Vital Victoria Podcast

Vital Victoria Podcast

Hosted by Lucky Budd, the Vital Victoria Podcast is meant to highlight people in our region that are working to create a vibrant, caring community for all. We have amazing people in our community, and we want to hear their stories. During the podcast we will be pulling in stats from the Vital Signs program, and we will take a bit of a deeper dive into the meaning of the statistics.

Episodes

November 7, 2023 36 mins
Laila Pires joins host Lucky Budd on the Vital Victoria Podcast to tell the story of one of Canada’s first Filipino-owned community centres, and how it continues to create space for Victorians of all backgrounds to celebrate Filipino arts, food and culture.

Laila, the treasurer and a founding member of the Bayanihan Cultural and Housing Society, has won numerous awards for community involvement, including the Queen Elizabeth Diamond...
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This month on the Vital Victoria Podcast, host Lucky Budd joins Janine Hannis, the Head of the Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacy (GVAL), and Christine Bossi, the Executive Director of the Victoria Literacy Connection, to talk about the community’s work to boost literacy skills in people of all ages. They discuss the community’s most pressing literacy needs today, how to tackle the stigma around low adult literacy, and how bols...
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This month on the Vital Victoria Podcast, Rory Kulmala, the CEO of the Vancouver Island
Construction Association (VICA), joins host Lucky Budd to talk about mental health and
addiction issues that many are facing in the construction industry. They talk about how
VICA has been educating workers about harm reduction, connecting them with local
resources to help, and reducing the stigma around mental health and substance issues.
They talk ...
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Host Lucky Budd welcomes Jack Knox to the Vital Victoria Podcast. Recently retired from the Times Colonist in Victoria, B.C., Jack shares his story on how he got his start in journalism and the first story he ever wrote covering a dead cow on the road in Kamloops. He talks about his start at the Times Colonist, from copy editor to columnist, and how his column started with a piece on men at craft fairs. They talk about the importan...
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Host Lucky Budd welcomes Micah Zandee Hart, a member of the Canadian Women’s National Hockey Team. Growing up on the Saanich Peninsula, Micah talks about her journey from playing minor hockey with the boys on the Peninsula to becoming the second sophomore to wear the ‘C’ when she played at Cornell University. She talks about the culture and work ethic playing for Team Canada, how the Women's gold medal game in 2002 inspired her to ...
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May is Asian Heritage Month and host Lucky Budd welcomes Dr. Grace Wong Sneddon, board chair of the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society, to the Vital Victoria Podcast. Dr. Wong Sneddon shares her story of how her family came to Vancouver Island and touches on the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act. They talk about the need to preserve, teach and inform about the culture of Chinese Canadians and how Victoria’s Chinatown is a living m...
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Isaac Thomas is the executive director of the Belfry Theatre and joins host Lucky Budd for episode 12 of the Vital Victoria Podcast where they talk about Isaac’s journey to Greater Victoria. They discuss how theatre can analyze the past, present and see the future and explore a broader set of stories while reflecting on arts in Greater Victoria and how, across the country, theatre can set the stage to welcome many stories from many...
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Alex D’Arcy is a professor of Linguistics and Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Victoria. She joins host Lucky Budd for episode 11 of the Vital Victoria Podcast, where they talk about how she found her way to Victoria, crossing paths with her family’s history in the city and what led her to pursue studies in linguistics. They talk about the connection to place, how language influences belo...
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Silvia Mangue Alene, president of the BC Black History Awareness Society, joins host Lucky Budd for episode 10 of the Vital Victoria Podcast. They talk about Silvia’s journey to Victoria, from being born in Africa to growing up in Spain and coming to Canada. Silvia recounts growing up as a black child in Spain and the experience of moving to London, seeing black people and the power of “being invisible.” She touches on what steps w...
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Open Ocean Robotics’ co-founder Julie Angus, the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland, joins host Lucky Budd for Episode nine of the Vital Victoria Podcast. They talk about how Open Ocean Robotics started and the importance of monitoring and protecting our oceans with cleantech. They also touch on how technology and innovation can play a role in adapting to climate change in our community, Julie’s ...
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Human Nature Counselling takes what Greater Victoria is known for, its picturesque outdoors, and provides individual and group nature-based therapy and programs for children, youth, adults and families.
In episode 8 of the Vital Victoria podcast, co-founders of Human Nature Counselling David Segal and Katy Rose join host Lucky Budd to talk about how Human Nature Counselling started, working in partnership with the natural world, and...
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From delivery service to pop-ups and a successful downtown restaurant, Dumpling Drop started with a gathering between mother and daughter. In episode 7 of the Vital Victoria Podcast, Tarn Tayanunth, owner of Dumpling Drop, joins host Lucky Budd. Tayanunth shares the story behind Dumpling Drop, which began with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and time spent bonding afterwards, making dumplings. She shares her story of moving to V...
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When our children return to school, our hearts go with them.” It’s a quote that rests on the back of a t-shirt from Surrounded by Cedar. In this episode of the Vital Victoria Podcast, Jennifer Chuckry, Executive Director of Surrounded by Cedar Child and Family Services, joins host Lucky Budd.

They talk about Surrounded by Cedar’s work as a delegated agency and their mission, to provide child and family services strongly rooted in In...
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September 6, 2022 35 mins
From tennis courts around the world to leading the Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence (PISE) in Greater Victoria, Robert Bettauer has left a mark on the world of sport. In episode five of the Vital Victoria Podcast, Bettauer joins host Lucky Budd to talk about his unique story: emigrating from West Berlin to Canada, his journey to becoming a professional tennis player and playing events like the Davis Cup and Wimbledon, becomin...
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Host Lucky Budd welcomes Marc Jenkins, director of The Choirs YYJ, to talk about leading three choir ensembles with over 200 members of all ages, genders, vocal abilities and experiences. They talk about Marc’s beginnings, being inspired by seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn and picking a guitar up at the age of seven and years later, moving to Victoria and taking over The Choirs YYJ. From arranging a Radiohead song for 100 people to providi...
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Host Lucky Budd sits down with Jean McRae, CEO of the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, to talk about her time working in the immigrant and refugee services sector since 1982. McRae reflects on the experience of supporting the full integration of newcomer immigrants and refugees into the Capital Region and the role the Inter-Cultural Association plays. She also talks about the community’s support over the years and ho...
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In the second episode of the refreshed Vital Victoria Podcast, our host Lucky Budd talks to Jill Van Gyn, CEO and founder of Fatso peanut butter. Van Gyn shares her unique and powerful story, from getting sober in 2010 and earning a post-graduate degree in International Development in 2015, to becoming CEO of Canada’s 18th fastest growing startup for 2021. They also talk about how to build community by giving back, Victoria’s civic...
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In our first episode of the refreshed Vital Victoria podcast, our host Lucky Budd chats with Sarah Jesshope and Lynn Guengerich about the important role and history of nurse practitioners in our community. With two unique stories on how they came to this profession, they discuss the differences and overlaps between their roles and that of physicians and registered nurses. From assessing and diagnosing patients to prescribing medica...
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April 12, 2022 25 secs
Welcome to the Vital Victoria Podcast hosted by Lucky Budd!
New episodes will air monthly with conversations highlighting people in our region that are working to create a vibrant, caring community for all.
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