Kelsey Serwa Catching up with the Okanagan’S Favourite Olympic Gold Medalist
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LEVEL U P CENTRAL OKANAGAN BUSINESS REPORT Jan 2021 Front line workers profiled 5 Kelsey Serwa Catching up with the Okanagan’s favourite Olympic gold medalist The Great Okanagan Kelowna realtor Snowbirds have Winter Staycation donates kidney their wings clipped Wings clipped Snowbirds in the Okanagan 24 rather than Arizona LEVEL U P CENTRAL OKANAGAN BUSINESS REPORT Articles Now a monthly magazine Salute Kevin Brown Canadian Women Entrepreneur of Also on KelownaNow.com 02 He’s a paramedic with BC Ambulance 16 the Year Mandy Farmer is CEO of Hotel Zed Groceries are essential and Accent Inns 03 Salute cashiers Clio, Quinn and Simone Record high house prices Wastewater 18 And a red-hot real estate market 04 It’s a 24/7/365 job treating it 20 Michael Ballingall of Big White Ski Hawaii or Mexico, then we can this magazine with a Responsible 05 Salute water utility workers Resort Welcome enjoy this four-season playground Tourism Award, page 22. They help get 90 million litres of water a day to Is the new chair of the Thompson we call home. Kelowna residents Okanagan Tourism Association In December’s issue, we debuted Letter Garbage, recycling, yard waste Responsible Tourism Award The Great Okanagan Winter profiles of frontline workers who 06 It all gets picked up by E360S 22 The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Staycation story on page 26 gives have kept on providing essential Association wins Hooray! It’s 2021. you myriad options. services during the pandemic. Spinco expands 07 Into the at-home fitness bike business Merger And most importantly, it isn’t 2020 23 Two Okanagan real estate board join One of those choices is skiing at It proved so popular there are 08 Home of the Year finalists forces anymore. Big White Resort, which ties into five more such profiles in this They are stunning! two of the other stories in this issue, from page two through six, Staycation 2020 is crudely, but accurately, magazine. saluting a paramedic, grocery Skiing for fun 26 The Okanagan’s where it’s at 10 Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Serwa being referred to as a dumpster store cashiers, wastewater and fire of a year. 28 A View to Remember Cover girl Kelsey Serwa grew up water utility workers and a 12 Kidney donation The B&B cleans up at the Key on the slopes of Big White and is garbage truck driver. Leads to Realtors Care Award for Camille Business Awards With COVID and all its inherent now an ambassador for the resort. Steele restrictions, economic woes and Her story, on page 10, also outlines With monthly issues of Level Up Business Leader of the Year the long wait for a vaccine, I her accomplishments in between, throughout 2021, we’ll continue to 14 Laurel Douglas of the Southern Interior more than concur that 2020 was which, of course, includes the chronicle the Okanagan’s people Development Initiative Trust a stinky mess of garbage-inferno grand prize of all -- the ski-cross and growth as we get vaccinated proportions. Olympic gold medal at the 2018 and enter the post-COVID world. Winter Games in Pyeongchang, But, with vaccines on the way South Korea. there’s hope for 2021. Cover photo sales and advertising Big White vice-president Michael LEVEL UP Kelsey Serwa [email protected] The Okanagan, and it’s innovative Ballingall is the new chair of the (250) 862 8010 and resilient people, made the Thompson Okanagan Tourism managing editor best of 2020 and continues to do Association. See the story on Steve MacNaull ISSUE NO. 6 Steve MacNaull Contributors so this year. Steve MacNaull Rob Cupello page 20. Editor and journalist, PUBLISHER Taylor siemens Dylan McCullough NowMedia Group 16 flights publishing house Jim Csek Sydney Baerg After all, if we can’t escape the Speaking of the association, it - a division of NowMedia Group Nikki Csek Vince Yu cold this winter and jet off to makes a second appearance in 1 Salute grocery OUR SERIES store frontline OF PROFILES OF FRONTLINE workers Clio, WORKERS WHO Simone and Quinn STEPPED UP DURING COVID CONTINUES. Written by: Steve MacNaull Paramedic Kevin Brown works out of Kelowna ambulance station #341 on Keehn Road. Talk about being thrown in at the However, Clio has had her fair deep end. share of anti-maskers and people ready to tell their latest conspiracy Salute frontline worker and Clio was hired as a cashier at theory about the pandemic. Lakeview Market just as COVID paramedic Kevin Brown reared its ugly head. “The key is to gently remind people that wearing a mask is mandatory “It was surreal,” she said. and we can’t serve them unless they are wearing a mask,” she said. Written by: Steve MacNaull “I’d never experienced anything like it. Out of the blue people were “When people tell me the real showing up in droves and stocking disease is the government, not Everyday for the past 30 years, “I couldn’t stay away,” he said with Plus, dispatchers try to do a pre- up on toilet paper, pasta and non- COVID, I just listen while I check Kelowna paramedic Kevin Brown a laugh. assessment of patients over the perishables. It was weird.” their groceries out.” has made a difference in peoples’ phone to warn of any potential Cashier Clio started work at Lakeview lives. “After almost 30 years this job is cases of COVID and paramedics With grocery stores obviously Now that people realize Kelowna Market just as the pandemic started. part of my life and who I am.” do their own screening upon an essential service, Clio and isn’t going to run out of groceries, “It’s a real privilege to do work I Kelowna paramedics in arrival. co-workers continued to come to shopping has returned to normal love, helping people in distress ambulances rush out to an work and serve customers while with the expected spike for and working with the colleagues average of 1,650 medical “Basically, we treat every patient the rest of us were told to stay at Christmas and another coming up I do at the station, in the emergencies every month, as if they have COVID to keep home. for New Year’s Eve. ambulances and at the hospital,” including car accidents, heart everyone safe,” said Brown. said Brown. attacks and drug overdoses. “Despite the trying times, I love “Everyone is being pretty practical,” “I know of two patients with coming into work everyday,” said said Clio. Brown worked as a paramedic for Paramedics always wore gloves COVID that I personally Clio. 28 years in Sparwood, Nanaimo, and glasses to treat and transport transported to hospital.” “We’ll all get through this.” Vancouver and Kelowna before patients. “I’m a people person and I enjoy retiring. In all, 115 paramedics work in everyone I work with and the customers. Lakeview Market is a But in these COVID times, Kelowna at three ambulance Cashiers Quinn, Simone and Clio work at Retirement only lasted four personal protection equipment stations--Keehn Road (where family-owned independent grocery family-owned independent grocery store months before he returned part has been upgraded to gloves and Brown works), downtown on store, so the vibe is different with Lakeview Market at 3033 Pandosy St. time. face shields. Lawrence Avenue and West a sense of community and loyal Kelowna. customers.” 2 3 OUR SERIES ON FRONTLINE Salute Kelowna’s water utility WORKERS WHO HAVE STEPPED UP IN THESE COVID TIMES CONTINUES. frontline workers Salute wastewater frontline Written by: Steve MacNaull worker Mike Gosselin When you turn on the tap in “Especially in the summer, when The city’s water utility also has a Kelowna, fresh, clean water never people were stuck at home their new agricultural division, which fails to flow. yard became their sanctuary and replaces the Southeast Kelowna they kept their lawns and gardens Irrigation District, to distribute water from McCulloch Reservoir to Written by: Steve MacNaull During a pandemic we flush our “We changed shifts to create “Definitely, that’s our goal beautiful with outdoor watering,” orchards, vineyards and farms in toilets at different times, shower separate work bubbles of 12 hour each and every day,” said City said Weremy. the area. on erratic schedules and run the days, three on, three off. There’s of Kelowna water operations While Weremy is the manager, dishwasher and clothes washer been an impact, for sure.” manager Andy Weremy. he says it’s the 17 workers in the In the winter, there’s demand for more during the day. supply department and 10 in the about 45 million litres of water a Everything that goes down a drain “We deliver safe and reliable water distribution that keep everything day through the entire system. Mike Gosselin knows all this or toilet at any home, workplace, that meets or exceeds Canadian running smoothly. because he’s the wastewater business, school or institution in drinking water standards to our In the summer, when outdoor operations manager for the City of Kelowna ends up in the kilometres 70,000 customers.” Supply workers see water drawn watering peaks, up to 90 million Kelowna. of underwater pipes and lift from Okanagan Lake at four litres of water a day cycles through stations that deliver wastewater to Our customer based includes treatment stations (Poplar Point, the whole utility. “Before COVID many of us were the seven-acre treatment plant at homes, businesses, institutions Cedar Creek, Swick Road and in a routine because we worked Ethel Street and Raymer Avenue. and farms within the city. Eldorado) and disinfected with “We definitely are an essential outside of the home and there Glenmore Ellison, Rutland Water ultraviolet light and chlorine service and we know how were surges of wastewater coming In fact, 37 megalitres arrive daily at Works and Black Mountain before being pumped to a series important our role is,” said into the treatment plant after the plant to undergo a biological Irrigation Districts service the of large mains and reservoirs.