Janna Brown honoured as a Sport BC Community Sport Hero

After eight years of volunteering on the board of the Sun Peaks Freestyle Club, Janna Brown is being recognized for her work building competitive snowboarding opportunities for athletes in the Sun Peaks community. 

Brown was named one of Sport BC’s 2025 Community Sport Hero Award recipients for the Okanagan region, honoured alongside 17 other volunteers at a ceremony in Vernon on July 20.

Brown’s involvement began with a simple need: Her son, Nayte, was passionate about snowboarding and wanted to compete, but at the time, Sun Peaks had no local club to help snowboarders pursue their sport competitively. 

“I guess that was the drive,” Brown said. “It was my son and the community need to have a proper club.”

The Sun Peaks Freestyle Club was established in 2017 as a solely ski-focused club and Brown approached the club’s president about adding snowboarding under the same organization, which eventually led to her becoming the director of snowboarding and vice-president.

What began with a small group of snowboarders grew over the years into a program of roughly 30 athletes, according to Jennifer Witzaney, who nominated Brown for the award.

“She sees what we need and she makes it happen,” Witzaney said. 

Witzaney joined the club’s board after Brown and said she saw the energy and dedication Brown brought to the organization firsthand.

“She’s just that person that you need to meet that has such good energy,” Witzaney said. “She’s stoked, and she’s really organized and easy to talk to, and just a go-getter.”

For Brown, some of her favourite memories are of watching athletes grow. She recalled the competitions, laughing with parents and watching as young athletes achieve their goals.

“Watching my son with his competition and grow as a youth to an adult through the snowboarding community has been just amazing,” Brown said. 

While competitions and time on the mountain may be the aspects of the club the outside can see, Brown said much of the work happens behind the scenes. 

When she first took on the snowboard program, she had little knowledge of competitive snowboarding. She had to learn the policies and requirements of provincial and national sport organizations, communicate with governing bodies and manage the administrative work involved in running the program.

“There’s a lot you need to know,” she said.

The experience also taught Brown how to organize her time while balancing volunteer work alongside a full-time job. 

“I became a better organizer,” she said.

Brown’s contribution extended beyond keeping the program running. She also helped create opportunities for young women in the sport. By creating a space where girls could snowboard together was valuable in a sport that can feel male-dominated at times, Witzany said. 

“I think just having that space for a group of girls to shred together was incredible,” Witzaney said. 

Brown also recognized the other volunteers and board members who supported her throughout her time with the club, including Amy Atkinson, who worked alongside Brown during Atkinson’s time as interim president. 

“I just wouldn’t be able to do it without these strong women on the board,” Brown said.

Receiving the Community Sport Hero Award was an unexpected win for Brown, who said she was “deeply honoured” and humbled by the recognition. But Brown sees the award as something bigger than herself. 

“It’s not just me,” Brown said. “It takes many people to make it happen.”

For Witzaney, recognizing volunteers like Brown is important because of how much community sport depends on their work. 

“Sun Peaks could not run without their volunteers,” Witzaney said. “It is a huge base of why any event happens within the community.”

Although Brown’s time on the board has come to an end, she plans to keep volunteering and spending time on the mountain. 

“There’s never a bad day when you’re out on the mountain,” she said.