Persephone Brewing Co. and its CEO and founder Brian Smith (pictured) were recognized on March 25 with a Community Living BC Widening Our World (WOW) award for creating employment and inclusion opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. Persephone operates an 11-acre farm and craft micro-brewery in Gibsons, where staff includes people served by Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living (SCACL).
Glen McClughan, executive director of SCACL, nominated Persephone for partnering with them over the last four years. He said, “Persephone CEO Brian Smith has been a lifelong advocate for people with developmental disabilities believing that embracing them as full citizens will literally save the world.”
At the award event, Sunshine Coast Credit Union presented a cheque to SCACL for $1,500 and Persephone gave a second cheque for almost $10,000, proceeds from their recent BeerFest, triple the amount raised at last year’s BeerFest.
Smith said, “It’s an honour to be recognized for our work on inclusion. However, it’s a much greater honour to be working alongside our people at Persephone. All of them, whether living with disabilities or not, have embraced inclusion as integral to our commitment to using our business as a force for good.”
