News

In the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Solvera joined the outpouring of support to Ukraine from across Canada and around the globe. In addition to personal donations of cash, clothing and household items, corporate development fund donations and $10,000 from Solvera, Solvera’s IT shop committed to providing several re-conditioned laptops to Ukrainian refugees in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Cathy Nieroda, Solvera retiree, was one of many Manitobans who stepped up in a big way. “I felt I needed to do something so my family donated funds and joined the lengthy list of Winnipeg families welcoming people into our homes,” she explains. “A host family welcomes the refugees into their household for several months, gets them to appointments such as language lessons, takes them shopping and to many other settlement activities including finding jobs and their future home, all in a supportive environment.”

The Nierodas are eagerly awaiting the six-member Kysliaks, her assigned Ukrainian refugee family. The Kysliaks, a family of 6, are in the Ukrainian city of Kovel awaiting the paperwork for their newborn baby Jakub and then they’ll be on their way to Winnipeg as soon as they can.

Cathy and Solvera Sales Executive Yev Khovrenkov are the Solvera contacts working with Solvera IT to coordinate the distribution of used Solvera laptops to 15 Manitoba and Saskatchewan refugee families. “Technology is key to getting these people started with their new lives in Manitoba and Saskatchewan so I’m very pleased Solvera could do this for them,” beamed Nieroda. “The smiles on the faces of the first laptop recipients tell the story of how grateful they are for the hospitality and generosity.”

Solvera is very pleased to announce that Solvera Project Manager and Management Consultant Will Hawkins has assumed the role of Client Executive, working with Saskatchewan-based clients.

Will is a seasoned IT professional with more than 20 years of Project Management and senior leadership experience working with a wide range of Saskatchewan-based companies across the major sectors of the Saskatchewan economy.

“Will brings great people skills, a deep understanding of client business needs and a thorough grasp of Solvera’s service capabilities, all key qualities that will serve Solvera clients well in the years ahead. We’re very fortunate to have Will on the Regina leadership team,” beamed Director of Client Experience Arla Schmidt.

The images from Ukraine over the past several days have inspired many governments, individuals and organizations around the world to step up with various levels and types of support for Ukrainian citizens.

As we did with the Syrian refugee crisis six years ago, Solvera is making a corporate donation of $10,000 to Canadian Red Cross. Solvera also allows each of our 330 employees to direct up to $500 in corporate funds to charities of their choice every year and we expect many employees will take advantage of that program, along with personal donations, to support Ukrainian relief.

Solvera has also declared an interest in helping displaced Ukrainians settle in Canada. Some provincial jurisdictions are fast tracking the immigration process for Ukrainians and we will be working with our local newcomer agencies to consider qualified candidates for Solvera opportunities.  

Solvera Sales Executive Yev Khovrenkov shares his thanks to all donors and concerned Canadians on behalf of the Ukrainian community:

Thanks for everyone who reached out to support and ask how they can help. The amount of support has been overwhelming - thank you!

It would be great if you could consider donating to Red Cross Ukraine humanitarian crisis appeal - I would truly appreciate that and I am sure it would help people who are in the midst of this unprovoked war & unnecessary tragedy.   

Solvera has again been awarded Best Employer status by global human resources firm Kincentric, on the strength of top quartile employee engagement results in the 2021 study. Solvera’s engagement level was determined to be 86%, which according to Kincentric means 86% of employees “consistently contribute, strive to effectively meet their goals and intend to stay with the organization. They bring their heads and hearts to work, are highly participative in day-to-day activities, contribute ideas and positive customer interactions.”

It is the 11^th straight year Solvera has earned the Best Employer designation, with engagement levels ranging from 79 - 89% during that time span.

“Employee engagement is a key success factor for any organization, and we see living proof of it every day,” explains Robinson. “It shows in our work with clients, our relationships within the industry and our interactions with each other across the company. We concur with the KIncentric research that shows high employee engagement is strongly correlated with positive business results, including productivity, client satisfaction and employee retention.”

“The IT consulting market is very competitive,” says Chief Executive Officer Reg Robinson. “Solvera has been fortunate to attract and retain many of the industry’s best people and this feedback from employees will help us achieve continued success in the years ahead.”

Solvera today announced the appointment of Associate Client Executive and Enterprise Consultant Yev Khovrenkov to the role of Solution Sales Executive, with a focus on ServiceNow. Yev will assume the Solution Sales Executive role on a part-time basis, in addition to his Enterprise Consultant role.

Yev brings a wealth of IT consulting experience to the role, including the last five years with Solvera, sharing his enterprise service management and service delivery expertise and building strong client relationship management skills.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing Shelley Paterson reports that “Yev will be assuming the solution sales leadership on one of our key strategic services where we see immense opportunity, both in the future and right now. ServiceNow is one of our fastest growing solution areas, and we expect the momentum to continue. With the addition of Yev to the team, we have the opportunity to build upon our strong ServiceNow track record and extend our services to new clients in existing and new markets.”

Solvera Regional Vice President Greg Miller today announced that longtime IT consultant and Solvera leader Arla Schmidt has been appointed to the role of Regional Director for Solvera in Saskatchewan.

In 2004, Arla played a key role in the early days of Solvera Solutions by taking a risk and joining this start-up company.  Her spirit of entrepreneurship, hard work and dedication was instrumental in those early days of establishing Solvera’s reputation as a trustworthy firm. Since that time, she has steadily applied her expertise to numerous aspects of the business, honing her skills in client care, people care and delivery of major projects and services.

In 2020, Arla was nominated for the Nutrien YWCA Regina Women of Distinction awards in the category of Science and Technology in recognition of her professionalism and supporter of other women in the Information Technology field.

In making this appointment, Greg adds:  “Arla has been instrumental in our success over the years and her fingerprints can been seen in many of our major client initiatives and successes. We look forward to Arla’s growth in her new role and know that clients, employees and the broader community will all be well served under her leadership.”

It’s an unprecedented time when many of our fellow citizens are dealing with significant short and long-term challenges.

It is therefore cause for celebration that Solvera and its employees have once again recognized the United Way as central to our society’s efforts to improve the lives of Canadians and have given generous donations through our 2020 Campaign.

This year, the campaign raised $46,310 across our western Canadian offices, bringing the total contributions from Solvera and employees over the past 15 years to $800,000, in addition to numerous contributions at the United Way Board and Committee level, plus donations of consulting time to advance United Way projects.

Together, we are changing lives.

Winnipeg – The local chapter of the Project Management Institute Manitoba (PMI) has selected an innovative and highly successful Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) project as one of three finalists for its prestigious 2020 Project of the Year Award, to be chosen on September 15, 2020.

The Court Notification System (CNS) project, completed in 2019, was designed to address process deficiencies involving fax and paper-based notifications of court appointments and related cancellations that resulted in significant overtime expenses and inefficient use of officer time.

The project team, comprised of WPS staff, local IT consulting firm Solvera Solutions and members of Manitoba Justice, exceeded all of its objectives, reports Inspector Chody Sutherland: “Our business case identified the opportunity to reduce overtime expenses, improve work/life balance and re-allocate member time to higher value work addressing WPS’s strategic goals: Less Crime and Victimization, Engaged Communities, Healthy Organizations and Efficient and Effective Service.”

In its first year, the new electronic CNS has enabled the redirection of more than $750,000 dollars of savings to other critical services in our city, with an additional $900,000 of projected savings per year going forward. It’s one of our most successful projects ever.”

PMI Manitoba President Michael Hanna notes that “the CNS project reflects a suite of project management best practices, including well-defined project scope, effective stakeholder engagement, solid risk management and organizational change management. These are just some of the important criteria that will be evaluated among our three finalists in selecting our Project of the Year.”

Juan Saldivar, Vice-President of Operations of the PMI Manitoba chapter, has been accountable for the awards committee for more than six years: “The chapter recognizes Solvera’s continued support in our shared goal to make an impact in the local project management community. By submitting the CNS project and making the final round, Solvera and the Winnipeg Police Services have shown a commitment to excel and demonstrate their superior performance in the application of project management practices. We would like to congratulate Solvera and the Winnipeg Police Service on their continued success.”

WPS Court Notification System Backgrounder:

Members of the WPS are required to attend court trials as part of their duties.  When court attendance is scheduled outside of normal working hours, this results in overtime pay for members. When court attendance is required during normal working hours, it takes members away from their regular duties.  Before the launch of the project, the court notification process consisted of these steps: Government of Manitoba Department of Justice sent the WPS their court appearance notifications via a dispatch process using Commissionaires.  If the WPS’s attendance was no longer required for a court appearance, Justice sent a cancellation notification to the WPS by fax.  These cancellations were then communicated to the member involved. 

This process sounds simple enough, but there were numerous inefficiencies associated with the dispatch and fax-based cancellation process. Faxes regularly went missing, were sent to the wrong fax number, or were not received and processed in a timely manner. Consequently, members of the WPS often did not receive their cancellation notices, resulting in unnecessary court attendance and overtime costs.

WPS and Justice saw an opportunity to streamline and automate the court notification process and were ready to work together to develop an automated Court Notification System (CNS).  CNS replaces the current process with enhanced electronic notifications, improving the efficiency, reliability, and timeliness of court appearance and cancellation notifications.

Solvera Backgrounder:

As a trusted leader in IT-enabled business solutions, Solvera Solutions delivers innovation and value to our clients throughout western Canada, including Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Victoria.  We help our clients leverage the power of technology to achieve transformational growth through our Application Solutions, ServiceNow Solutions, SAP Solutions and Modern Workplace services, complemented by a holistic range of Consulting Services, including Project Management. Solvera is a proud sponsor of PMI Manitoba.

For more information:

Chody Sutherland, Inspector, Winnipeg Police Service

Michael Hanna, President, PMI Manitoba  president@pmimanitoba.org

Juan Saldivar, VP, Operations, PMI Manitoba vpoperations@pmimanitoba.org

Bob Lane, Solvera Solutions bob.lane@solvera.ca

This past weekend, YWCA Regina announced its list of 23 amazing women nominated as Women of Distinction 2020. The awards highlight the exceptional contributions of southern Saskatchewan leaders in six categories:

• Arts and Culture
• Community Champion
• Entrepreneurship & Trades
• Health & Wellness
• Reconciliation in Action
• Science & Technology

Solvera’s Arla Schmidt is one of the nominees within the Science and Technology category and we think Arla is a perfect choice, amid a very talented group of individuals.

Arla was born and raised in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. She left her small town roots to achieve a Computer Science degree from the University of Regina and then began her career as an application developer at SHL Systemhouse. She later became an early employee of a brand new company, now widely known as Solvera Solutions. She found her strength in building relationships and assigning resources to various clients as a Resource Manager for many years.

Over the last 15 years, Arla’s role has transitioned to managing a large, diverse team of professionals who are involved in many IT projects and complex initiatives. In her spare time, she volunteers with Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and Regina Food Bank.

When asked about the nomination today, Arla replied with her typical humility that she was “very honoured to be mentioned in the company of this year’s nominees and past winners, and pleased that the program shines a light on the countless leadership contributions of women in our community.”

The Awards ceremony has been deferred to Fall, 2020.

For more information:

https://womenofdistinctionregina.com/2020-nominees

Celebration is in the air today with the news that Solvera has requalified as a Platinum Club Member of Canada's Best Managed Companies. The news was released today by Deloitte and Canadian Business Magazine.

 
For Solvera, inclusion in the Best Managed Companies program is an important achievement for many reasons, says co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Ostertag. “First, the annual selection process has validated once again that our business strategy is sound, progressive and sustainable for the future. Secondly, the networking and learning opportunities with other Best Managed Companies can be excellent.”

 
“And most importantly, selection to the Best Managed Companies Platinum Club is strong testament to the outstanding consulting, project and managed services Solvera has been delivering to clients across Western Canada. We’re extremely proud of our team.”
Review the Best Managed Companies list:

https://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/canadas-best-managed-companies/articles/meet-our-winners.html?nc=1&id=ca:2em:3cc:awa_2020_Best_Managed_Gala_Sym:Winners_Event__E16AAF8B

This year’s Best Employers set the bar for workplace excellence, according to Canada’s leading employee experience program.

To be recognized as a Kincentric Best Employer in Canada, organizations have to score in the top quartile of Kincentric’s regional database for Employee Engagement and at least two of the remaining three indices.

Backed by more than 50 years of employee research and leveraging a global database of over 15 million employees, Kincentric Best Employers is Canada’s leading employee experience program. Based on surveys of employees at every organization that participates, the program measures and recognizes extraordinary employers that demonstrate workplace excellence, by measuring four crucial “people factors”: Employee Engagement, Organizational Agility, Engaging Leadership and Talent Focus. To be recognized as a Kincentric Best Employer in Canada, organizations have to score in the top quartile of Kincentric’s regional database for Employee Engagement and at least two of the remaining three indices.

Now in its 20^th year, the 2019 Best Employers program winners include several long-time Best Employers – in fact, 13 of the 39 organizations on the list have been Best Employers for 10 years or more. As well, this year’s program welcomes three new members to this exclusive grouping.

Kincentric, previously a part of Aon, is now a Spencer Stuart Company whose mission is to help organizations unlock the power of people and teams through their unique approach to human capital.

***********************************

Solvera Solutions
Years on Best Employers list: 9
Industry: Research & Consulting Services
Headquarters: Regina
Website: solvera.ca

***********************************

Here is the list of the rest of the 2019 Kincentric Best Employers in Canada

Allstate Canada
Years on Best Employers list: 8
Industry: Property & Casualty Insurance
Headquarters: Markham, Ont.
Website: allstate.ca

Alpine Building Maintenance
Years on Best Employers list: 1
Industry: Environmental & Facilities Services
Headquarters: Delta, B.C.
Website: alpineservices.ca

Arctic Co-operatives Limited
Years on Best Employers list: 1
Industry: Food Retail
Headquarters: Winnipeg
Website: arcticco-op.com

Arrow Engineering Inc.
Years on Best Employers list: 2
Industry: Diversified Consumer Services
Headquarters: Edmonton
Website: arrowonline.ca

ATB Financial
Years on Best Employers list: 11
Industry: Other Diversified Financial Services
Headquarters: Edmonton
Website: atb.com

BBA
Years on Best Employers list: 8
Industry: Construction & Engineering
Headquarters: Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.
Website: bba.ca

Bennett Jones LLP
Years on Best Employers list: 19
Industry: Legal Services
Headquarters: Calgary
Website: bennettjones.com

BluEarth Renewables Inc.
Years on Best Employers List: 1
Industry: Renewable Electricity
Headquarters: Calgary
Website: bluearthrenewables.com

BlueShore Financial
Years on Best Employers list: 9
Industry: Regional Banks
Headquarters: North Vancouver
Website: blueshorefinancial.com

Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
Years on Best Employers list: 7
Industry: Residential REITs
Headquarters: Toronto
Website: capreit.com

Canadian Canola Growers Association
Years on Best Employers List: 2
Industry: Agricultural Products
Headquarters: Winnipeg
Website: ccga.ca

Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)
Years on Best Employers list: 4
Industry: Internet Software & Services
Headquarters: Ottawa
Website: cira.ca

Celero Solutions Inc.
Years on Best Employers list: 2
Industry: Software
Headquarters: Winnipeg
Website: celero.ca

CIMA+
Years on Best Employers list: 12
Industry: Construction & Engineering
Headquarters: Toronto
Website: cima.ca

Cority Software Inc.
Years on Best Employers list: 5
Industry: Internet Software & Services
Headquarters: Toronto
Website: cority.com

CWB National Leasing
Years on Best Employers list: 11
Industry: Diversified Financial Services
Headquarters: Winnipeg
Website: cwbnationalleasing.com

Davis Automotive Group Limited
Years on Best Employers list: 8
Industry: Automotive Retail
Headquarters: Lethbridge, Alta.
Website: davisautogroup.ca

DLGL Technologies Corporation
Years on Best Employers list: 8
Industry: Systems Software
Headquarters: Blainville, Que.
Website: dlgl.com

DRW Canada Co (formerly Vigilant Global)
Years on Best Employers list: 8
Industry: Diversified Capital Markets
Headquarters: Montreal
Website: drw.com

Edward Jones
Years on Best Employers list: 18
Industry: Investment Banking & Brokerage
Headquarters: Mississauga, Ont.
Website: edwardjones.ca

Farm Credit Canada
Years on Best Employers list: 17
Industry: Other Diversified Financial Services
Headquarters: Regina
Website: fcc-fac.ca

GEF Seniors Housing
Years on Best Employer list: 13
Industry: Specialized Consumer Services
Headquarters: Edmonton
Website: gef.org

Grantek System Integration Ltd.
Years on Best Employers list: 6
Industry: Consulting & Other Services
Headquarters: Burlington, Ont.
Website: grantek.com

IHG – Canada
Years on Best Employers list: 4
Industry: Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
Headquarters: Toronto
Website: ihg.com

Intact Financial Corporation – Canada
Years on Best Employers list: 5
Industry: Multi-line Insurance
Headquarters: Toronto
Website: intactfc.com

Kawartha Credit Union
Years on Best Employers list: 7
Industry: Banks
Headquarters: Peterborough, Ont.
Website: kawarthacu.com

Keg Restaurants Ltd.
Years on Best Employers list: 18
Industry: Restaurants
Headquarters: Richmond, B.C.
Website: kegsteakhouse.com

Maritime Travel
Years on Best Employers list: 11
Industry: Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
Headquarters: Halifax
Website: maritimetravel.ca

Marriott International – Canada
Years on Best Employers list: 14
Industry: Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
Headquarters: Mississauga, Ont.
Website: marriott.com

MNP
Years on Best Employers list: 12
Industry: Research & Consulting Services
Headquarters: Calgary
Website: mnp.ca

PGL Environmental Consultants Ltd.
Years on Best Employers list: 2
Industry: Construction & Engineering
Headquarters: Vancouver
Website: pggroup.com

Ryan, ULC
Years on Best Employers list: 7
Industry: Specialized Finance
Headquarters: Mississauga, Ont.
Website: ryan.com

Scott Construction Group
Years on Best Employers list: 3
Industry: Construction & Engineering
Headquarters: Burnaby, B.C.
Website: scottconstructiongroup.com

Solutions 2 GO
Years on Best Employers list: 7
Industry: Consumer Electronics
Headquarters: Brampton, Ont.
Website: solutions2go.ca

StarTech.com
Years on Best Employers list: 7
Industry: Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
Headquarters: London, Ont.
Website: startech.com

Stikeman Elliott
Years on Best Employers list: 11
Industry: Legal Services
Headquarters: Montreal
Website: stikeman.com

The Co-operators
Years on Best Employers list: 17
Industry: Multi-line Insurance
Headquarters: Guelph, Ont.
Website: cooperators.ca

The Sovereign General Insurance Company
Years on Best Employers list: 9
Industry: Multi-line Insurance
Headquarters: Calgary

Solvera is pleased to report that this year's United Way campaign across Solvera collectively raised more than $80,000 to help address pressing social needs in our communities, raising Solvera’s 9-year contribution totals to $750,000.

Solvera believes the United Way is a well-run human services organization well-placed to help tackle root-cause issues in our community and bring forward strong initiatives, such as raising child literacy levels. Research proves definitively that being able to read at grade levels by Grade 3 is a key determinant in future success, personally and in people’s careers. United Way’s focus on education, coupled with ongoing support for Safe Communities, is making a difference in the lives of many.

That is why Solvera contributes significantly to the cause as well, by matching employee donations at 50% and making additional corporate contributions. Solvera is also proud to have senior leaders in key Board and Committee roles for the past 15 years. 

Over the past two years, Solvera has been developing its delivery centre model to enhance our services to clients, in recognition of the numerous benefits provided.

“Solvera’s Delivery Centre model engages knowledgeable, skilled, trained and effective resources working together with standard processes, methods, and tools to bring high value solutions to our customers,” explains Vice President of Service Delivery Carl Strempler.

“Solvera’s Delivery Centres are focused on teamwork and efficiency. The advantage of engaging a Delivery Centre is that our teams work together from project to project, honing the approaches and the skills of our team so that projects delivery faster and more efficiently. Delivery Centres provide turn-key solutions for small projects that require oversight and analysis as well as technically superior problem solving. We share resources between projects so even small projects get the benefit of a mature software development lifecycle and team. All this is done without giving up valuable office space.”  

Solvera has appointed three very capable and highly experienced IT leaders to manage each of the three virtual Delivery Centres.  Adam Kapilik (Application Services), Sharon Dahlman (ServiceNow) and Lori Legris (SAP).

Solvera Solutions is a proud SAP Silver Partner.  We are honoured to be a partner with the 16th most valuable brand in the world. Having that competitive edge and acceleration in the innovation cycle is key. Whether you are experiencing a period of rapid growth and need to scale up, or your systems need an upgrade and a refresh, Solvera can offer the support you need to evolve your SAP system to the next level. 

Read more about the BrandZ recognizing SAP 

Earlier this month, Solvera welcomed seasoned Client and Account Manager Simon Crouch to the critical role of Client Executive in Calgary. Simon brings two decades of account management experience in Alberta, a strong understanding of the professional services marketplace and a passion for leveraging the power of technology to solve complex business challenges.

Simon is a great cultural fit in the organization, sharing Solvera’s commitment to improving the places we call home. He is active in charities and events dedicated to fighting multiple sclerosis, cancer and congenital heart defects.

Solvera has appointed highly experienced IT leader Darcy Semeniuk to the role of Client Executive in the Calgary market. Darcy has a very strong technical and management background in IT and has a proven track record of effectively meeting client needs and leading teams. He’s a strategic thinker who turns ideas into action and is laser focused on satisfying client needs.

Contact him at darcy.semeniuk@solvera.ca

Solvera is very pleased to announce the appointment of deeply experienced consultants Aleem Daya, Tatiana Pereira and Titus van der Meer as Associate Client Executives in Calgary. In their roles, they will assume direct responsibility for working with assigned Calgary-based clients and Solvera’s outstanding team of consultants. All three have excellent people skills, a thorough grasp of Solvera’s service capabilities and a deep knowledge of client business needs.

All three are also champions of Solvera’s work in the community, supporting many causes that make a difference in people’s lives

In support of Solvera’s ambitious growth plans for delivering excellence in SAP Solutions to the western Canadian marketplace, long-time industry leader Alvin Szott has been appointed to the role of Director of SAP Solutions.

Solvera has been delivering SAP Solutions in Western Canada for 20 years and has established itself as a leading provider of SAP sustainment services, both onsite and in managed services models.  To support customers on their digital transformation to SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Solvera will continue to invest and grow their delivery capabilities around the S/4HANA digital core, SAP cloud offerings including SAP SuccessFactors and SAP Cloud Platform, and the SAP Fiori user experience and applications.

Alvin is well known in industry circles and brings more than 30 years of IT professional services experience with several firms, including SAP Canada and internationally. He will split his duties between SAP Service leadership and direct involvement in SAP sales, leveraging his strong experience in both.

Alvin can be reached at alvin.szott@solvera.ca

Solvera is very pleased to announce the appointment of industry veteran Brent Schick to the role of Client Executive in Regina.

Brent is well-known to Solvera and brings a wealth of experience and connections from his 20-year public sector IT career, including the last ten as Director of Information Systems.

Brent’s focus will be on engaging with clients on their IT needs and Solvera solutions, leading Solvera team members assigned to those clients and contributing to the overall leadership of Solvera.

Brent has an Undergrad Business Admin degree from U of R and is also a Professional Accountant.

As we usher in a New Year on January 1, we look forward to new roles for two highly capable Associate Client Executives, Desiree Leach and Yev Khovrenkov.

Desiree is a 20-year IT professional with more than 10 years of Architecture experience working with local Solvera clients. She brings great people skills, a deep knowledge of client business needs and a thorough grasp of Solvera’s service capabilities. She is also a champion of Solvera’s community support initiatives, most notably through the United Way.

Yev looks forward to continuing his senior consulting role with clients while focusing on some of Solvera's smaller clients and supporting Solvera’s ServiceNow service. He brings 15 years of professional services experience and a deep understanding of several of Solvera’s Saskatchewan clients to his new role.

Solvera has once again earned the coveted Platinum Level distinction among Canadian companies, with a top quartile grading based on anonymous employee engagement survey responses.

In 2018, 79% of Solvera employees were deemed by Aon to be fully engaged in their work and the organization, which is great news for Solvera and clients. This marks the 7^th year in a row that Solvera has achieved this distinction.

“As pleased as we are to receive the accolades, the key benefit for us is to use the feedback to improve aspects of the organization that need attention,” reports Managing Principal Reg Robinson. “With our initial survey results in hand, we can meet with focus groups of employees to dive deeper into specific issues identified in the survey and build improvements into our plan for the next year.”

The Aon Best Employers program measures and recognizes leading employers across Canada and worldwide. It is based on more than 15 years of experience in Best Employer studies across the world, backed with more than 20 years of experience in employee research and a global employee engagement database. It focuses on the measures that lead to sustainable business results - engagement, leadership, performance culture and employer brand - and uses the most objective measure possible: employee opinion.

List of the Aon Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada

Solvera is very pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Pearce to the role of Client Executive, Strategic Growth.  Nick has thrived in the Client Executive, Organic Growth role at Solvera for the past few years, as well as previously leading the Application Services Practice and consulting with numerous clients and brings a wealth of experience to the new role.

In his new role, Nick will be accountable for strategic sales pursuits and continuing to grow Solvera's business.

Solvera is pleased to announce the appointment of Enterprise Consultant Rob West to the role of Management Consulting Service Director.  Rob has been at Solvera for six years and has a breadth of management consulting and leadership experience spanning more than 20 years.

Within his new role, Rob is accountable for supporting the regions with maintaining the relevancy of the Management Consulting Services and supporting solution services to evolve and strengthen relevant Management Consulting processes and capabilities.

Rob will also lead the Management Consulting Community of Interest, with continued emphasis on the professional development of consultants.

Solvera is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeremy (JD) Kirk to the role of Client Executive in the Saskatchewan market.  JD has been at Solvera for thirteen years as a Project Manager & Senior Business Analyst as well as Associate Client Executive.

Within his role, JD will be accountable for Organic Sales, People Care and Delivery for an assigned set of clients.    He is still deeply involved in client projects and we will work out a transition plan that allows him to finish the delivery of those projects while stepping into the new role.

The addition of JD in a full-time Client Delivery capacity strengthens our delivery team and contributes to making Solvera one of the leading firms in the marketplace.

Last Friday, Deloitte announced that Solvera Solutions is now an official member of the Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club! Membership is exclusive to Canada's leading organizations that have been named Best Managed companies for seven years or more.

Every year, hundreds of entrepreneurial companies, including Solvera, compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their business strategy, management abilities and practices, says Deloitte.

Former Governor General David Johnston presents Platinum Club Award to Solvera

Managing Principal Jim Ostertag welcomed the news and the scrutiny that comes with the annual application process. “We appreciate the insight and thorough evaluation of coaches and the selection panel, and the networking with other strong companies within the program. Congratulations to our outstanding employees for making Solvera such a fine organization with such a bright future.”

https://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/canadas-best-managed-companies/topics/best-managed.html

Once again, Solvera was a major sponsor and a driving force behind this year’s Techapalooza, Winnipeg’s IT party of the year. Techapalooza was very well attended and raised $90,000 for CancerCare Manitoba last weekend.

This event is unique in Canada and brings together the IT community in Winnipeg - vendors, customers and partners - to have fun and contribute to a great cause - CancerCare Manitoba. In the seven years Techapalooza has been held, the event has raised over $450,000 for cancer research, education and patient support programs.

In addition to Solvera’s ongoing sponsorship of this important event, Solvera plays a prominent role on the Techapalooza Organizing Committee (Barb Spurway, Co-Chair, Hal Ryckman, Co-chair and Carl Strempler, Musical Director). Hal and Carl both performed with their popular Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band, Skynerd.

Last night’s celebration in Calgary was a VERY big deal for 16 graduates of the highly successful Never Too Late Unlocking Potential Foundation program that Solvera has supported for many years.

The Never Too Late program, run by Catholic Family Service, provides no-cost academic, social and emotional support to adult learners who want to complete their GED (General Education Development or high school equivalency).

The graduates were honoured for achieving their high school graduation goal after a break of some years from the formal education system, which is no small achievement.

Ten Solvera volunteers made the day special by giving the ceremony the celebratory touches it deserved, and Solvera made the day super special for one graduate, Crystal Chaban.

Crystal was selected to receive a Solvera scholarship of $2,000, which will further assist her in the next stage of her career. The scholarship is one of six that Solvera has enthusiastically committed to over a three-year period.

“We have sponsored 13 graduation ceremonies over the last several years and been fortunate to share in the life-changing power of education for more than 140 graduates,” beamed Managing Director Carol Hillier. “By granting a scholarship, we can help make the dream of post-secondary education a reality for students like Crystal and motivate many more to pursue their goals.”

More About Never Too Late:

Never Too Late participants attend preparation classes twice a week for 35 weeks, as well as have access to volunteer tutors. A Never Too Late Coordinator works side-by-side with participants to identify and overcome any barriers to completing their GED. The results: improved self-esteem, confidence, participation in community and higher success rates for adults who write the GED exam.

TORONTO, Nov. 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, released its 2018 Aon Best Employers in Canada – the country’s premier benchmark for the quality and performance of excellent workplaces –– recognizing 63 companies, including 31 organizations with more than 400 employees and 32 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Now in its 19th year, the Aon Best Employers in Canada Study is based on the opinions of almost 734,000 employees across approximately 500 Canadian organizations.

This year’s results highlight management factors that characterize organizations with highly engaged employees. Overall employee engagement in the survey group remained largely unchanged from last year. However, Platinum-level Best Employers, which scored in the top quartile of the Study, clearly differentiated themselves in engagement measures that relate to managing through change – a sign, says Aon, that Best Employers are much more effective at attracting, retaining and engaging high performers through disruptive times. 

Quotes: 
“Almost every organization we surveyed is facing some kind of disruption, and a lot of it is being generated by technology, directly or indirectly,” said Todd Mathers, Partner, Talent, Rewards and Performance Consulting, Aon Hewitt. “The pressure that we’ve been seeing is that the advancement of technology – and related changes in how work is done in organizations – are creating an environment of increasing uncertainty for employees, many of whom need to work in different ways while at the same time delivering expected results.  This year’s survey data highlight how Best Employers are helping and leading employees through those challenges.”

“One key indicator is in the survey dimension Enabling Work, which measures how effectively organizations are equipping employees to perform their work tasks through effective work processes, people resources, information, and tools and technology,” Mathers added. “Platinum-level Best Employers are far better at this than non-Best Employers, by a margin of 18 percentage points – the biggest differential of any engagement dimension in the Study. Not only do Best Employers do a better job enabling their employees, but they are also more effective in supporting employees through technology and work process changes.”

“Strong leadership is also vital to effectively managing disruption, because good leaders are able to articulate the need for change and motivate employees to support it,” he continued. “Again, we can see this in the data: Platinum-level Best Employers score 17 percentage points higher than non-Best Employers in the Senior Leadership dimension. Platinum Best Employers are also better, by similar margins, in Recognition and in Managing Performance – helping employees feel valued by providing them with appropriate feedback and rewards, and helping them connect the work they do with higher-level organization objectives.”

Key Facts:

• Average engagement for Platinum-level Best Employers (top 25% of all organizations) stood at 79%, down slightly from 80% last year. Average engagement among Gold-level Best Employers (top 33%of all organizations) was 73%, unchanged.
• Among sectors, Banking and Financial Services represented the greatest number of Best Employers, followed by Software and IT, Insurance, and Construction and Engineering.
• Among the scoring categories with the largest differentials between Platinum-level Best Employers and non-Best Employers, those related to an organization’s ability to effectively lead through change stood out, especially Enabling Work (74% versus 56%), Senior Leadership (77% versus 60%), Managing Performance (74% versus 57%), and Recognition (68% versus 53%).
• Platinum-level Best Employers were also significantly more effective in the areas of supporting employee Learning & Development (+16% over non-Best Employers) and future Career Opportunities (+17%).

About the Aon Best Employers in Canada Study
The Aon Best Employers in Canada Study is the country’s premier benchmark for assessing the quality and performance of workplace excellence using global standards based on more than 20 years of learnings and best practices from Aon studies conducted all over the world, relying on data collected in more than 150 markets from over 9,000 organizations in 68 industries, including over 734,000 employees and more than 500 companies of all sizes in Canada. Recognized organizations have achieved outstanding results among their Canadian counterparts for engaging employees, demonstrating effective leadership, building a performance culture and leveraging the strength of their employer brand.

Aon’s Best Employers in Canada (>400 employees) and Aon’s Best Small and Medium-sized Employers in Canada award recipients (<400 employees) for 2018 appear in the print edition of Maclean’s, the online edition of Canadian Business magazine on November 9, and in the November 10 edition of La Presse (see list on next page).

To learn more about the Aon Best Employers studies and register online to participate, please visit the Aon Best Employers website.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.

On May 6, 2017, Solvera Solutions employees in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg, in co-operation with community partners, are challenging themselves to cook enough chili to feed 10,000 people in need.  Solvera’s team in Regina is taking the challenge one step further by attempting to cook 3,000 pounds of chili – what’s anticipated to be the biggest single serving of chili ever made in Canada.

“Solvera and its team are committed to supporting the communities where we live and work,” says Reg Robinson, Solvera Solutions Managing Principal. “The Solvera Chili Challenge was initiated by one of our employees. It was such a bold idea the entire organization got behind it.”

Whether it’s prepping ingredients, taking to social media to promote the event, or serving chili May 6, Robinson anticipates nearly all of Solvera’s 160 employees and their families are participating in the Chili Challenge in some capacity.

Robinson adds Solvera would not be able to undertake the challenge without the support and assistance of its community partners – First United in Vancouver, The Mustard Seed in Calgary, Regina Food Bank in Regina and Agape Table in Winnipeg.

“Our partner organizations provide essential services to our community every day, and they are ensuring as many of their clients benefit from the Chili Challenge as possible,” says Robinson. “Solvera appreciates how they have embraced this initiative, and provided tremendous support to our volunteer teams.”

The Chili Challenge in Regina is also grateful to business partners in the city, including Sysco, Federated Co-op, Motion Canada and Link Rentals for supporting Solvera in achieving its goals of making over 3,000 pounds of chili.

Robinson notes Chef Milton Rebello, owner and executive chef at Skye Café and Bistro, is a key partner having leant his talent, time and chili recipe to the Challenge. “Solvera thanks Chef Rebello and his entire team for partnering with us,” he says. “Chef Rebello is ensuring the chili we’re making in all four cities is hearty, nutritious and delicious.”

Solvera is proud to support First United, The Mustard Seed, Regina Food Bank and Agape Table. “The Chili Challenge is just one day,” says Robinson. “All of us can make a real and lasting difference by supporting the work of these community partners every day.”

To find out more, visit their websites:

• First United: firstunited.ca
• The Mustard Seed: theseed.ca
• Regina Food Bank: reginafoodbank.ca
• Agape Table: agapetable.ca

More about Solvera

Solvera Solutions is a recognized leader in the delivery of innovative IT solutions to the western Canadian market. We help our clients leverage the power of technology to achieve transformational growth, with capabilities ranging from ensuring the reliable maintenance of mission-critical information systems to helping clients successfully navigate their most challenging and complex IT and business projects. We focus on our strengths in Strategic Consulting, Business Solutions and SAP Solutions and outside of these areas, partner with other leading firms to deliver holistic solutions to clients. As Solvera has grown, our ability to deliver innovative solutions has expanded to include:

• Cloud-based Enterprise Service Management solutions using ServiceNow
• Specialized expertise in SAP, including newer technologies like Fiori and S4 Hana
• Managed Application Services—both projects and support
• SharePoint Solutions

We pride ourselves on our client relationships, people practices and commitment to our communities, and enjoy a very positive reputation as one of Canada’s Best Small and Medium Employers, and a Best Managed Company.

For more about Solvera’s Chili Challenge, see http://chili.solvera.ca

For more information, contact:

Bob Lane
Director, People Care and Communications
Solvera Solutions
(306) 791-6226
bob.lane@solvera.ca

Calgary – This past Monday evening featured two big milestone events for Never Too Late student Brea L’Heureux. First, after ten years out of the school system, she proudly walked across the stage to receive her high school graduation and secondly, Brea was announced as the recipient of the first-ever Solvera Solutions Scholarship to pursue a post-secondary education program.

The Catholic Family Service Never Too Late program provides no-cost academic, social and emotional support to adult learners who want to complete their GED (General Education Development or high school equivalency). The graduation event earlier this week was sponsored by Solvera and supported by several enthusiastic Solvera volunteers, whose goal was to create a celebratory event suitable for such an important accomplishment.

The life-changing significance of the graduation was not lost on the participants. “This is a very big deal for us,” Brea beamed, referring to her four-year old son Kingston, who proudly cheered mom in the graduation ceremony. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and be a positive role model for him, and now I have the chance to continue with my career dream and build a better life for us.”

Brea credits her classmates and instructors for being so supportive throughout the Never Too Late program and she is very pleased to hear that five more students over the next three years will earn similar funding from Solvera to pursue their goals. “I’m very appreciative of the support I’ve received and it feels great to know there are people out there wanting me and others to succeed.”

Brea’s bright future starts this week, with an orientation to the CDI College Dental Assistant program she will be taking. “I’m so excited. I love learning and can’t wait for my program to start.”

More about Never Too Late:

Never Too Late participants attend preparation classes twice a week for 35 weeks, as well as have access to volunteer tutors. A Never Too Late Coordinator works side-by-side with participants to identify and overcome any barriers to completing their GED. The results: improved self-esteem, confidence, participation in community and higher success rates for adults who write the GED exam.

Solvera is very pleased to announce the appointment of Delivery Manager and veteran consultant Anna Loomis to the role of Enterprise Service Management Service and Practice Director. Anna has been at Solvera for five years and has a wealth of project management and enterprise service management experience.

Within her role, Anna is accountable for development and execution of Solvera’s ESM market strategy across all regions and supporting Managing Directors and Client Executives in promoting and delivering ESM solutions to the marketplace. This includes many ServiceNow projects in western Canada.

Anna will also lead the professional development of our growing ESM consulting team. Currently, more than 20 Solvera consultants have applied their expertise in Business Process, Project Management, Organizational Change Management, Application Development and Architecture to challenging ESM projects, making Solvera one of the leading firms in the marketplace.

Calgary - Solvera Solutions and the Unlocking Potential Foundation today announced a three-year scholarship agreement for students in the highly successful Never Too Late education program offered by Catholic Family Service. The Never Too Late program provides no-cost academic, social and emotional support to adult learners who want to complete their GED (General Education Development or high school equivalency).

For each of 2017, 2018 and 2019, two Never Too Late graduates will receive $2,000 in funding towards their post-secondary programs.

The scholarship is the logical next step in Solvera’s support for the program and its graduates, says Solvera Managing Director Ray Hillman. “We have sponsored more than 10 graduation ceremonies over the last several years and been fortunate to share in the life-changing power of education for more than 100 graduates. By creating a scholarship, we can help make the dream of post-secondary education a reality for six students and motivate many more to pursue their goals.”

Never Too Late participants attend preparation classes twice a week for 35 weeks, as well as have access to volunteer tutors. A Never Too Late Coordinator works side-by-side with participants to identify and overcome any barriers to completing their GED. The results: improved self-esteem, confidence, participation in community and higher success rates for adults who write the GED exam.

 “We couldn’t be more grateful to have Solvera Solutions as a long-term partner in building strong families,” reports CFS CEO Patricia Jones.  “To have this additional investment in our students is truly exciting. These scholarships will make a significant difference to our graduates as they move forward with their lives. Doors will be opened to them that may not be otherwise – it’s a wonderful gift.”

For more information:

Bob Lane, Solvera Communications

Bob.lane@solvera.ca, 306 791-6226

Katherine Matiko
Communications Coordinator, Unlocking Potential, Catholic Family Service
Tel: 403.205.5287 | Main: 403.233.2360

Solvera is very pleased to announce the appointment of industry veteran Carl Strempler to our leadership team in Winnipeg. As Applications Services Leader and Client Executive, Carl assumes responsibility for leading Solvera’s enterprise go-to-market strategy for application services and contributing to Solvera’s service delivery excellence in the Winnipeg region.

Carl brings an impressive track record of delivering highly-complex application development engagements throughout his 30-year career, while leading large, geographically-dispersed teams and providing thought leadership on a wide range of IT issues.

In the external community, Carl shares Solvera’s passion for community involvement. Among his many endeavours, he is a founding member and Musical Director of Techapalooza, the IT sector’s annual CancerCare Manitoba fundraiser.

Carl can be reached at carl.strempler@solvera.ca or at (204) 594-5592.

“Another outstanding demonstration of support for our fellow citizens,” beamed Managing Principal Jim Ostertag as he reviewed the 2016 United Way campaign results, totaling $79,162 across western Canada. The bulk of the donations come directly from employee pledges, with a 50% matching contribution by Solvera to help make the donations go further.

Throughout the campaign, various employee events raise smaller amounts but the financial benefit is a secondary objective. “The primary purpose of our events is to stimulated engagement in the campaign and provide learning opportunities about the needs in the community,” says Ostertag. This year’s campaign featured talks from funded partners and an interesting Brain Architecture learning activity.

“Since 2011, Solvera and employees have donated more than $500,000 in funds, in addition to Board membership, Committee work and campaign intern time,” recounted Ostertag. “The United Way is a big part of our corporate philanthropy plan, and one of the very best organizations we can support to make a meaningful impact in the community each year.”

Ostertag also noted that the campaign doesn’t happen without the committed effort of key employees. He cited Campaign Coordinators Lori Legris, Michelle Sak, Desiree Leach and Janet Ushakas for their efforts.

Solvera is pleased to announce the appointment of Senior Consultant David Drever to the new role of SharePoint Services Leader.

Within his new role, David is accountable for development and execution of Solvera’s SharePoint market strategy across all regions and supporting Managing Directors and Client Executives in promoting and delivering SharePoint solutions and thought leadership to the market.

For the past six years of his lengthy IT career, David has been working exclusively in the SharePoint domain. David’s vast experience in SharePoint is complemented by a range of SharePoint training courses and Certification in Microsoft SharePoint 2010. As one of the only Office Servers and Services (SharePoint) MVPs in western Canada, Dave is a knowledgeable and sought-after conference speaker within IT circles and consulted regularly by companies formulating their SharePoint strategies.

Solvera is very pleased to announce the appointment of industry veteran Scott Sanders to our leadership team in Winnipeg. As Managing Director, Business Development, Scott assumes responsibility for leading Solvera’s strategic sales efforts in the province and, like all Managing Directors, contributing to the broader leadership of Solvera. Managing Director Hal Ryckman, who for the past several months has been handling the dual responsibilities of Business Development and Service Delivery, will focus on Service Delivery and leading Solvera’s great team in Winnipeg.

Many of Solvera’s leaders have formed long relationships with Scott during his senior leadership roles within the industry and we are very confident that he is an excellent fit for our organizational culture and focus on people and client care.

In the external community, Scott shares Solvera’s passion for community involvement. He is a long-standing member of the Board and Executive of the United Way of Winnipeg, and has served on the executive of many industry associations, non-profit groups and community-based associations.

Solvera is pleased to welcome industry veteran Ken Choi to the key role of SAP Services and Practice Director. Ken brings an impressive 20-year background of SAP consulting and business leadership to the role, gained within Canada and his native Australia.

Ken is based in Calgary, where he will lead Solvera’s SAP market strategy development, provide mentorship and guidance to Solvera’s 40-person SAP consulting team, deliver senior level SAP consulting services to clients across western Canada and contribute as a member of Solvera’s leadership team.

Ken looks forward to connecting with Solvera’s SAP clients over the next few months to discuss their organizational needs and share SAP insights.

Western Canadian IT and business consulting firm Solvera Solutions is celebrating its 10^th year of operations with a $10,000 donation to Humanitarian Coalition to help address the growing Syrian refugee crisis.

The Humanitarian Coalition brings together Canada's leading aid agencies to finance relief efforts in times of international humanitarian crises.

The special anniversary contribution is in addition to the company's extensive corporate philanthropy program that is primarily focused on improving the lives of people in Solvera's home communities of Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver: https://vimeo.com/145064733

Solvera co-founder Jim Ostertag recently announced the special donation to employees and explained that $10,000 goes a long way in the emergency relief world. "We read and hear daily of the growing humanitarian crisis and are deeply concerned, just like other Canadians. As we reflect on our good fortune as a successful Canadian company for 10 years, we are pleased to take action for those needing our help. This will have a tangible impact."

"We understand from the Humanitarian Coalition that our $10,000 donation can provide ten families with kitchen sets, hygiene kits and four months of emergency food and clean water. That's a meaningful impact."

According to the United Nations, the Syrian conflict has created more than 3.9 million refugees, mostly in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and displaced 7.6 million people within Syria. New figures from UNICEF show 14 million children are affected by the conflict within Syria and neighbouring Iraq, with millions trapped in areas cut off from help due to fighting.

Solvera Solutions is pleased to be included among an elite group of 39 small and medium Canadian companies recognized by Aon for outstanding employee engagement. Solvera’s current engagement level is 86%, the fifth year in a row Solvera has exceeded the lofty 80% threshold and the fifth year of being named to the prestigious Aon list.

The ranking, which is determined by confidential employee opinion surveys conducted by Aon in 2015 with hundreds of employers in Canada, reflects the degree to which a company’s team is engaged in the work of the organization and its clients.

 “The Information Technology consulting market is very competitive,” says Managing Principal Reg Robinson. “Solvera has been fortunate to attract and retain some of the industry’s best people. Our team is professional, knowledgeable and truly care about Solvera and our clients’ success. Our ranking confirms that Solvera is taking the right steps to maintain the highest possible levels of engagement.”

“Employee engagement is a key success factor for any organization, and we see living proof of it every day,” explains Robinson. “It shows in our work with clients, our relationships within the industry and our interactions with each other across the company. We concur with the Aon research that shows high employee engagement is strongly correlated with positive business results, including productivity, client satisfaction and employee retention.”

The Best Small and Medium Employers Study, now in its 11th year, is published annually. Full results were released today in PROFIT magazine:http://www.profitguide.com/manage-grow/human-resources/the-best-small-and-medium-employers-in-canada-for-2016-94667

Solvera didn't have a team in this year's Batting Against Breast Cancer (BABC) Slo Pitch tournament on August 8, but our fingerprints were all over the highly successful pink event.  In addition to several corporate development and personal contributions by employees, Solvera stepped up and once again sponsored the Kids Zone at the 7^th annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation event. Solvera's contribution funded plenty of fun activities for the children who came to watch their families participate in the tournament.

On top of that, Project Manager extraordinaire Jenny Noble chaired the committee this year and ensured it would be another whopping success. "BABC raised over $85,000 in the one-day tournament," reports Jenny. "Solvera was instrumental in helping the CBCF achieve this through our financial donation and enabling the Kids Zone to happen again."

"Funds raised go towards a number of activities managed by the charity," Jenny explains. "A key part of what they fund is research into treatments to eradicate breast cancer and to improve the success of breast cancer treatment." A noble cause indeed.

Thank you so much for your recent sponsorship of our fundraising dinner. Solvera helped us raise over$38,000 dollars for Chapter programs and services at this event!

Christine Keilback, Executive Director

Canadian Hemophilia Society, Manitoba Chapter

Saskatchewan Science Centre’s Fantasy Food 2015 hit the culinary mark on Saturday night, proving once again that the pairing of a great cause with gourmet food and fantastic spirits is a delicious combination. The 14^th annual event, which also featured local entertainment, silent and live auctions and interesting science demonstrations, generated more than $80,000 to support Science Centre programs and activities.

More than 500 guests from the business, political and civic community filled the Science Centre, enjoying the offerings from many of Regina’s top chefs, restaurants, micro-breweries and wine merchants. Enthusiastic volunteers from Presenting Sponsor Solvera Solutions and The Casey Foundation joined forces with Science Centre staff to ensure the entire evening lived up to it stellar reputation as one of the premier events on Regina’s social calendar.

“We are very pleased to be able to support science education, a cause that is well-aligned with our business and resonates with our employees,” beamed Solvera Managing Principal Jim Ostertag. “Knowing that our financial and volunteer support allows hundreds of children to explore the limitless possibilities of science is a wonderful feeling and all the motivation we need to get behind this fantastic event.”

“What a wonderful evening,” echoed SSC Executive Director Sandy Baumgartner. “An event like Fantasy Food would not be possible without the support from Solvera Solutions and the numerous other sponsors, donors, and exhibitors. The contribution from so many individuals is extraordinary and we are tremendously thankful to all of the volunteers who made Fantasy Food 2015 a huge success.”