By Maxine DeHart
After 16 months of construction and years of dreaming, Fitzpatrick Family Vineyards is open and ready to pour wine. The winery is owned by the Fitzpatrick family (Ross, Linda, Gordon and Lesley) and is located just off Highway 97, south of Peachland on the Greata Ranch. With an absolutely incredible view, the winery is open for tastings and tours seven days a week. They offer two separate tastings, one at the counter in the tasting room and sparkling wine at the sparkling wine bar. FITZBistro is now open and offers chef’s kitchen Tony de Luca, which is open for lunch seven days a week and specializes in weekend brunch with dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Chef Luca is famous for his wood-fired pizzas. Sarah Bad at the winemaker. Jim Cuddy will perform on the Crush Deck on Saturday, July 15th. www.fitzwine.com.
Congratulations to my sister Tracy Nyboe from RE / MAX Kelowna and Charlie Styles of the Kelowna Daily Courier at their July 1st wedding at the Kelowna Golf and Country Club.
The ACT / UCT, Kelowna West Council # 1003 has received the prestigious ACT / UCT International Gold Medal of Honor Award for the second year in a row. The competition included 25 regions and 130 other councils in North America, with nine awards planned for 2016, with gold being the highest award. Each council had to qualify in a number of categories, both fraternal and communal, including sustained membership. The Kelowna West Council has 101 members. They donated $ 20,000 to various charities and contributed 3,500 hours of volunteer work. Their volunteering and grants they receive from the BC Gaming Branch enable them to continue serving the community. Directors Cheri and Dick Melrose played a key role in organizing the submission for the award.
Don Bennison is the new Fire Chief appointed by the Regional District of Central Okanagan to serve the residents of the Wilson’s Land Fire Protection District and to serve as chief for the paid emergency department. Don has been the deputy boss since 2011.
The directors of the BC Corps of Commissionaires from inside BC will change. Bill McKinnon, replaced retired RCMP superintendent Frank Richter, former RCMP Deputy Commissioner. Bill was the officer in charge of the Kelowna Detachment, which retired in July 2013. Upon retirement, he accepted a position as safety manager at the Kearl Oil site in northern Alberta, where he worked for 18 months. Bill becomes Col. Larry Mintz, CD from West Kelowna as a director on the BC Corps Board. The headquarters of the BC Corps of Commissionaires for the Interior is Kelowna. Commissionaires have provided security services to government and business customers since 1927. They are a non-profit organization with a volunteer board.
Glow Juicery’s second location in the new building of the Okanagan Center for Innovation at 103-470 Doyle Avenue is in the final stages of construction. Owned and operated by Kathleen Treadgold, the juicer is now open on July 18th. www.glowjuicery.ca.
Sentes Automotive has announced the opening of its new Kelowna Infiniti Nissan Dealer on 2741 Highway 97 North (formerly Enterprise Way). With almost 48,000 square meters, the new, ultra-modern plant is the largest car dealership in the interior. The property has 396 stands with sufficient parking spaces. It has its own Infiniti and Nissan sales department and its own Infiniti service driveway with a large two-lane Nissan service driveway. They have their own express oil change lane, an automatic car wash with vacuum cleaners and a 16-fold repair shop with the latest tire and wheel alignment devices. Kelowna Infiniti Nissan is one of six dealerships owned by the Sentes Automotive group, which also includes Kelowna Mercedes-Benz, Lexus of Kelowna, Penticton Honda, Penticton Hyundai and Vernon Nissan. ten Lorencz is the general manager of Kelowna Infiniti Nissan. www.Kelownainfinitinissan.com.
With two years of further training, Susanne Engel, Owner of FACES BODY & SOUL at 850-2271 Harvey Avenue, has recently become a dermalogica skin expert. This is a specialized training program developed by the Dermalogica founder, Jane Wurwand for skin therapists only. Along with Tarahlynn Buchanan, FACES BODY & SOUL is the only treatment center in the Okanagan that has two Dermalogica skin experts. To date, Dermalogica has won more than 300 awards for its revolutionary products and treatments, all researched and developed by the International Dermal Institute. They also added Jane Iredalewho have added skin care make-up to their line of products. Call 250-869-4114 www.faceskelowna.com.
Happy 50th anniversary bob and Marleen Knoblick (8th of July).
Often times, it is difficult for a business, large or small, to get reviews from satisfied customers online. Reviews are very important to show potential prospects what the service or product looks like through the words of previous customers. Many people make purchasing decisions based on the experiences of others. Csek Creative has developed a rating system that is easy to use and even easier for the customers of the companies that use the platform to get reviews. The concept is to put the customer on the path of least resistance. Review-ify knows whether the customer is logged into Google, Facebook or Yelp and sends them to us in the easiest place for them. If it’s Google they’re logged in to, it sends the customer to Google for a Google rating; If it’s Facebook, they’ll be redirected to Facebook to leave a Facebook review, or if it’s on Yelp, they will be redirected to Yelp to leave a review. This will help local businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors. phone call Nikki Csek at 250-862-8010 or Nikki@csekcreative.com.
JCI Kelowna was named Chapter of the Year 2016 at the BC / Yukon JCI Regional Convention. 2016 was also the year JCI became co-ed after over 80 years. Membership now includes almost 90 young professionals in the local association. JCI is Junior Chamber International and represents business people between 18 and 40 around the world who simply want to get better through their community. The Rene Bourgault Legacy Golf Tournament, sponsored by SYNLawn on July 21, gives the late young professional its own legacy while creating a Community Futures Scholarship to be awarded to a local young entrepreneur. To register, go to Eventbrite. For sponsorship contact Shereen Fabbas at shereenfabbas@gmail.com.
Sharron Simpson was named President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Okanagan College Foundation. Sharron joined the Board of Trustees in 2013. She is successful Alf Kempf who has been President since 2013. Directors Bev Busson and Lynda Wilson have left the board. You welcome three new directors with the addition of Colin Edstrom (Pushor Mitchell LLP), Susan Ewanick (Valley first) and Tom Styffe. Current board members are Anne Clarke, Roy Daykin, Connie Denesiuk, Gladys Fraser, Raghwa Gopal, Keith Grayston, Jim Hamilton, Mary Ellen Heidt, Rob Phare, Allan Sanderson and Kimberly White-Gilhooly.
The 3rd annual CPA Okanagan Cup tournament will take place on Friday July 28th at the Pinnacle Golf Course. You can register or receive more information by emailing Jamie at jschram@kpmg.ca or Tracy at tprintz@spencevaluation.com. The BCCPA Okanagan Chapter has a new board for 2016/17. you are Tracey Harrop-Printz, CPA, CGA, Chairman (Spence Valuation Group); Paul Guerette, CPA, CA, Vice Chairman (Trident CPA); Shawn Harrison, CPA, CA, Secretary (Interior Savings); Kyle Stewart, CPA Treasurer (MNP LLP); Judy Lloyd , CPA, FCMA, Social Committee; Candace Surette, CPA, CA, Communications (Crowe McKay LLP); Dragica Saric, CPA, CA, Professional Development (Internal Health); Chris Knight, CPA, CA, Professional Development (Ecora Engineering & Resource Group Ltd.); Nicola Simpson, CPA Recruiting (KPMG LLP); Amanda Darko, Subsection Vernon (KPMG LLP); Stuart Grant, CPA, CA, Entry Level (Norelco Cabinets); Caroline Ferreira, Young professionals (KPMG LLP): Tori Hayes, CPA, CA, Community Events (Grant Thornton LLP); Charlene Smart, CPA, CA, member in general.
RV drivers will want to attend the grand opening of the new RV storage center at 3150 Sexsmith Road on Saturday, July 8th, from 9am to 1pm. Call 250-765-4125. Bob Laird is the general manager of the center.
The Miss Kelowna 2017 Pageant Night, a Kelowna tradition that began 88 years ago, will be held on Friday, July 14th at 6:30 pm at the Kelowna Community Theater. Cards on the door. Call for more information Betty Cleland at 250-215-2180.
Birthdays of the Week – Happy 80th Don McArthur, Scotiabank retired (July 4th); Happy 60th birthday Barry Gobillot (7th of July); Gladys McCulloch (5th July); Ian Robertson, (5th July); Wayne Moore (5th July); Derek Bistrick (July 6th); Peter Winkel (July 6th); David Spevakov (7th of July); Sandra Babbel (7th of July); Dennis Gerace (7th of July); John Walker (7th of July); Jerald Grassmick (7th of July); Don Richmond (8th of July); Marc Whittemore (July 9); Sherri Rea (July 9); Sherry Huva, (10th of July); Bobbie-Jo Koutsantonis (10th of July); Smiley Nelson (10th of July); Rose sex smith (10th of July); Gary Bakelmun (July 11th); Dave Macan (July 11th).
Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna councilor and local hotelier. Call them at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662, fax 250-860-3173, email maxdehart@telus.net.
The new Kelowna Infiniti Nissan Dealer: Left to right Dez Lorencz, General Sales Manager, John Hughes – Service Manager, Steve Holland – Parts Manager.
