Farmbucks founder Lynn Dargis, organizer Patty Srisuwan, and local musician Clayton Bellamy.
With two successful events behind her, Srisuwan is looking forward to expanding the event with the hopes of continuing to inspire local youth.
“I hope to get a lot of participation from all the schools. I hope that my audience will get a lot out of it, and they will feel empowered by these really great stories. They came from real life, so it’s real and it’s touchable because these people are real people in the community.”
