Straight From DeHart - March 22, 2012
This weeks’ column is dedicated to a very special person. Sylvia Wesley passed away on March 2. We have been friends of the Wesley/Erickson family for many years and our personal condolences go out to Mr. Wesley, their family and many friends.
How time flies! Guess what everyone? This month celebrates my 14th year with the Kelowna Capital News. And, I’m still here! Thanks to all of you, our readers, friends, colleagues and clients for supporting the newspaper, this column and me. My editor, Barry Gerding, and I figured out (give or take) that I have written about approximately 36,400 people /businesses /events /articles /birthdays combined in the past 14 years. Granted, we did not count them all (ha!) but took an average more or less. Your loyalty and continued support and encouragement have made our success. Thanks for all the leads, faxes, e-mails, phone calls, letters, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, referrals, stops on the street and visits to the Ramada Hotel (where I hang my hat). Keep them coming. I appreciate everything, especially all of you taking me into your confidence each week. I certainly could not have made this great milestone without your help.
Spring is here and at Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan, owned and operated by Ofri and Ofer Barmor at 170 Timberline Road, they have some new and old cheeses at their Goat cheese farm. New to their line is Gouda and among their famous good old stand-by cheeses is the Chevry, which is a beautiful, spreadable dreamy and delicious cheese. They also have a wide variety of soft ripened cheeses being Brie and Camembert. The hard aged cheeses are very unique and versatile from the new Gouda to the goat Gruyere, which is a Swiss style aged cheese. Try their Italian style cheeses and one-of-a-kind Goatgonzola which is a spicy, earthy, nutty, creamy blue cheese that says it all. Their famous goats milk Gelato, made from 100% goats milk right on their farm comes in a variety of 24 distinct and creamy flavours. If you have never been to the farm or tasted the Gelato, it is well worth a visit. Call 250-764-9033 www.carmelisgoatcheese.com
Long-time Orchard Park Shopping Centre marketing manager Natalie Walstrom is moving on to a new position with the KGH Foundation as their new senior development manager, which is also a brand new position with the Foundation. Natalie’s last day at Orchard Park is March 30th and she starts her now job on April 2. Orchard Park is owned and operated by Primaris.
A neighbourhood record shop has opened and it sounds like a neat place to visit. “Milkcrate Records” and “Home of Packinghouse Pie and Coffee” is located right beside DunnEnzies Pizza at 1551 Ellis Street. Owners of DunnEnzies, Deb Dunnigan and Karyn MacKenzie have a small piece of the pie, so to speak, with partner/owner Pete Jeffry, so this new venture is sure to be a winner. In addition to carrying thousands of pre-loved vinyl and cd titles, they will also carry a large selection of new vinyl and cds. Milkcrate records will also support the local music scene by stocking independent releases and featuring live, in store performances. They want this to be the place where music lovers can meet to share their passion and will focus on special orders as well. They will also be a ticket seller for local, live performances and will carry new and used turntables as well as music related merchandise. Being a pie and coffee shop, the pies will be made from scratch, sold by the slice or as a whole, featuring Okanagan fruit. The grand opening is on “Record Day” Saturday, April 21st.
Sandhill Chardonnay 2010 has won a gold medal at the Chardonnay de Monde competition in Burgundy, France. It was the only gold given in Canada. Red Rooster Reserve 2011 won a bronze medal. There were just under 1,000 entrants from 45 countries. Watch for the wines on the shelves.
Moving back to B.C. Lisa Stephenson is the new director of corporate and community relations of Prestige Hotels and Resorts as of April 2nd. Lisa’s husband Dave Stephenson recently received a promotion to president of Sysco Kelowna.
Judy and Tim Foster are the new owners of Excel Spa at 2695 Pandosy Street. Previous owner, Janinne Cleary is still working in the shop. Excel Spa is celebrating its 28th year of business and in the past six months, they have completed several renovations to further enhance the warm and relaxing atmosphere. Their experienced stylists and estheticians are trained in the latest trends, treatments and colours to consistently deliver great results and superior customer service. In giving back to the community, Judy and Tim have donated $2,600 of salon products to the Kelowna Gospel Mission. Call 250-763-9655. www.excelspa.com
Mark Nicholls is the new owners of Okanagan Pizza, a little pizza shop tucked away in an industrial area, located at #104-3699 Highway 97N. He plans to bring a complete facelift to the old OK Pizza business and replace it with a fresh Okanagan Pizza. Mark has been working at adding toppings to the pizzas to give them more flavour and will be altering the menu with more selection and new pizza ideas. He has also evened out their delivery charge, offering a uniform rate to almost everywhere in Kelowna and delivery to Lake Country as well. They offer FREE delivery to the UBC Okanagan Campus. The great lunch slice deal of three slices and a can of pop or water for $7.14 is still available, so that anyone can come and try their pizza. My favorite has always been their “cheesy garlic”. You can now purchase it in a full eight inch size and I often use it as a side dish, which will be featured that way on the new menu. It’s fabulous. If you are coming back from the airport, or in the Rutland/Reid’s Corner area make sure you drop in and also don’t forget about their delivery service everywhere in Kelowna. www.okanaganpizza.ca Call 250-765-5551
Jarrett Yamaoka is the new general manager of Keldon Electric & Data Ltd. at 1909 Bredin Road. Call 250-469-4427
Points West Audio Visual Ltd. has entered into an agreement with LifeSize Communications, a division of Logitech, to distribute LifeSize HD video communications solutions. This agreement enables Points West Audio Visual Ltd. to offer the award –winning LifeSize products in B.C., Yukon and Northwest Territories, delivering to customers a superior quality communications experience in industry-leading price performance solutions. Other products include SMART interactive whiteboards and accessories, NEC projectors, displays and monitors, chief mounts and carts, FrontRow classroom sound systems, Shure microphones, audio visual design and installations and specialized training. Owned and operated byDavid and Tracey Cochrane, the company has been delivering audio visual solutions to businesses, government and education customers for over 20 years and is at the forefront of providing innovative products partnered with outstanding customer service, installation and training. Call 250-861-525424 www.pointswestav.com
I’m delighted that Picture Perfect and Perpetual Booms at 339 Bernard Avenue, owned and operated by Linda Winnick are coming on board with well-known artist Alex Fong as sponsor of the Maxine DeHart, United Way – Ramada Hotel Drive-Thru Breakfast on October 4. Alex has been a previous sponsor of the drive-thru. Picture Perfect’s artwork is local, done by local artists and their business also offers custom framing on premise and has for over 30 years. They feature one local artist in their front window each month and March is featuring the work of Alex Fong. They have originals, limited editions and posters of Fong’s and many other artists. Perpetual Blooms is a place that you will need lots of time to browse. Tracy Regan is the retail sales manager of the store. Call 250-763-6966
Meaghan Williams has been appointed the new executive director of Ballet Kelowna. She has worked as a professional musician for over 15 years, currently playing bass in both the Okanagan and Kamloops Symphony Orchestras. Jamie Maw is the president of Ballet Kelowna.
Sherri Paiement, marketing/communications officer at the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has moved on and is now the new executive director for the Canadian Home Builders Association. Rob Voros of AcuTruss Industries is the president of the association. The CHBA is hosting The 21st“Real” Home Show is March 30 – April 1 at the Kelowna Curling Club, 551 Recreation Avenue. This year, FortisBC is backing CHBACO as a major sponsor. There will be live cooking demos courtesy of Savour Magazine all weekend on the working kitchen main stage and no shortage of booths and products to see. www.chbaco.com
Kelowna’s 1st Speed Networking event is similar to the concept of speed dating. It a fun and fantastic way to develop your business and sharpen your networking skills with a large number of business professionals in a short amount of time. It will be held at Cabana Bar & Grille from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on April 4th with seats still available. Tickets are $30 and must be purchased in advance. Don’t forget your business cards. Call Kimberly Timpany of Tom Harrison Cellular at 250-215-9884
Doug Leopp and Andrew Murdoch from Power 104 and Q103 have been nominated for a RAP Award for their promo titled Rock Vault Roger. The RAP Awards is an International advertising competition and they will be competing against commercials from as far away as Australia. Winners will be announced April 1st in Texas.
The first Downtown Kelowna “Small Shop Saturday” is March 31st recognizing that small businesses play a vital role in Kelowna’s local economy, not to mention provide jobs and preserve the downtown neighbourhood. There will be three Downtown Kelowna Small Shop Saturdays throughout 2012 to promote shopping local, supporting small businesses and the local economy, as well as raise awareness for downtown. All participating shops will be offering some type of special offers for shoppers. It will be a great shopping day downtown! Call 250-862-3515 for more info.
Birthdays of the week – Happy 70th Pat Gerlitsch (Mar. 17); Happy 65th Joe Iafrancesco (Mar.19); Steve McGillis (Mar. 21); Ivy Cutting (Mar. 23); Jim Ross (Mar. 23); Natalie Frappe, Mickie’s Pub (Mar. 23); Pat Moxness (Mar. 26); Wendy Giammartino, Via Veneto (Mar. 28); Hugh Cairns (Mar. 28); Liz Campbell (Mar. 28); Mike Docherty (Mar. 28).
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