JA Ottawa Volunteer Spotlight: Justin Minnes
In the vibrant tapestry of Ottawa’s community, few stories are as compelling and multifaceted as that of a local entrepreneur and volunteer whose journey spans the realms of small business ownership, finance, and now, the innovative world of craft distilling. In honour of National Volunteer Week, we are putting the spotlight on JA Ottawa volunteer, Justin Minnes.
“As a long-time mentor for the JA Company cohort at John McCrae Secondary School, Justin and his co-mentor have played a pivotal role in empowering our young leaders to step outside their comfort zone and embrace JA Company as the learning opportunity it is. Justin always brings a positive and fun energy to sessions, and the impact of his mentorship is felt far beyond the program end-date. Justin, thank you for sharing your guidance and wisdom with our JA Company students. And with me, for that matter” – Robyn Lester, JA Company Coordinator
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Born and raised in Ottawa, with a couple of years in Kingston for school (Queen’s), I am proud to call this city home. After graduating, I worked for a long time at a local bike store (Cycle Logik) that I eventually came to co-own with 2 other partners, which led to a short stint in finance and now my work at a craft distillery. Over the last few years, I developed an interest in 3D printing and laser etching and have found it to be an excellent creative outlet as well as a great way to do meaningful gifting to friends and family.
What made you decide to volunteer with JA Ottawa?
During my time as a financial consultant, it became clear there was a need for practical financial education, and especially following my time as a small business owner (where I learned quite a few lessons the hard way) I thought it would be great to give back to the community and our future leaders. While I originally considered forming a program with a few co-workers, I met Albert Wong and he told me about ONFE and JA Ottawa, which was the perfect fit – almost exactly what I was thinking about, with an established infrastructure and contacts.
Who was your favourite teacher and why?
My favourite teacher in high school would have been Mr. Peters, my English teacher, who took a remarkable interest in education with an engaging approach. He would frequently read passages from his favourite works to us, complete with lighting and sound effects that he would do – it remains one of my fonder educational memories.
What is your personal philosophy on life?
This is always tough to summarize and get across clearly, but I suppose the cleanest explanation would be to trust your gut and get as many things in writing as possible, more so that things are clear and well understood. At the same time, I believe it is important to trust people and give them the benefit of the doubt when possible – you want to build yourself a small network of friends and allies you can count on. Lastly, I believe it is important to have a balance of social activity, physical fitness, and personal time.
If you could go back to a particular grade level or childhood age, which would it be and why?
Tough question – there is definitely something to be said for the carefree days of summer vacation and quickly making new friends, although with a distinct lack of agency. University was the most formative and interesting, with a large amount of possibility while filled with engaging people. I suppose if I had to choose, it would be University, especially in the context of “knowing what I know now” as I could tell younger me to relax, maybe take a year to travel or spend some time working on myself – adulthood and responsibility come pretty quick and you start to lose some of that flexibility.
What is your favourite hidden gem in Ottawa?
Ottawa has a bad reputation as the city that fun forgot, but I think that’s mostly people not putting in the effort – so many cool little places here, I’m not sure I can keep it to just one. Although it can be a tad on the pricy side, I would have to recommend The Moonroom on Preston, a cozy little spot with great staff, alongside an evolving cocktail menu curated by arguably the best bartenders in the city. Pizza fans would be remiss not to check out City Goose / Pizza Nerds (Bank and Flora) for superb and well-priced pizzas, made fresh to order with local ingredients. I also have to put in a mention for North & Navy (Nepean street near Bank), wonderful food in a beautifully renovated old house, and again an excellent cocktail menu.
Tell us about a lesson you learned this year. What did it teach you about yourself?
I learned that it is important to make / schedule time with friends – something that definitely fell off during Covid was the spontaneous side of my social life, and it has taken some effort to get parts of that back. One of the key things for me was realizing that there is an inertia to making plans and I am not always good at it, so my friend Steven and I got in the habit of having a standing hangout every second Thursday – it takes the pressure off of making plans and shifts the focus instead to if one of us has a restaurant or bar we want to check out.
If you are interested in volunteering with JA Ottawa, please visit our program page.
