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New CEO for the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation

Sally Ginter has a wealth of experience working in charity and business roles in the Okanagan
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Sally Ginter is the new Chief Executive Officer for the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation. (Submitted)

A new Chief Executive Officer for the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation is set to begin her new role this spring.

Sally Ginter, currently CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Toronto, has been hired after an extensive search by the SOS Medical Foundation board, assisted by the Vancouver-based search firm The Discovery Group.

Ginter, who grew up in Peterborough, Ont., is no stranger to the Okanagan.

From 2010-13 she served as regional director for the Canadian Cancer Society in Kelowna and oversaw more than 5,000 volunteers in 40 Interior communities, including the South Okanagan through an office in Penticton.

In 2016 she was appointed CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities and prior to that served as President and CEO of Kerry’s Place Autism Services, North America’s then-largest autism services provider. Ginter also volunteers as a Director on Autism Canada’s Board of Directors and serves as Chair of its Governance & Nominating Committee. She holds an Honours B.A. from Trent University in Ontario and an Executive MBA from Athabasca University.

Ginter, her husband Lauren, and their son Carson, are looking forward to returning to the Okanagan Valley and are eager to join the South Okanagan community.

Ginter has also worked in the private sector as branch manager at a building products plant in Kelowna for three years starting in 2007 and was a director with the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce from 2012-13.

“I am thrilled to join the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation team and am excited to work alongside the board, the staff, the volunteers and all those who generously support the important work done by the Foundation,” she said. “I look forward to returning to the Okanagan and in particular, am delighted my family and I will become part of the warm and welcoming South Okanagan community.”

READ MORE: Community comes through for $3m CT scanner

Peter Steele, chair of the SOS Medical Foundation board, said the foundation’s entire team is excited about Ginter’s pending arrival as CEO.

“Sally was our number one candidate and we’re lucky to have attracted her back to the Okanagan,” Steele said. “We’re looking forward to her arrival this spring. Sally brings a wealth of experience and already has a string of contacts here in the Valley through her work with another Okanagan charity.”

Ginter’s hiring comes on the heels of the SOS Medical Foundation’s successful campaign to raise $3 million for a second CT scanner at Penticton Regional Hospital. It also fundraises on behalf of other healthcare facilities throughout the South Okanagan Similkameen.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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