Teresa May Teschner lives in the beautiful Okanagan with her husband, Peter. Kelowna is the longest she has ever lived in one city, 17 years! This is where she calls home as there is no other place like it. It is paradise to her, with award winning wineries, golf courses, and lakes to wake surf on. She is an Executive Producer in the film industry, a VP marketing director/owner of a successful custom home building business Cherry Lane Homes in Kelowna.
I am a mother, a wife, a TeaMa (grandmother), a daughter, a sister, a friend, a connector. Friends call me the GLUE, as I am the one who keeps them together. I am a giver, a doer, a mover and shaker, a person who gets things done! I don’t just talk about it, or dream about it, I will go for it!
As a career, I am an Executive Producer in the film industry, a VP marketing director/owner of our custom home building business Cherry Lane Homes in Kelowna.
I am not sure if I only had one biggest influence in life and business, I feel like I have had many. I believe in meeting the right people at the right time in my life who have made influences on me, those who have touched my life when I needed them most. My grade 11 teacher, Missy McEachern who taught me decisiveness, do not allow choices to be made for you. It was Princess Diana whose giving heart that influenced me to be more giving, her divorce too that gave me strength to face my own. It was Beyonce’s song I WAS HERE that influenced me to When I leave this world, I’ll leave no regrets.
So, I will continue to live my life making a difference in this world with random act of kindness whenever I can and volunteering in my community.
If I could give any advice to my younger self, I would advise myself to be even braver, stand up for what I know is right, what I believe in, and go the extra mile! Maybe even stick to one sport and perfect it to reach the Olympian level. I can play all sports, tried everything but never great at one in particular. I would not really want to go back and change anything as everything that was done to get me to where I am now was meant to be.
Life is like riding the wake, there are ups and downs, and we will fall many times, but we always get back up and do it again. Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something! If we get it on the first try, great, if not we try and try again. If you are not happy with something, get rid of it, change it, make it better. Do not stay in negative surroundings, hang with toxic people, or be influenced by falseness. Be real, be genuine, be true, and march to the beat of your own drum. You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with, so surround yourself with amazing, intelligent, beautiful people who elevate you to be the best you.
Throughout my life I’ve lived with my high school motto “Vita Vitalis” meaning a life worthwhile. Living every day to the fullest, filling my years with exciting adventures and experiences. I received the Kappa Gamma Pi award in university for Academic Achievements and Leadership Accomplishment when nominated as valedictorian, which meant I had to go out into the world as a leader, not a sheep but a shepherd.
I have published a children’s book “Seeds in the Wind”, a book about accepting differences, be it race, colour, religion, gender, and abilities. I have travelled to 9 Provinces in Canada, 28 States in the U.S.,12 countries in the world, and am looking forward to seeing many more countries. I have gone skydiving, paragliding, hang-gliding, ultralight plane flying, glider plane, parasailing…and all water sports from scuba diving, snorkelling, wakeboarding, waterskiing, flyboarding, to my favourite wake surfing. So, there is not much more I have yet to try. I will dare to try anything at least once or else how can I say I have fully lived!
My beautiful family keeps me motivated on a daily basis, my two grown children Alisha and Trevor, my granddaughter Isla, and soon twin grandbabies.
