Meet Hannah and Simon
Siblings born and raised in the Kispiox Valley.
Their Mission Statement:
To be a social hub for the Hazeltons area that cultivates community empowerment and supports local awesomeness.
Having grown up in the Kispiox Valley their entire lives and attending school in Hazelton, Hannah and Simon have a deep rooted connection to this area and the people residing here. Their respect for the land and their community is what drives their passions.
Their parents, Todd and Kathy Stockner, own a bed & breakfast and steelhead guiding operation in the Kispiox Valley, only a few minutes away from the lodge. Being raised in a hospitality based entrepreneurial family has leveraged Hannah and Simon’s skill sets in many areas of the industry. Hannah spent her childhood/teen years helping her mom in the kitchen, completing daily housekeeping tasks and overseeing the bookkeeping side of the business, while Simon learned the how-to’s of organizing raft/fishing gear and basic outdoor guiding skills.
For years now the siblings have been dreaming about opening a food/event-based business leaning heavily on community growth and sustainability. Both Hannah and Simon have an abundance of creative skills and working experiences, all of which are reflected in every aspect of this lodge, making it the perfect business venture for this brother-sister duo.
Hannah Stockner
From childhood to adulthood Hannah has always been extremely strong willed, independent, and creative. She has known from a young age that she was destined to own her own business one day. She has completed the Small Business Management Program through BCIT and with a background in culinary arts, kitchen management and customer service, and a raging passion for all things art & design, local community focus and environmental preservation, there is no end to the potential she can bring to this business.
Food/Culinary Arts
Growing up on home cooked meals and in a community of rich food resources, Hannah has always been into the culinary arts. Learning skills in the kitchen at a young age, and being exposed to a diverse world of food through travel and life experience, has fuelled her passion for food. Her post-secondary schooling was in Nanaimo at Vancouver Island University doing the Professional Cook Level 1 & 2 Diploma Program where she excelled in all aspects of the program and graduated top of her class. Food and nutrition come naturally to Hannah, making the kitchen her second home.
Kitchen Management/Customer Service/Hospitality
Hannah started her workplace experience as a barista at a local coffee shop in Old Hazelton (Mercedes Beans) while she was in high school and for several years afterward. Having worked at a number of other food service/retail jobs, she is well versed in the importance and know-how of customer service. Since finishing her culinary arts schooling, Hannah has worked as a camp cook at a mining camp where she started as a breakfast cook serving around 30 people before being promoted to kitchen manager/cook for a larger camp where she was managing the entire kitchen and staff, and cooking for over 300 people. This experience has been invaluable for her knowledge on cooking and operating commercial kitchens.
Aside from camp kitchens, Hannah also has experience in the hospitality service. Over the years she has worked on and off as a housekeeper and occasional cook at Bear Claw Lodge, a local high-end lodge further up the Kispiox Valley. During her time there she gained a lot of housekeeping and lodge operations knowledge.
Simon Stockner
Simon’s love for music and the outdoors have driven his working life over the past several years, most notably his experiences as a drummer in a band and as a local river guide. Leadership, organizing events, bartending, customer service, carpentry are also skills that Simon has that he brings to this business.
Music
For eight years Simon played in the local band, The Racket, which successfully toured all over BC. Simon was not only the drummer, but he also took on the role as ‘booking manager’, booking and overseeing the many tours the band embarked on. Through this role, Simon honed his people skills by connecting with venue managers, festival coordinators, other bands, etc.
Simon has also been on the other side of booking music, having spent a couple of years as the Artistic Director of a small music festival in Hazelton, as well as working at a brewery in Smithers where he was responsible for booking live music shows.
With an extensive network of connections with other musicians and venue owners all over the province, Simon is on a mission to bring quality live music to the Hazeltons/Kispiox Valley!
Bartending
Having trained as a bartender in Montreal, Simon spent the past three winters bartending in Smithers, first at the Bulkley Valley Brewery and then up the Smithers Ski Hill at the Whiskey Jack’s Lounge. These jobs gave him plenty of experience not only mixing premium cocktails but also serving, bussing, and customer service.
Event Planning/Hosting
Simon has plenty of experience organizing and hosting special events of all sizes. From small games nights and trivia nights at the brewery, to much larger events such as licensed New Year’s Eve parties and concerts, Simon is comfortable with all aspects of event planning. This involves promoting the event, registering for licences, hiring and managing volunteers, stage managing, as well as being present as a host and making sure everything runs smoothly.
Carpentry/Construction
Simon and Hannah’s father is a renowned fine woodworker and carpenter, and their uncle owns a construction company in Vancouver, so growing up with these role models it’s been easy enough for Simon to pick up woodworking/construction/repair skills. Working such jobs as a camp labourer, woodmill labour worker, and working for his uncle have all contributed to his great work ethic, work-place smarts, and abilities as a general handyman, which is always needed at the lodge.
River Guiding
Aside from music, being in, on, or around rivers is Simon’s biggest passion. For five years now, Simon has been a river guide during the summer for the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition based in Hazelton. Simon is a trip leader of SWCC’s flagship program, Youth On Water: a free, community-based rafting program connecting teenagers (with a focus on First Nations) to the land, water, and territory. Simon is a leader in their rafting team, organizing trips, establishing relationships within our communities, and making critical decisions often while working under pressure. The program teaches youth river safety, rafting skills, and encourages growth and empowerment.
Simon and Hannah’s father is also a Steelhead fishing guide on the Kispiox and Skeena rivers, so again, growing up in the Stockner family led to another pool of skills. Simon has not yet worked as a fishing guide but soon enough, with a bit more guidance, he will surely take on the role.
When the time comes, the Kispiox River Lodge will act as a base from which to operate river guiding ventures that Simon will lead, whether it be rafting, fishing, or both.
