Valarie Wafer
Valarie K. Wafer had a 27-year career as a Tim Hortons restaurant owner, one of Canada's iconic restaurant brands, where her restaurant operations were widely recognized for their inclusive hiring practices, particularly the employment of people with disabilities.
Valarie joined Rotary in 2005. Currently serving as RI Director, she has served as an RI training leader, 2018 Toronto Convention Host Organization Committee member, assistant regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and RI president's representative. She has led a vocational training team focused on youth suicide and depression, audited Rotary Foundation grant projects in Tanzania and Kenya, and volunteered during a 2012 National Immunization Day in India. Valarie and her husband, Mark — who became a Rotarian after Valarie recruited him during her year as club president — are Paul Harris Fellows, Bequest Society members, and Major Donors to The Rotary Foundation. In 2012, Wafer received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, in recognition of her leadership with the Economic Case for Inclusion in Canada, an inclusive hiring initiative that was adopted by provincial and federal governments. |