Duffers Restaurant and Lounge located at the Mission Creek Golf Course, 1959 KLO Rd., has been completely renovated along with adding a new chef and a new menu.
Owned and operated by Debbie Welder, the Duffers renovations include new tables and chairs, new flooring and paint, removal of the pool table and addition of a beautiful leather casual seating area around the fireplaces. New chef Alex Lavroff has taken the restaurant to a farm to table menu with about 70 per cent of the food used being locally sourced products. Duffers purchases all their greens from Green City Acres; their meats are all B.C. organic, hormone and anti-biotic free from Twin Rivers; all seafood from Codfathers is Oceanwise; and their bread products come from Bread on Wheels. Duffers also partners with Sysco to bring ingredients from the Interior. The large menu offers appetizers and bites to share, salads, casual fare, sandwiches and burgers, mains, vegetarian and desserts. The wine list is 100 per cent local and watch for the new Sunday brunch served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner. Call 250-762-3230.
Don Graston is the owner of Valley Gold Advertising, which produces the 2016 Okanagan Lifestyle Coupon Book for Kelowna, West Kelowna and Peachland. With their second book now available, it is sold through schools, businesses and charities, making it an awesome fundraiser. This is not your ordinary coupon book. It’s a glossy, up-scale book with two-for-one coupons for many local area businesses. The books are $22 and are left on consignment with $8.50 going back to the vendor or charity for every book sold. That means no money has to be expensed until the books are sold. Okanagan Lifestyle would make a great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer. You can view the product, where to purchase them as well as the coupons online at lifestylecoupons.ca. The books are also available at Perks Coffee and Heritage Christian School. For more information call 250-212-8995; email dongrast@gmail.com.
After 35 years, Bruce Pounder, branch manager of Scotiabank, main branch is retiring. His last day at the branch is Dec. 11. Bruce started with the bank in Morinville, Ab., as a consumer credit interest clerk. His career with Scotiabank has taken him across Alberta and B.C. Bruce is planning on traveling the entire first year of his retirement.
Donnie Ungaro is the inaugural executive director of The Kelowna Innovation Society. The society is a non-profit entity established to grow the region’s high-tech industry. Donnie formerly headed the Okanagan Young Professionals Initiative for the EDC and owns and operates Culinary Ink GastroVentures.
Congratulations to the following local students who graduated from the certified general accountant (CGA) program at the Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C. (CPABC) convocation ceremony on Nov. 21: Amanda Burchell, Amrit Buttar, Leyla Guliyeva, Sydney Harper, Michael Hazen, Schuyler Holoboff, Jason Lamont, Wei-Fu Li, Laura Toneff and John Van Alphen.
Trout Waters Fly & Tackle, owned and operated by Savos Koutsantonis and Nick Pace, has expanded, adding a second floor to increase the store to 5,300 square feet. The new store look will be unveiled Friday, Dec. 4, located at 101 -2340 Highway 97 N. Watch for all types of sales specials on products of Patagonia, Mustang PFD Collar Model 2015, Fish Cat 4 Boat, all cooler bags and packs, Scotty Products, Maui Jim and Zeal Sunglasses and many more sale items throughout the store. Trout Waters specialize in fly fishing, fishing tackle, guided trips, lures, hooks, Hardy, Simms, Boats, Outdoors, Sage, Winston, Fishpond, G.Loomis, Lyman, Stillwater, Lakes, Island Reels and Fly fishing clinics. Call 250-980-0800.
Blair Forrest, a lawyer with Pushor Mitchell, is the new chair of Accelerate Okanagan, the non-profit organization that supports the high-tech industry in the Okanagan. Joining Blair on the board will be Quinton Pullen (Grant Thornton); Aidan Cole (Procera Networks); Corrie Griffiths (EDC); Lane Merrifield (FreshGrade); Karen Hawes (Interior Savings Credit Union); Jeff Keen (Wheelhouse Ventures); Scot Speiser, Tana Plewes (Discovery Centre for Entrepreneurship); Heather Schneider (Okanagan College); Gordon Prokes, (Infade Communications) and Steve Wandler (FreshGrade).
Four employees of the City of Kelowna, Waste Water Treatment Plant received long service awards. Congratulations to Daniel Demers and Henry Kohout (20 years), Cameron Moody (15 years) and Dennis Dexel (10 years).
CIBC financial advisor Shera-Lynn Gobeil has recently changed branches, moving to the downtown CIBC Banking Centre, 328 Bernard Ave. Shera-Lynn has been in the financial services industry since 2002 and her qualifications include small business advisory certification and the registered retirement consultant designation. Her expertise spans across small business ventures, including professionals and also wealth management, investment planning and retail banking. Call 250-763-6611 (444); email shera-lynn.gobeil@cibc.com.
CREW Marketing Partners has added Amber Hanson to its team of strategic marketers. With 15 years of experience under her belt in tourism and hospitality, Amber has worked for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Destination Canada and Celebrity Cruises.
Ricky & Friends Community of Giving is a store front operation located at 150B Gray Rd. in Rutland. Owned and operated by Judy Liebholz, it is a faith-based business that is focused on supporting individuals with special abilities, teaching them craft skills such as sewing, craft-making and knitting to help provide for the less fortunate. As well as creating items, they also sell jewelry, Christmas crafts and many other gift items using the funds to help others. The activities are designed to increase hand/eye coordination, communication skills, creativity, team work, responsibility and friendship. Judy started the business in the name of her brother, Ricky Larson, who had down syndrome. They will also provide services to individuals either independently or through a government funded contract. Check them out. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday. Call 250-807-4954 or 250-762-2276.
Merri Kamochinski, formerly of Colliers, has joined the team at Associated Property Management owned and operated by Daniel Lobsinger. Call 250-712-0025.
Sherri Baker, owner of Elevate Beauty Loft at 455 Lawrence Ave. in Kelowna, is looking for two stylists to work in her shop. Interested? Call 250-718-1238.
This year, Global Okanagan wants your help to help your local food banks. Global is featuring calendars with beautiful Okanagan scenic photographs submitted by their local viewers. For a minimum of a $25 donation to your local food bank, Global Okanagan will give you a Your Okanagan calendar for a $25 donation to the food bank. Look for Global Okanagan personalities such as Duane English and Wesla Wong at Orchard Park Shopping Centre from Dec. 11 to 13.
Taste of Japan, presented by the Kasugai Sister City Association, will be held Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Parkinson Recreation Centre. Admission $2 per person or $5 per family. It’s fun for the entire family with Japanese cuisine, tea ceremony, Ikebana display, gift basket raffle, holiday baking and more.
Uptown Rutland’s Christmas Light-Up, presented by Valley First Credit Union, is set for Sunday, Dec. 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. with the official tree light-up ceremony 4:30 p.m. at Roxby Square.
Award winning make-up artist and two-time Cosa nominee Nikki Hunter has opened The Green Vanity, a clean cosmetics boutique and beauty bar located in Kelowna at 473 Bernard Ave., sharing space with Blackfish Apparel. Formerly with Estée Lauder and Dior at The Hudson’s Bay and also with Shopper’s Drug Mart, Nikki specializes in cosmetics and skin care. Green Vanity offers products that are free of toxins, chemicals, fragrance, gluten, cruelty free, vegan, and Canadian. She has products that help people with cancer treatments, who are chemically intolerant, celiac and people who simply want to make healthy ethical choices. Some of the brands she offers are Sola, Elate, Sweet Leilani, Corpa Flora and Viva Health. Along with selling product, Nikki gives green makeup lessons to help you transition to green products. She will walk you through the steps and educate you through the entire process in her unique, quaint, relaxed lounge environment. Her hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday. Call 250-801-6846; online thegreenvanity.ca.
On Nov. 24, the staff of PMF Chartered Professional Accountants participated in a charity food drive. Over the past six years, PMF Inc. has donated food and supplies in excess of $35,000 to local food banks and other charities. The staff and their families went to Costco and filled 12 carts with food and other items for struggling families, which were then sorted and delivered to charities for Christmas hampers.
Hudson’s Bay Kelowna is hosting a Men’s Night of Shopping on Thursday, Dec. 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be door prize draws every 1/2 hour; gift wrapping by donation to the Men’s Shelter; a $150 shopping spree; special promotions in cosmetics and fragrance; free hand massages and if you use your HBC credit card in men’s wear, you can enter to win your purchase free. Men, what could be simpler and more fun than that!
Kelowna International Choir will host a 20th anniversary benefit concert at the Delta Grand Hotel on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 2:30 p.m. in aid of the Kelowna Community Food Bank. The show is directed by Gwen Plitt with accompanist Esther Goertz. Admission is by donation only whether monetary or food. Call Shirley Keller at 250-765-0720.
Birthdays of the week: Happy 65th Will Hoogewoonink (Dec. 8); Toni Vos (Dec. 1); Don Holzer (Dec. 2); Krystyna Werbowy (Dec. 3); Hal Puder (Dec. 3); Sherry Cote (Dec. 3); Heather Zais (Dec. 4); Kamel Abougoush (Dec. 5); Candace Bennett (Dec. 5); Donna Pawulski (Dec. 5); Anne Schneider (Dec. 6); Dallas Gray (Dec. 6); Sonia Withers (Dec. 6); Judie Steeves (Dec. 6); Sherri Paiement (Dec. 6); Jerry Mason (Dec. 7); Gary Winchester (Dec. 8).
