The Kelowna Chamber’s Top 40 Program has returned for 2024. The program recognizes and honours individuals in the community who take leadership, philanthropy, and business to the next level.
Honouree: Nevin V de Korompay
Kelowna General Hospital
“Interventional Radiology. It’s like surgery, only MAGIC.”
Dr. Nevin V de Korompay is an interventional radiologist and head of the department of radiology at Kelowna General Hospital.
He has helped establish cutting edge therapies in vascular surgery and neurosurgery, minimally invasive surgery for lung cancer, and in advancing therapy in liver cancer.
Nevin and team have grown an interventional oncology program with KGH Foundation, introducing Y90 radioembolization for advanced liver cancer – the second site to offer this therapy in BC after Vancouver General Hospital.
In leading a team, Nevin surrounds himself with brilliant people and stays out of the way – modern medicine is the ultimate team sport. He allows his passion for the work at KGH to inspire people to enjoy the process as much as he does.
Nevin’s most memorable achievement has been overseeing the funding, development, and implementation and of a new interventional radiology suite at Kelowna General Hospital: a $9.6-million state-of-the-art facility for cutting edge, minimally invasive therapies including life saving stroke therapy, novel cancer treatments, and vascular therapies.
Nevin has volunteered with the Kelowna General Hospital Physicians Society and is an elected member of the Canadian board of interventional radiology. He is an investigator in the COMMENCE study investigating aortic valve replacement, and a reviewer for the main scientific journals of North America, Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR), and Europe, Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (CVIR).
Honouree: Tory Miller
Okanagan Young Professionals Collective
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller
Tory Miller juggles multiple roles through her entrepreneurial ventures.
She is the founder of Clever Girl Communications and runs the Community Cultivator with the Okanagan Young Professionals Collective, a program of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC). Tory also is the “TEO” of Vic and Jo Tea Co., holds TAC Tea Sommelier certification, and is an active member of the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada.
In both businesses, Tory is a one-woman show for all operations, creative direction, marketing, design and administration.
One of Tory’s most memorable achievements has been as Community Cultivator & Student Liaison at the Okanagan Young Professionals Collective, which plays a crucial role in retaining regional talent and assisting students in their transition into the workforce.
The little act of making an introduction or meeting with someone, sharing a success story, can lead to a big change in someone’s life.
Tory volunteers in the community and is a director of the Greater Westside Board of Trade and co-chair of their Membership Committee (held until Nov. 2023), where she has loved donating her time and resources to local events. She uses her influence to promote arts and culture in the Central Okanagan and volunteers at events like the World Tea Expo.