Maxine Dehart

Straight from DeHart

Date: January 10/2007

This is big news in the general insurance world. Vern Huculak has sold all the shares in his company, Demara Insurance Brokers on Ellis Street in Kelowna and Main Street in Westbank, along with Fox Insurance of Richmond to the Johnston Meier Group of Maple Ridge. Vern will remain on board with the company through until 2008. All the staff will remain the same and the new sign will be up in due course. Demara Insurance is one of the original insurance companies in Kelowna having been in business since the early 1920’s. Bruce Johnston and Tom Meier are the proprietors of Johnston Meier which now has 34 offices and 350 employees in B.C. Call 762-2132.

Well-known businessmen Mark Whittle, Shawn Ellis and Jason Keeler of one segment the Falcon Group of Companies are building a super new storage facility “Falcon Self Storage” at Fitzpatrick and Finns Road (across from Dockside Marine). The state-of-the-art temperature controlled facility will be open for rental in the spring of 2007. All units are geothermal heated and cooled for all seasons with Jim Leask’s, Leask and Company at the helm of the geothermal installation. The 492 units will be available in all sizes. The Falcon Group of Companies includes Falcon Ladder & Scaffold, Falcon Powder Coating, Falcon Pultrusion and Falcon Rail Manufacturing, with various company owners and partnerships.

Genevieve Murphy is the new Kelowna Chamber of Commerce program coordinator. She hails from Edmonton where she was formerly an executive assistant for Jayman Masterbuilt and Ford Credit. Genevieve is replacing Sheila Troiano who has retired after many years with the Chamber.

After 15 years in Orchard Park Shopping Center, The Bombay Co. is closing and is not moving to another location in Kelowna.

Husband and wife team, Jay and Amber Johnson, both born and raised in Kelowna have started a new company called “Consider it Done” Yard and Home Care. They specialize in yard and lawn care, starting in the spring along with home maintenance. Some of the services they provide in the home maintenance area are basic handyman tasks, along with painting, cleaning gutters and snow removal. They will do just about any job around the house to help you out at a reasonable price. The company also specializes in helping seniors by providing any type of basic services. Jay formerly worked for School District #23 and Amber for orthodontists Dr. Iain Allan and Dr. Bill Mulgrew. Call them at 869-6872

Here’s a business with quite a twist. Chef Steve Marston and his wife Chrissy of “A View of the Lake Bed & Breakfast” not only run a lovely bed and breakfast at 1877 Horizon Drive, but Steve’s passion for food and wine will reward you with an unforgettable experience. Join Chef Marston in his state-of-the-art kitchen where you can relax and enjoy his informal and educational approach to teaching. Bringing together the best from the Okanagan in an evening of light humour, informative dialogue while demystifying recipes and cooking techniques. Each tailor made demonstration starts with canapés and sparkling wine. You will then enter the ultra modern 550 sq. ft. kitchen and continue with four courses enhanced with local wine. Watch, ask questions and delight in each course made right in front of you. An eclectic combination of international flavours reflects his diverse culinary background gained form his global traveling. His demonstration and dinner is for up to 12 people with a minimum of 8. Steve was previously with Quail’s Gate Winery as their Winery Chef and was a chef instructor for four years. I found out about Steve through some friends that had called me after attending one of his demonstrations and they were very impressed. For reservations call 769-7854.

Michele Lazarov has started a new personal shopping business servicing Kelowna and the Westside called “At Your Service.” She specializes in grocery shopping with weekly delivery and shopping for personal gifts for any occasions for her clients that don’t know what to get or just simply do not have the time to shop. She also offers house and pet sitting when owners are on vacation. Call her at 863-8009 or mlazarov@telus.net

The Economic Development Commission has a new 2007 Board of Directors. Congrat’s to Ross Langford, Petraroia Langford Rush (Chair); Bob Monaghan, Kelowna Flightcraft (vice-chair); Steve Burns, Burns Innovation Group; Mark Stober, Al Stober Construction; Scot Speiser, Business Development Bank and David Webb, best HR Solutions. Two new appointees to the board are Barrie Pachenski, Royal Bank and Renee Wasylyk, Troika Developments. Board members continuing on for another year are James Baker, Mayor, District of Lake Country; Andre Blanleil, City of Kelowna; Broc Braconnier, Community Futures; Mike Darnbrough, School District #23; Laurel Douglas, Women’s Enterprise Centre; Gilles Dufort, Harvest Golf Club; Jayne Fosbery, Westbank First Nations; Diana Groffen, OSTEC; Sharon Hallberg, District of Peachland; Jim Hamilton, Okanagan College; Tommi Hanley, Shop the Valley; Darlene Hartford, Peachland Chamber; Brad Imrich, Vadim Software; Robert Louie, Westbank First Nations; Mark John McInnes, Tolko Industries; Len Novakowski, Regional District; Doug Owram, UBC Okanagan; Bill Redmond; Roger Sellick, Kelowna Airport; Ben Stewart, Quail’s Gate Winery; Michael Trenn, Westbank Chamber and Peter Withers, Lake Country Chamber.

Greg Webb and his company West Manufacturing located at 2930 Marmot Road on the Westside have received numerous awards over the past couple of years. In 2005 they received the Manufacturer of the Year for both Kelowna and Westside and in 2006 received Manufacturer of the Year from the Westbank and District Chamber of Commerce. With a staff of 45, the company is a custom steel fabricating facility and for the past five years has been manufacturing and marketing its own line of patented “Enviroslip” double walled slip tanks that are used for the transportation of dangerous goods such as diesel and gasoline in environmentally sensitive areas. All the slip tanks are Transport Canada registered and come in 500 and 1000 gallon sizes with custom sizes upon request. They are manufactured with 12-gauge P&O steel for better weld seams and increased paint adhesion. Through an extensive chain of dealers, these tanks are now in use throughout Canada with plans to move into the US market. Call 769-4645 www.enciroslip.ca

Happy 60^th anniversary to Phil and Lucretia Moubray on January 13.

The perpetual Jessica Jack Memorial Bursary has been set up through the Central Okanagan Bursary and Scholarship Society. Anyone wishing to make a contribution can do so through the society (861-4980) or at any branch of Interior Savings Credit Union under the name “Jessica Jack Memorial Bursary”. Call Don Jack at 317-4650 for further info.

A surge in book sales by local authors Dr. Murray Roed and Dr. John Greenough has brought the total amount of funds in the Kelowna Geology Committee Endowment to more than $50,000, which equates to more bursaries for Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan students interested in pursing studies in earth sciences. The Kelowna Geology Committee established the endowment fund in 2000 and has since collected 100 per cent of the proceeds from sales of the local best-selling book, Okanagan Geology, British Columbia.

The 15^th Annual Okanagan Bridal & Graduation Gala presented by TTM Events and The Tickle Trunk is Sunday, January 21 at the Rotary Centre for the Arts from 10am-5pm. Sponsors are Ten Fashions, Bliss Bridal, Adventures in Hair and Moore’s Clothing for Men. This year there are three unique fashions shows and over 50 exhibitors. There are tons of prizes and demonstrations all day and a grand prize draw between 4-5pm. Tickets are only $20 for all three fashion shows which can be purchased at The Tickle Trunk or at the door. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Kelowna Women’s Shelter. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t wait too long to get yours. For more info call Hal or Deb Puder at 868-8254. okanaganbridalshow.com

The Convivial Creations Media Night, part of the Snowfest celebrations is being hosted by Mickie’s Pub in the Ramada Hotel on Thursday, January 11 at 7pm. You will have an opportunity to sample some of the Convivial Creation Drinks which will be judged that night. Last year’s media night was a huge success, so come out and enjoy something different. Cheryl Stone is the Chair of this year’s Snowfest celebrations.

The Okanagan Symphony is ringing in the New Year with their first performance of Baroque elegance and modern eloquence in the performance of “How Suite It is” from January 12-14. It’s a captivating performance of symphonic suites portraying a colourful array of early music from the Baroque, Classical and Renaissance period with stylized dances and orchestral excerpts dating back to the late 17^th century. For tickets call Ticket Master at 860-1470. There are special rates for seniors and students. www.okanagansymphony.com

The Minstrel Café and Bar on Lakeshore Road has some live entertainment planned for January. January 17, Minstrel Strings; January 18, Colin Linden and January 23, Robert Fine. Call 764-2301.

Teresa Hwang of Teresa Hwang Feng Shui & Design sent me a few guidelines for the home for 2007. Feng Shui is the study of qi-chi-energies in our environment, which is specific to every space, relative to the time when the building was constructed and to the people who are living or working within that space. Feng Shui is also about change, what we do in our environment will affect the outcome of different aspects of our lives. Here are a few general guidelines on your Feng Shui improvements. (1) When designing new buildings, make sure the doors do not directly line up with other doors and large windows, especially with long narrow corridors connecting them. (2) Do not sleep at the lower side of a sloping ceiling. (3) Do not hang wind chimes directly above where you are sitting or sleeping. (4) No mirror in the bedroom directly facing the bed. (5) No moving water or large living plants in the bedroom. (6) Do remember that red is a very powerful color, only use where specifically instructed. (7) Fresh flowers can be placed in the house to activate romance and luck. (8) When placing or creating water features, make sure the water flows towards the centre of the house. (9) Sharp corners create poison arrows. Avoid poison arrows pointing in the direction of where people are sleeping or sitting. (10) Do sleep with a solid headboard behind your head. For more info or to reach Teresa call 250-549-1356 or www.teresahwang.com or e-mail fengshui@teresahwang.com

I won’t be doing a column for the next couple of weeks. See you on January 31^st.

Quote of the week – A kind word is the oil that takes the friction out of life.

Birthdays of the week – Happy 60^th Ron Pidskalny (Jan.14); Happy 50^th Cam McIntosh (Jan. 7); Nick Kardynal, my second dad (Jan.11); Gail Graham (Jan.16); Ann Smith (Jan.21); Fred McKinnon (Jan.18); Special wishes to my sister, Tracy Nyboe of RE/MAX Kelowna (Jan.19).

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)