Nigel Brown – Silver Song Club
Pulling out a chair and waving his hand in welcome, Nigel Brown is the quintessential gentleman. Quietly gracious, his grey-blue eyes sparkle with humour, but from the moment he begins speaking, it’s clear this is a man who takes his mission—and his coffee—seriously. “They have the best Americano in town,” he says of the very Italian Gio Bean Espresso on Water Street in... Read More
Kia & Hannah Robertson
As international news headlines warn of childhood obesity and related diseases, an Okanagan nine-year-old and her mom are taking action to help kids achieve a healthy attitude toward eating, with their Today I Ate a Rainbow books and videos. Kia Robertson admits that it’s tough to get kids excited about eating fruit and vegetables. Even though daughter Hannah isn’t a picky eater... Read More
The Best Medicine – Dr. Mike Ertel
The revolving door swishes open with the arrival of sick or injured people and clicks closed as hundreds of treated patients depart. This is the daily dance of the emergency department and for Dr. Mike Ertel, it’s more tango than waltz. Dr. Mike has donned some different caps during his 16 years at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH): full-time emergency room physician, former chief... Read More
Tara Tschritter ~ Inn From the Cold
Lining the walls of the men’s section at Inn From the Cold–Kelowna (IFTC) are 12 sets of bunk beds. Unlike military barracks, the bunks here are not all metal-framed—two wooden beds keep the room from feeling regimental. In the women’s area beyond a divider are four sets of bunks. Each bunk is numbered and comes with a corresponding locker. The walls of the room are brown... Read More
Man With a Mission
What comes to mind when you hear “Salvation Army”—thrift stores? Christmas kettles? While Major Ron Cartmell was growing up, it was simply the church his family had attended for three generations. “I didn’t even understand the wider concept of what the Salvation Army does in the community,” he says: food banks… Read More Read More
Festivals Kelowna – Renata Mills
“I’m an administrative goddess on steroids,” says Renata Mills—and she needs to be. Along with her job as executive director of Festivals Kelowna, which brings a wide range of cultural events to life around the city every year, she has a busy family life looking after her husband and two daughters. Festivals Kelowna is one of those groups most people are only vaguely aware... Read More
Summer Arts Fun
Summer camp can mean different things to different kids, from bad food and bullies, to lifelong friendships and golden memories. The Summer Arts Scene for Youth (SASFY) seems to fit the golden-memories category. Last year’s camp ended with the kids throwing homemade boomerangs out over the audience at the end of their first Culminating Gala Arts Extravaganza. Thanks to Westsiders... Read More
Citizens’ Patrol Bill Reichelt
It’s obvious that Bill Reichelt, president of the Lake Country Citizens’ Patrol Society, has finally found his true calling. Whether settled in his tiny office adjacent to the Lake Country RCMP detachment, buried in statistical forms, stationed on roadside speed watch or cruising Lake Country behind the wheel of the patrol vehicle, he’s happy to serve. “In the back of my... Read More
Kelowna Crisis Line – 250.763.9191
If you’re on the edge, don’t see a way out, don’t know how to face the future, dedicated volunteers like Maria Boruta at the Kelowna Crisis Line are ready to listen 24-7 at 250.763.9191 As a Crisis Line volunteer Maria’s voice is her signature. Our first meeting is on the phone when I call to set up an interview. Her warmth and empathy are evident from that first hello.... Read More
Gem of a Guy: Chuck Fipke
Long before you spot him among the crowd you might hear Charles (Chuck) Fipke laugh. A delighted kind of a cackle, its an unbridled and boisterous display of pleasure as unique as the man himself. Canada’s most decorated discoverer of diamonds—and one of the most renowned geologists in the world—relishes good friends, good food and wine, good racehorses and of course, good,... Read More
