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Sponsor Spotlight: OakWood Designers & Builders

About OakWood


Established in 1956, OakWood is a fourth-generation, family-run Design & Build business that’s

proudly owned and operated by the Liptak family. The company started as a small carpentry and

renovation business over 65 years ago. Over the past six decades, OakWood has become a

recognized innovation leader in both residential and commercial construction, and a company

of many firsts. On the strength of client referrals and a reputation for quality that is second to

none, the company has steadily grown to become one of Ottawa’s largest and most established

full-service Design & Build businesses.


John Liptak, the President and CEO of OakWood, knows first-hand the value of hard work at a

young age. John learned the construction business from the bottom up. Starting by cleaning job

sites at the age of 11, he then graduated with honours and highest marks with both Ontario and

Inter-provincial Carpenters Licenses in 1978. John then went on to lead OakWood’s success

while bringing the next generation of Liptaks into the family business at a young age, who now

work alongside John to take OakWood to new heights of excellence.


OakWood’s vision is to support individuals, families, and businesses in pursuit of a Great Life,

and it is committed to fostering better communities through corporate social responsibility.

Throughout the years, OakWood has sponsored and supported many local businesses and

charities including Habitat for Humanity, Tree Canada, several local youth sports teams as well

as many other local organizations and events – all with the goal of supporting and giving back to

their local community.


Supporting Local Businesses


When OakWood was introduced to FocalOttawa and their “Buy Local” campaign, they knew

they had found a worthy cause to support that aligned with their vision. With all the challenges

that businesses were facing during the pandemic, the FocalOttawa campaign provided a great

way for OakWood to give back to the local business community during a time when it was

needed most.


OakWood was so impressed with the FocalOttawa initiative that they decided to purchase

several additional Thanksgiving gift baskets with products from various local businesses to give

to their clients. The gift baskets help support participating local businesses both by providing

local businesses sales and exposure to a wide range of potential customers.


“We are very proud to be a sponsor of FocalOttawa to support this initiative, youth

development, and the local business community. We understand the importance of supporting our community at such a difficult time, and the FocalOttawa campaign seemed like the perfect

way to do this. The best part of it all is the feeling we get from giving back to those in need.”

says Patricia Liptak-Satov, Chief Operating Officer at OakWood.




Steve Georgopoulos and Patricia Liptak-Satov standing next to gift baskets prepared by FocalOttawa filled with products from local Ottawa businesses


Fostering Youth Development


Another aspect of the FocalOttawa campaign that resonated with OakWood was fostering youth

development and leadership. The “Buy Local” campaign provided an opportunity for students of

the Ottawa Key Club—an international student-led service organization dedicated to fostering

leadership and character in its members— and the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa — a leading

Ottawa-based Service Club that addresses the needs of the community to improve the quality

of life — to gain real-world experience in the fields of business development, sales, and

marketing. By doing so, these students learn essential skills that will help prepare them for

future careers and community leadership roles.


“It’s great to see these students striving to make a difference in their communities. The skills

and knowledge that they are learning from this initiative will be an invaluable learning

experience that they can draw upon in their future and I’m sure they will look back at this

experience with fond memories. At the end of the day, we want to give back and support the

next generation in the pursuit of a Great Life – that's what it's all about.” says John.

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