Grande Prairie Hospice Palliative Care Society
Board of Directors
Owen A. Lewis ~ Chairperson
Owen was born in Great Britain and moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he was raised.
He completed his undergraduate and law school degrees at the University of Alberta. After graduating in law, he spent a year clerking with the Court Justices of the Alberta Courts of Appeal and Queen’s Bench.
Owen practices in the area of Civil Litigation with an emphasis on Personal Injury Claims. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, and he enjoys teaching an introductory law course at the Grande Prairie Regional College.
Owen assists on the Boards of the Northern Alberta Brain Injury Society and the Community Foundation of Greater Grande Prairie and is a volunteer instructor for the Council for Lifelong Learning.
He is also actively involved in various other community activities.
Brenda Finch ~ Secretary
Coming from a family who has called Grande Prairie home since the 1920s, Brenda was raised to take an active role in her community.
As a founding member of the GPHPCS, Brenda strongly believes hospice palliative care should be available to everyone. Her main goals are to inform and support people needing hospice palliative care services and to help develop more options for end-of-life care in Grande Prairie.
Mike Frey ~ Treasurer
Mike is an active business and volunteer leader in the community of Grande Prairie.
For over thirty years, Mike led a successful chartered accountancy firm while offering extensive community service to the City of Grande Prairie and the Province of Alberta.
His list of volunteer service includes contributions to the Knights of Columbus, St. Joseph Roman Catholic Parish, the Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Grande Prairie Regional College, the Kinsmen Club, the Rotary Club, the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Foundation, the Grande Prairie Hospice Palliative Care Society, the United Way and the Grande Prairie Regional Airports Authority.
He has also served as a board member of the Alberta Law Foundation, a member of the Provincial Court Nominating Committee and a member of the Access to Funding Committee for Alberta Advanced Education.
Mike retired from his accountancy firm in 2003 and now works as an independent consultant.
Ian B. Kay ~ Past Chairperson
Ian has practiced law in Grande Prairie since 1967. He was born and raised in Australia where he also practiced law for several years.
He has been a Bencher of the Alberta Law Society and a Director and Chairman of a number of community organizations.
Ian has a continuing interest in end of life care and ensuring the development of hospice to services in Northwest Alberta.
Scott Field ~ Director
Scott was born and raised in Grande Prairie and is now a designer with Field, Field & Field Architecture and Engineering.
Scott developed an interest for hospice palliative care while working towards his Masters degree in Architecture. His thesis work focused on investigating the experiential nature of palliative care for both care givers and care receivers to create an environment that specifically caters to their special needs.
It was through this work that Scott realized the impending demand for expert end-of-life care services and facilities. It is through continued participation with the Grande Prairie Hospice Palliative Care Society that these needs can be realized in the Grande Prairie region.
David Gourlay ~ Director
Dave has made Grande Prairie his home for the last 20 years. He has held leadership roles in both the public and private sectors, always maintaining a contributing role in a variety of not-for-profit and service organizations.
He has a strong belief in the strength of community-based solutions to local challenges and the effectiveness of strategic alliances.
Katherine Fleming ~ Director
Katherine has worked with people with disabilities in many different settings for the past 30 years.
In 2010 Katherine marked her 23rd anniversary of delivering Person Centered Planning to people in Northwest Alberta through her company, Centerpoint Facilitation.
With a genuine desire to see people as leaders of their own lives, Katherine has dedicated herself to assisting people to find innovative solutions to the challenges they face with the assistance of their support teams.
Vern Begalke ~ Director
Vern retired in 2008 after 38 years in ordained Ministry: He worked 15 years as a community Pastor and 23 years in specialized Ministry as Hospital Chaplain at the QEII Hospital.
Vern is very interested encouraging the ongoing development of hospice palliative care with various partners in Grande Prairie and area.
Dr. Angela Barreth ~ Director
Angela is a family physician in Grande Prairie with a fellowship in palliative care. She is dedicated to caring for patients who struggle with symptoms resulting from cancer and other illnesses that are life-threatening.
She wants to see improved delivery of palliative care services to patients and families in Grande Prairie and the surrounding area.
