I couldn’t get started with Maple Ridge community storytelling without highlighting the incredible human who got me back into building local community here again in the past year. For a long while, I was doing the tiresome commute by transit to and from Vancouver while living in Maple Ridge. My home life was in Maple Ridge; my work life was in Vancouver; My limbo life—those 3 hours spent each day on transit—was disconnected from both of them and left little time for friends and family. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that I was wasting too much precious time on transit and had to localize my ways. I was very lucky when my friend Sheldon (portrait to come) told me that his friend Adlayna was looking to hire an Event Supervisor and Bartender at The ACT—an establishment that I had been aching to work at for a long time prior. He put us in touch and soon I was in the midst of the most pleasant, welcoming, and encouraging job interview I have ever had. Adlayna and I connected immediately and I largely contribute that to the way we are both heart-based decision makers and empaths. Over our time together, I would come to realize that so much more connects us than meets the eye. Adlayna, like me, plans much of her life around music and it has been such a pleasure to discover the local bands we both followed growing up, the mutual friends we had connected with in the industry, and the incredible stories of eventful concert-goings. I found a kindred spirit in her.
Adlayna is the type of person to give 110% in order for everyone else in the room to feel welcome, present, and part of community. It is one of the qualities that makes her such an incredible Event and Concessions Manager. I have admired, and even followed by example, her incredible way of engaging every working body in a room to bring their best hustle and positive attitude. It is work akin to a conductor with an orchestra. What makes a good orchestra? Harmony, synchronicity, and trust in those contributing to the composition—all elements which Adlayna exemplifies with great care. She makes decisions with both her head and heart in the most balanced, sincere way. Every volunteer who gives their time to The ACT, and trust me, there are many, could share a heartwarming story about Adlayna’s leadership. She makes everyone feel seen in a way that influences how we all show up in a room.
A special treat that happens on occasion at The ACT is a visit from Adlayna’s parents as they are frequent patrons of the space—Adlayna’s mom, Diane, is even a Passagio and Gift Shop featured visual artist. Her parents are very involved in the local creative community and there is no doubt that Adlayna caught that bug from them both. Volunteers and staff alike at The ACT have requested portraits of the whole Speirs family and trust me when I say they are on their way. So much of the portraiture I am going to share in the coming months is a direct and delightful consequence of Adlayna. She has connected me with incredible local volunteers, passionate advocates for the arts, creatives looking to build connections, and an invaluable network of community I can proudly and comfortably say I belong to.