Who’s Who: Ray Savage – The Excelr8r
By Mike Butler
I love writing this column…I get to meet, interact, and then profile wonderful members of our community. I’ve had the pleasure of profiling authors, painters, teachers, actors, chefs, business owners, and many more. I usually fly by the seat of my pants to find subjects but lately, the fine folks featured in this column have come from strong recommendations, and that is how Ray Savage surfaced. Ray has an immeasurable history of involvement in his community and I’m so pleased to profile him.
Ray Savage was born and raised in New Brunswick. He currently lives in Aylesford with his partner Val Ward, and his springer spaniel Finnegan. After Ray’s first visit to the Valley in the mid 1980’s, driving through a snowstorm in mid-March, he arrived in our beautiful area. The sky was blue with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground (about 4’ deep) and the tulips were poking up above the snow. Ray was so amazed with all of this that he said to himself, “I’m going to live here one dayâ€. About three years later, Ray made the move to the Valley, and he hasn’t looked back. He hasn’t seen the tulips poking up through the snow since that first visit, but he keeps his eyes peeled each winter, just in case.
Ray Savage holds the position of Business Coach, Consultant & Trainer with Excel Consulting Services Inc., and has a background in finance, sales, marketing, business efficiencies, and human resources. Ray has been coaching for over 15 years, and has worked with small to medium enterprises in various facets of their business. One of the biggest thrills of his business is seeing the tangible results the clients achieve in not only their businesses, but also in their personal lives. Ray says, “ It’s tremendously satisfying when you help facilitate and see someone’s business improve, and through this, their lives improve, their families’ lives improves, their staff’s lives improve, etc. etc. It’s like a big ripple effect and it is so cool to help folks realize this.†Check out www.excelr8.ca for more details about this wonderful service. Or contact Ray at 902-679-7949 with questions or comments.
Now we get to the ‘outside of work’ portion of Ray’s life and if you thought he excelled at his job, hang onto your hats! Outside of work, Ray enjoys spending time in the great outdoors, motor sports, travel, photography, and cooking. Ray enjoys taking some of his better photographs and adding positive and inspirational quotes and posting them to social media. He says, “It’s funny how often I will post one and get a note from someone telling me they needed that at that time. It’s a truly wonderful feeling when that little bit of MY effort goes such a long way for someone else.â€
Ray loves being an active participant in the Valley. Ray described his journey as such: “As a young man I was always chasing the almighty buck and looking for the next ‘deal’, but this all changed when I was diagnosed with cancer 23 years ago. I had a mass intertwined in my lungs and had about a 30% chance of survival. During eight months of severe chemotherapy, the community really came to bat for me. Because of the support I received, I started giving back once I recovered. In retrospect, battling cancer was one of the best things that ever happened to me.†Ray is a past president of the Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce, a director on the Annapolis Valley VON’s Community Corporation board, a Canadian Cancer Association ambassador for the Valley area, the leadership chair of Kentville’s Relay for Life, and a former president of the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. Oh wait there’s more! Ray is also a past member of the New Minas Sunrise Rotary Club, a past member of the Kentville & District Kinsman Club, and he has sat as a member of the Canada Pension Plan Review Tribunal. Phew! And I thought I was a busy boy!
On behalf of our community, I want to thank Ray for all of his inspirational involvement in the community. It’s a real treat to have become acquainted with him. All of these Valley organizations certainly owe Ray a lot of gratitude. But what does Ray love most about this area? He states, “I love the natural beauty of the Valley area. We enjoy some awesome skies with some of the best sunsets I have seen. We have fabulous weather (generally speaking) and a wonderful quality of life with wonderful people living in the area. I have to say I honestly love the Valley area for limitless reasons.â€
And with such a positive, community-minded outlook on life, what does Ray have in store for himself in the coming years? Well, his goals and ambitions are continuing to work for the betterment of the Valley area. He wants to achieve great things in his professional life and continue to flourish in his personal life as well. Ray feels that there’s tremendous opportunity in the Valley and he would welcome the opportunity to put his skills to work to assist in the advancement of Kings County and the Valley as a whole. We look forward to seeing this RAY of light shine on.
