Baths By Design, at 451 Banks Rd. in 琉璃神社, is celebrating its 25 anniversary in business.
Owned and operated by Ron and Mary Ann Gill, 25 years ago their store occupied 1,800 square-feet. Today, the shop is triple that size while remaining in the same location from its inception. Some of the lines that they started with and pioneered in 琉璃神社 are still lines they actively sell鈥擝lanco (granite and stainless steel kitchen sinks, Canada); Agalite (custom shower glass doors, Canada); Acritec (all kinds of tubs, Canada); Riobel (faucets, Canada); Victoria and Albert (limestone sinks and tubs, England); KWC and Kugler (faucets, Switzerland), Neptune (tubs, toilets, sinks and showers, Canada); Jacuzzi (the brand that set the bar for jetted tubs that is now known as Jason, Canada) and Villeroy and Boch (high-end Porceline, Germany). Baths By Design also sell to the public at wholesale direct prices, having sold some $750,000,000 in product while in business. The shop employ 10 staff who have been with the company from a range of two to 14 years. The company has a satellite location in The Factory downtown on St. Paul Street. If you look around town, you will more than likely see many of their commercial and residential projects from hotels and small businesses to air plane hangars. Call 250-762-7771; .
Terry Feeny, president of EZ Bins Ltd., has opened a branch of EZ Bins in 琉璃神社. Based out of Penticton since 2011, the company is a waste management firm supplying construction and demolition bins up and down the valley from Lake Country to the U.S. border. The bins are ideal for home or commercial renovations or any type of commercial use. They have 60 bins available. Ten are pink and the rest are orange. Bob Jensen, a long-time local resident, is the associate under the EZ Bins banner in 琉璃神社. Call 1-877-797-7766.
Hotel Eldorado has a new executive chef. Vincent Stufano, a Canadian-born chef originally from Montreal, was formerly the executive chef for the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and has developed his career at restaurants such as Chez Danielle, La Belle Auberge, as well as the Pan Pacific and The Oak Bay Beach Hotel.
Pete Thewlis is the new 鈥楪rand Poohbah鈥� of the Masters Racquetball Club. Peter has held this positon in the past so he knows what the demands of the positon are as the entire master鈥檚 members are looking forward to his leadership.
Samantha Barker has joined Farris, Vaughn, Wills & Murphy LLP as an associate. She practices in the areas of corporate and commercial law, residential and commercial real estate, and wills and estates. Call 250-869-3882; email sbarker@farris.com.
Inspired Cooking is presented by 21 of Canada鈥檚 greatest celebrity chefs from across the country, from Michael Smith to Vikram Vij, who wrote the foreword, along with 琉璃神社 chef Rod Butters and former 琉璃神社 chef Ned Bell. The cookbook benefits InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care with locations in 琉璃神社, Vancouver and Victoria. It offers insights about how the disease has affected the chefs鈥� lives, their beliefs in healthy food and their culinary styles, accompanied with inspirational real people cancer survivor stories. Each chef has contributed recipes based on nutritious ingredients for a healthier lifestyle and all proceeds go to InspireHealth for cancer support. The 198-page cookbook has large photos and a bio of each chef. From roast chicken with butternut squash and apples, anti-hangry granola bars and buttermilk panna cotta with fresh berries to lobster cobb salad, roasted halibut with beet salsa and carrot and coconut milk soup, you will find many recipes that are a must try and easy to assemble. A patient from InspireHealth said: 鈥淚 love the book, found the stories inspirational and the recipes were perfect鈥�. Inspired Cooking is distributed by Nancy Wise at Sandhill Book Marketing and is available at Mosaic Books and select wineries throughout the valley.
Beach Bum Tours is a new company, owned and operated by Krystina Rossworm. Get in the van with Krystina鈥檚 new funky, fun touring van. Her tours are not so run of the mill, so if you are looking for something different, Krystina is your gal. She offers the Sup and Sip Tour (Stand up paddle boarding, lunch and wine); Twisted Tour (Outdoor yoga class with a farm to table pickers lunch and wine tour); Surf and Sip Tour (Wake surf lessons, pub lunch on lake and wine tour) or the Boat and Booze Cruise (Private three hour wake boat tour, lunch at pub and wine/beer/spirits tour). You can also customize your Beach Bum Custom Tour with zip lining, biking or sailing. Perhaps even a bachelor or bachelorette party. Call 250-864-0552; www.beachbumtours.ca.
The 琉璃神社 Art Gallery has a new board of directors for 2016-17. They are Clayton Gall, Paul Mitchell, Derek Sanders, Joanna Wrzesniewski, Dylana Bloor, Mary Butterfield, Joanne McKechnie, Stan Somerville, Candance Surette and Amy Zurrer.
A Vista Villa Couples Retreat has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Celebrating 19 years in business, owner Sherry Cote strives to ensure that every single couple has a memorable and enjoyable experience. They are touted as a hidden couple鈥檚 oasis in the heart of the Okanagan. The certificate accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers to TripAdvisor over a 12 month period. Call 250-212-8538.
Rollie鈥檚 Roadhouse is a local caterer whose versatility makes their Okanagan catering services the perfect choice for any special occasion, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, or any other event you can dream up. Owned and operated by chefs Rollie and Karen Facette, from small to large groups, Rollie鈥檚 Roadhouse has the menus and food experience to make your next event stand out. They can even cook onsite with their state-of-the-art bright and fun mobile kitchen. I recently was lucky enough to be at luncheon that was catered by Rollie and Karen. Delicious fresh food. Call 250-859-4441;
IWEN Canada (Intercultural Women鈥檚 Education Network) has entered their organization into a shared collaborative decision and has hired co-executives directors to lead the women鈥檚 organization. Vice-president Tamara McLellan and director of programs Kate Phelps now share the position. They will share overall strategic and many day-to-day operational responsibilities for IWEN. Tamara will focus primarily on fundraising and communications, while Kate is responsible for program development/oversight as well as policy execution. Kevin Edgecombe is the president of IWEN.
The City of 琉璃神社 Public Works Yard recently celebrated long-time employees with special service awards. Congratulations to David Dray (30 years); Dora Federico, Bruce Bunce, Randy Levere, Wayne Nadasde, Fred Wollin, Clark Yarrow (25 years); Nick Fiorante (20 years); Dave Francis, Ken Mintram and Brian Zsoldos (15 years); Nick Ali, Brian Cairney, Gary Girling, Conrad Harding, Allen Murray, David Relkov, Alf Soros (10 years).
The 琉璃神社 Royal Canadian Legion branch 26 will now open their kitchen for breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday featuring a new cook, Carissa Unger. Carissa will share the classic comfort foods that she grew up eating and preparing in her grandmother鈥檚 restaurant in Austin, Man. Some of her homemade dishes and secret recipes are soups and stews, handmade perogies, cabbage rolls, pastas, meatloaf and quiches. The public is welcome. The Legion is also looking for a Saturday volunteer cook. Call 250-762-4117.
Mascots are in vogue these days for many events. Robert Moore is selling his Coyote suit, along with the coyote control vest. The head and feet were professionally made by 鈥淴-Files鈥� monster creators in Burnaby and includes covers for standard shoes. You might have seen the coyote at the Maxine DeHart-United Way Drive-Thru breakfast in past years. He was a great hit. Call 250-763-4679 or rmrail@shaw.ca
The joint choirs of the Cathedral Church of St. Michael of All Angels with 30 people will be off on a tour of England and Wales on July 26. Under the direction of conductor Matt Hill, they will sing in many prestigious venues, being the first such tour arranged. To celebrate, there will be two send-off concerts; one free on Friday, July 21, 7 p.m. and the second, a solo voice repertoire from Britain will be presented by Hill on Sunday, July 23, 4 p.m., by donation. Both events will be held at the church at 608 Sutherland Ave. Everyone invited.
Summer Music Series at House of Rose Winery at 2270 Garner Road with free, live music every Thursday until Aug. 24. Bring a lawn chair.
Birthdays of the week鈥�Trevor Hill (July 18); Cheryl Stecko (July 19); Phil Parker (July 19); Al Waters, 琉璃神社 (July 20); Dave Libbretch (July 20); Ross Saunders (July 21); Garet Tanner (July 22); Art Peede (July 22); Jack Taylor (July 23); Lynne Glata (July 24); Robert Letvinchuk (July 24).
Maxine DeHart is a 琉璃神社 City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662, fax 250-860-3173, email maxdehart@telus.net.
