Ambition Performing Arts Inc. has hit a new high score with their routine, but this time, it is a finalist placement in the mentorship category of the 2024 Alberta Business Awards.
Founded in Airdrie in 2001 by Tara Pickford, Ambition has seen 7,000 families come through their doors to become a part of another family involved in dance, music, drama, or singing. Ages vary from 18 months all the way to high school students.
Ambition Performing Arts is the only business representing Airdrie to be named a finalist in this years’ Alberta Business Awards, and Pickford feels incredibly proud of her studio’s accomplishment.
“It is really thrilling for us because we are so involved in mentoring and building great kids for tomorrow, so to be acknowledged as an Albertan leader in mentorship is phenomenal,” said Pickford.
Leadership is a quality that Pickford hand-picked when assembling her team to raise tomorrow’s leaders, and she believes that her loyal teammates set their studio apart from the others as they follow the same mission.
Ambition also offers leadership programs, teacher shadowing, and mentorship through the arts that begins a cycle of positive energy day in and day out.
“Whether it's teachers leading students, students leading teachers, or me leading my full team, it's a real full circle of mentorship,” said Pickford.
“I think Airdrie still has a bit of that small town feel at heart,” Pickford said, “and I think great programming lends itself to being shared by parents who find it a great thing and want to share it with others.”
The studio’s success can also be attributed to the committed efforts of Pickford and her team towards creating a safe space for students to find their identity in art.
Pickford believes small businesses such as Ambition are pillars of Airdrie’s society, and donating their time back to the community by helping non profit organizations and charities is a huge part of how they show students how to be leaders in community.
The Alberta Business Awards winners will be announced on June 20 at the Edmonton International Airport where Pickford hopes to see Ambition come home with some hardware – but the nomination is equally as important to her.
“To be recognized in the same breath as many of the other businesses that are being recognized is so exciting,” said Pickford.
Visit ambitionarts.com for more information on classes and the studio.
