Vernon Miike, our Oakville Store Manager is an artist at heart. With a background in abstract and classical fine art, Vernon brought his artistic talent to his work life when he painted an acrylic portrait of The Salvation Army’s founder, William Booth, which is now displayed at our Oakville Home office. What inspired him to paint the portrait is both the influence our founder has had in society by establishing the proud organization of The Salvation Army and the uniqueness of his physical appearance. “William Booth is a very intriguing man, with a distinguished look and I’ve always been captivated by interesting faces when I paint my portraits.”
In the past, Vernon has worked at different retail stores, but what he likes most about being at The Salvation Army Thrift Store, is that “It is a lot more personal, it’s more one-on-one. Being part of a non-profit is great. What we do helps our communities: the shelters, foodbanks, our campaigns such as Send a Kid to Camp; the list goes on and on. The atmosphere within our stores also reflects the community and the diversity of our team members encourages us to share input and that’s what makes us unique. The beauty of what we do is that we’re allowed to let our personalities show through.”
Caring for the planet we share is also a deep inspiration for Vernon both during work and off-duty. In his earlier days of being an artist, Vernon purchased canvases from art stores. However, now he repurposes old canvases. “I buy old canvases and paint over them, it’s a great way of helping the environment.”
Thank you, Vernon, for sharing your passion for art. We always love learning more about our teams and celebrating what makes them unique!
