.jpg)
Selen Alpay is our newest board member who joined us in the summer. He is affectionately referred to by Pinball Clemons as the “heart” of the board and the name certainly fits. He has worked tirelessly to expand our reach and made new connections for us to continue our work moving youth from the Margins to Mainstream. The most unusual part- he lives full-time in Prince George, British Columbia as the owner of the local Canadian Tire store.
He first met Pinball in March 2016 when I was lucky enough to have a one on one breakfast meeting as part of a sponsorship benefit of the University of Northern British Columbia athletics fundraiser. He had been invited to be the keynote speaker and his messaging instantly inspired Selen, like most people who have a conversation with him. He even agreed to go on a trip to Kenya with Pinball within the first 10 minutes to see the work he was doing internationally. Pinball is infectious and Selen wholeheartedly believes in the mission that him and Diane have undertaken over the last 10 years.
Selen says that being a part of this Board for the last 10 months have been amazing. I have been blessed with the opportunity to see firsthand the work we are doing to move youth from the Margins to Mainstream, both locally and internationally. I helped build a school with other donors in Kenya and I participated in a leadership conference with Orlando Bowen’s One Voice, One Team. I’ve seen the impact we are supporting with providing scholarships at George Brown College. The work that the Pinball Clemons Foundation does is inspiring and impactful and I’m truly blessed to be along for the ride.