Meagan Buttle

Kimberly…. I had to take some time to write this comment – it means so much coming from you. I feel incredibly lucky that this work brought us into each other’s lives, and the friendship we developed along the way has been a rare gift.

I’ve had the privilege of watching you grow in your practice as a case manager, and now as you take this next huge step into your Masters of Social Work. Watching your confidence grow alongside your skills, your ability to navigate incredibly complex situations, and especially the way you advocate for the people you support has been incredible. I hope you know how much I admire you and how excited I am to see where this next chapter takes you.

I’m also so grateful for all the less-serious parts of our friendship — talking through a problem when one of us needs another brain, spending time outside each week, learning how to play pickleball, and, of course, our mutual adoration of Nerds Gummies.

Thank you for seeing me, for rooting for me, and for being one of the people I can always count on. This last year has not been an easy one in my own life as you very well know, and having people like you beside me through it has meant more than you could ever know.

Thank you so much, Denise! I’ve always appreciated the thoughtful, gentle way you support people and help them work toward better health and balance. Your smile and sense of humour is always a highlight when we cross paths 🙂

The ABI community is lucky to have you too!

Momma –

You’ve had a front row seat to all of this, from the early days of figuring out what type of SLP I wanted to be, to building the practice, growing a team, taking on community work, and the little pieces behind the scenes that have shaped where I am today… You’re also usually the one reminding me that I’m allowed to put the work down and take a break.. 😉

But I think you understand why I care so much, because so much of that came from you and Dad. Our family went through an experience with brain injury long before I knew this would become my career. We learned together what it means to keep showing up, ask questions, advocate, and make sure the people at the centre of it all are seen.

Even before that, you and Dad taught us about hard work, caring for people, and being part of community. I don’t think I appreciated how much of that I carried until I found myself building a life around those same things.

I promise to try and put the work down more often… but I hope you know that a lot of the things you’re proud of are things I learned by watching you and Dad 🙂

Thank you for being there for all of it.
Love you.

Alycia – There is so much of Buttle SLP that works because you are quietly making a thousand things happen behind the scenes. You know the practice, the team, and me well enough to know when to organize me, when to challenge me, how to make us laugh, and when I need a zoom co-working session to get stuff off the to-do list. I have an enormous amount of respect for you, and I hope you know how deeply I value both what you bring to our practice and who you are as a person and friend.

The last year has been one of the hardest I’ve had in a long time, and I know with absolute certainty that I would not be receiving this nomination without you, Sarah, and the rest of the BSLP team. There were times when I simply didn’t have the capacity to hold everything, and you all stepped in, kept things moving, protected what mattered, and gave me room to find my footing again.

When people recognize me for this work, I hope they also understand how much of it reflects the people around me. So much of what I’ve been able to do over the last few years has only been possible because of you, Sarah, Tarah, and the rest of our team. The culture and care people experience from Buttle SLP exists because of the people who choose to build it with me every day; and you have all shaped this practice and made it better in ways that are woven into everything people see from the outside.

And even if you never want the spotlight on you, I hope you know how much of this recognition belongs to you too. I’m incredibly lucky that somehow running an SLP practice also gave me an amazing colleague and such a good friend. <3

Becky – thank you! It’s been so fun growing our practices alongside each other over the years, even in very different areas of SLP.

I’ve learned so much from watching how you approach practice ownership, knowledge translation, and making complex information actually make sense for families. I’m really grateful to have fellow SLP practice owners like you to learn from and cheer on. 🙂