Maxine Dehart

Straight from DeHart

Date: February 28/2007

On March 19th you will see a great new free business publication around town. The Okanagan Business Journal, as we know it now will no longer be presented in its present format. The new “Business Examiner Thompson Okanagan Edition” will launch the first true regional business to business publication in the Thompson Shuswap Okanagan. To serve the needs of one of the fastest growing market, the Business Examiner will provide stimulating, thought provoking editorial content around the issues that are changing the face of business today. It will use top academic minds of the area as well as the business leaders to provide content that will help business find the solutions to today’s challenges. The Business Examiner is being published by Black Press, publishers of the Kelowna Capital News. It’s high-end, with a glossy cover and will be delivered to businesses and addressed to business leaders. Readership is estimated to be 55,000 in the key decision making market. For more info call Roy Kunicky at 763-8509; rkunicky@businessexaminer.net or see www.businessexaminer.net.

Danny Moores, Centre Manager of Operations for I.C.B.C. in Kelowna is the new Chair of the 2007 United Way Campaign. He transferred to Kelowna in 2001 from I.C.B.C. in Penticton and is well versed with Kelowna and the Valley. Call 861-7902

Bob Martindale, general manager of 29 stores in the valley for “The Source by Circuit City” (Intertan Corp.) has received a huge promotion. Being with the company for 20 years, he is now the new District Manager – B.C. Interior, including the lower mainland. He will still be working out of his office in Kelowna. Call 860-6865.

Several new lawyers have joined the firm of Benson Edwards at 200-270 Highway 33 West. David Miles, formerly of Pushor Mitchell will continue to practice business law and real estate (dmiles@bensonedwards.com). Richard Okimaw hails from Vancouver where he practiced with the firm Smart & Biggar and practices exclusively in intellectual property law. Lara Forbes comes to the company after articling with Summerland firm Bell, Jacoe & Company. She will practice in the field of commercial litigation, intellectual property and environmental law. Call them at 491-0206.

After 40 years in the trucking industry, Doug Large, district service manager of Freightliner is retiring March 31. Doug started his career way back with White Motor Co., then with Western Star Trucks and most recently with Freightliner locally after Western Star was sold to Freightliner. He’s now going to travel to rodeos and other events in his 5^th wheel, golf, camp and do all those good things in life. Call him at 491-9047 or DougLarge@Freightliner.com

Lots of people know how to buy a boat, but how do you sell a pre-owned one? Being a boater his whole life and following his passion to do what he loves most, Kelowna businessman Ron Spence has started “Valley Boat Brokers.” They specialize in the sale, purchase and consignment of pre-owned quality, fresh water, power and sail boats. You can look for their specials on www.valleyboats.ca or call 878-7070 or e-mail him at ronspence@valleyboats.ca. You can also join them at the Kelowna Yacht Club’s Annual Boat and Leisure Show on April 21 and 22. Ron has been on the Kelowna Yacht Club’s board for two years.

Long-time Service Area Vehicle Inspector for the Ministry of Transportation Dennis Crate is retiring on March 1st after 35 years of service, the past nine years in Kelowna. Dennis was in charge of Designated Inspection Facilities (DIF’s) and school buses. He is now going to enjoy more motorcycling, hunting and restoring his dad’s old truck.

Well-known Kelowna Rotarian Murli Pendharkar made his eighth trip to Amreli, India to inspect the progress of the Amreli Dam and sewage treatment project. This year, Murli was accompanied by Chris DeHart (Mission Rotary); Vern Nielsen, Kathy Butler (Kelowna Rotary); Robin Durrant (Sunrise Rotary) and Adona Dunn and John Pouliot. (Westbank Rotary). The Amreli Dam is a project sponsored by Kelowna Rotary Clubs that not only saved this town, but thousands of lives. Amreli now has a dependable supply of portable water that has allowed the town to flourish and now has a new Girls School and University for 4,000 students and several new residential communities that would have never been possible without the Dam. Everyone that was on the trip said it was absolutely phenomenal and that Murli was an exceptional host.

Posh Pub, the Kiosk in Orchard Park Mall (outside Guess) has new owners. Former operations manager, Roni Speirs and assistant manager Alex Himer have purchased the business from Kristy Carruthers. Not only do they carry the hippest fashions, hottest toys and tastiest gourmet treats for your dogs, you can also purchase designer booties, sweaters, personalized collars, carriers, anklets, beds and first aid kits for your precious animal. Along with all that, they have also just incorporated a new “Kitty Korner” with treats that are all fish based, break-a-way collars and toys for your purring friends. They are blowing out their winter stock of pet clothing to make room for new spring and summer items. They even have some amazing toggle and hounds-tooth coats that are going for only $9.99. It’s all in one place. Call 861-4787.

Jasmin Doobay, news director at CKOV 63/Power 104 has been appointed to the board of the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). She is also the B.C. Radio Regional Director. Last year she was appointed and continues to sit on the B.C. Regional Panel of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. Jasmin has been News Director at OV and Power since the spring of 2005 and working at the station since July, 2003. Call 763-6397

Bill Guest, Adele Glennie and Val Palmer have joined the team at “best HR solutions Inc.”; Bill and Adele as corporate recruiters and Val as a recruitment coordinator. Bill has over 25 years of human resources, labour relations and management experience in both the private and public sectors. Adele brings years of professional administrative and human resources experience and Val has extensive experience in office administration with a range of companies. Call them at 762-7560.

The Best Western Inn is the proud recipient of the “2006 Energy & Environmental Award” presented by the Hotel Association of Canada recently in Toronto. The award recognizes lodging properties that have developed a culture toward integrating management practices that improve operations and the bottom line while maintaining quality service and meeting guest expectations. Greg Salloum is the CEO and managing partner of the Best Western Inn.

Donate and feel great! It’s time to clean out your closet for spring and enrich someone else’s life. L.A. Weight Loss Centre is supporting the Women’s Emergency Shelter by collecting clothing until March 3^rd. I’m sure everyone has clothing that is either too big, too small (just a joke) or just hanging around. For incentive, L.A. Weight loss Centre is giving a discount of 10% on product to all current clients and a 10% discount off a premiere program for new clients. All you have to do is drop into the Centre at 2339 Highway 97 North-Unit 410 (Dilworth Shopping Centre) and drop them off.

By the way, this month I’m celebrating my one year anniversary of keeping my weight off since losing 45 pounds (actually 52 now) on the program last year. It’s been a great ride on the bus with L.A. and all the great staff at the centre. Melonie Dodaro is the owner of L.A. Weight Loss Centre. Call 862-2606

The YMCA-YWCA of the Central Okanagan has announced that TD Canada Trust is the Title Sponsor for the Second Annual YMCA Healthy Kids Day on Sunday, June 3. The purpose is to bring the community together to participate in and learn more about active living and raising healthy kids. The event will be a fun, free family event with entertainment, activity demonstrations, nutritional snacks, swimming pool games and educational resources. For more info call 765-5916, ext. 224 or e-mail rzakala@ymca-ywca.com

Canadian PGA Golf Instructor Tara Roden says “swing into spring” and start your golf season today at Urban Links, Indoor Golf Training Centre. There’s only a few weeks before the golf courses will open, so why not start swinging now so you can get into the rhythm for your season? You can practice on your own with high tech video plus a launch monitor which tells you the ball flight direction and trajectory, club head speed, clubface direction at impact and club path. Lessons are also available. Call Tara at 768-1310 or tara@stargolf.ca. Tara is also the Director of Instruction 2007 Pinnacle Golf Academy and Performance Training at Gallagher’s Canyon.

Retired pharmacist John Moxness and his wife Pat were excited to learn that their son, David Moxness, who grew up in Kelowna and is now living in Oakville, Ontario, received a prestigious award in the Cinematography Industry. He was presented with the “Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Episodic TV Series.” Beau Bridges presented David with the Episodic TV Award for the CW’s Smallville (“Arrow”). As Bridges stated “a cinematographer can make you look like the Adonis or the devil...they carry the heavy burden of creating a one-hour movie every week for TV.” This was David’s first ASC nomination.

The Royal Bank, Plaza 33 Branch is having their annual book sale for the M.S. Walk on April 11-13. They are now collecting all kinds of books, with the exception of Reader’s Digest, magazines and Encyclopedias. For more info call Phyllis Litz at 491-2824.

Kelowna Tourism is hosting a professional development event around e-marketing, specifically harnessing the capabilities and wide reach of the Web with tactics like blogs, viral marketing campaigns and other online marketing initiatives. It is open to the public and is being held on March 7 at the Coast Capri Hotel. There is a morning workshop and luncheon with a panel of specialists from Google, TripAdvisor and the Canadian Tourism Commission. You can attend one or both with special pricing to accommodate this. For more info or to register go to www.tourismkelowna.com/tourismonline or call Timothy Lynch at 861-1515, ext. 25.

This is really neat. Mark Whittle and his partners at Falcon Ladder and their other companies decided to give all their company staff members a paid long weekend in February. It is a long haul between stat holidays and Alberta has one and they call “Family Day” so they had “Falcon Family Day” on Monday, February 19. All staff members that were eligible for the regular stat holiday got the day off with pay. Pretty generous.

Theatre Kelowna is presenting the hilarious farce “Scapino” from March 2-10 at the Kelowna Community Theatre and is directed by newcomer to Kelowna Brian Haigh. It’s filled with gags, pratfalls and mistaken identities with some romance, revenge, fight scenes, hilarity and a convoluted plot that somehow gets all its loose ends neatly bundled up in the end. It’s something you will not want to miss. Tickets are only $15 at Ticketmaster.ca or Box Offices at the Town Centre Mall and RCA. For more info call 862-8673 www.theatrekelowna.org

Kelowna Family Chiropractic and Massage is expanding their hours. Dr. Jen Walraven and Evano Masini, RMT will still be available during their regular weekday hours. They will now be open on Saturdays from 9 am-noon. Dr. Alan Jenks will be available most Saturdays. Call for an appointment first at 763-8060.

P.S. to Graham Bell – If you read this, you have read the whole column!

Quote of the week –A person without a sense of humour is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road (Henry Ward Beecher)

Birthday of the week – Happy 60^th Gary Embleton, Embleton Associates (March 6); Vern Nielsen (Today, Feb.28): Faye Willms, Spider Mfg. (March 2).

Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna hotelier. Phone her at 979-4546, fax 860-3173, E-mail maxdehart@telus.net and web-site www.welcometokelowna.com (click on Business)