The story of Pinnacle Pursuits begins with its Founder and Chief Visionary: Jonathan Willcocks. At 26, he worked as a wilderness camp and life skills counselor at a correctional camp for young offenders. A large component of this intense residential program was exploring and blazing the West Coast geography, embarking on multi-day mountain expeditions and paddling river and ocean routes in traditional Voyageur canoes – a position for which he was naturally suited.
It was here, through both leading and experiencing these wild adventures and challenges that Jono discovered how transformative the power of nature, group dynamics, adventure and personal reflection really were. He soon realized that he was passionate enough about this field to want to devote his life to it. Instead of working with rebellious youth, however, he wanted to attract people who truly want to challenge themselves to work together, stretch out of their everyday comfort zones and learn and grow, but no company offered this service. So in 1997, with a heart full of passion and a vision he couldn’t ignore (and on a shoestring budget), Jono decided to seize the opportunity and create such a company himself; thus Pinnacle Pursuits was born!
As a small company with a big idea, the demand for Pinnacle Pursuits’ personal development, team-building and adventure-leadership programs grew rapidly. In 2000, after 3 years of facilitating local programs, Pinnacle Pursuits had grown enough to begin taking its programs abroad. This proved to be a rewarding and profitable direction for the company; Pinnacle Pursuits has been invited to work in 11 countries worldwide to date.
By 2008, Pinnacle Pursuits was becoming formally recognized and acknowledged for its accomplishments. Several local and international awards for business, leadership, community impact were won for our fresh, creative approach to experiential education. One such honor came from the Association of Experiential Education. The AEE awarded Pinnacle Pursuits the ‘Top Experiential Organizational Award in the Northwest Region of North America’. Jonathan was also the first Canadian to win the Willie Unsoeld Award. He won this for his impact as an exemplary educator. He received the Business in Vancouver Top 40 under 40 Award in 2007 (celebrating BC’s outstanding entrepreneurs, executives &, managers).
Today, Jonathan and his amazing Pinnacle Pursuits team of adventure-learning experts continue to grow and expand the company’s reputation. Pinnacle Pursuits offer creative programs that make the world a better place to live, work, learn and play!
We invite you to be part of the next chapter in our story!