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Category: Business

An American in Kelowna – Getting to Know Twin Creek Media and its Wealth of Core Competencies

An American in Kelowna – Getting to Know Twin Creek Media and its Wealth of Core Competencies

I recently had a chance to sit down with James Shaw (Creative Director/Partner) and Christina Van (Art Director/Partner) at Twin Creek Media.     This Kelowna-based integrated marketing agency celebrated its 10-year anniversary in October 2014. Kudos to founder James for creatively crafting his digital-era version of the Mad Men experience. Twin Creek Media’s structure and output is nothing like the ad agency business I grew up with. What seems like a bazillion years ago, my first agency job was…

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An American in Kelowna – K-HUB is Making the Most of its Makerspace in the Okanagan Valley

An American in Kelowna – K-HUB is Making the Most of its Makerspace in the Okanagan Valley

I recently had a chance to sit down with Carla Mather, Founder and President of K-HUB & Kreative Core Social Marketing.           Our conversation focused exclusively on K-HUB – what it is and how Mather is incorporating it into Kelowna’s business landscape?! She has lofty ambitions and goals for her soon-to-be-opened makerspace located at 5-220 Neave Road (off Harvey + Sexsmith Road exit).     In a nutshell, K-HUB creates an environment where entrepreneurs, inventors, and start-ups…

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An American in Kelowna – Scoring Lakeside Living with Assists from Kirschke and Coldwell Banker

An American in Kelowna – Scoring Lakeside Living with Assists from Kirschke and Coldwell Banker

Location. Living by the Lake. Location. According to the National Association of Realtors® 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers: 88 percent of home buyers purchase their homes through real estate agents or brokers 78 percent of home buyers responded that neighborhood quality is more important than the size of the home 57 percent of home buyers would forego a home with a larger yard in favor of a shorter commute The feature that had the highest-dollar value home buyers…

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An American in Kelowna – OMG, After 8 Months I Received my OWP!

An American in Kelowna – OMG, After 8 Months I Received my OWP!

I can remember the time and day like it happened just a few hours ago. Tuesday, March 24, 2015. 12:45 PM. There were hazy skies with a slight drizzle. I trudged out to our front-door mailbox just like any other day.       But wait, this wasn’t just like any other day. From the front steps I could see a slightly large brown envelope standing tall in the black mailbox. That was different. My interest was piqued – could…

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An American in Kelowna – Studying the Stratospheric Structure of Strata Fees

An American in Kelowna – Studying the Stratospheric Structure of Strata Fees

Principal + Interest, Taxes + Insurance……..and Strata Fees. WTH?       As most of our family and friends know, Elaine and I recently dipped our soon-to-be-sand-covered toes into Kelowna’s real estate bounty. We became townhouse owners barely a three-minute walk from Rotary Beach Park and Okanagan Lake. Just in time for summer. Lower Mission, here we come.         As we were lining up our pre-approved financials, one line on the Coldwell Banker residential sales sheet jumped…

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An American in Kelowna – Reaching the Seven-Month Mark and Feeling Lucky

An American in Kelowna – Reaching the Seven-Month Mark and Feeling Lucky

I woke up exactly at 7 this morning realizing that it’s exactly 7 months today that I arrived in my exact location of 1470 Ethel Street.  Guess I’m feeling lucky. The number 7 is a heavy hitter in the gambling world – slot machines often offer three 7’s as the big payout. Then there’s James Bond as 007, the 7th-inning stretch, 7 seas, 7 continents, 7 dwarfs, 7 deadly sins, 7 brides for 7 brothers, 7 colors in a rainbow,…

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An American in Kelowna – Tourism Kelowna is the Little Engine that Could when Pitching its Vacation Destination

An American in Kelowna – Tourism Kelowna is the Little Engine that Could when Pitching its Vacation Destination

After living in Kelowna for more than six months, I thought I had a solid handle on what attracts tourists to this city and what brings them back for return engagements. The answers seemed as obvious as Donald Trump’s comb over. Okanagan Lake with its sandy beaches, waterfront boardwalk, and seasonal watersports. Knox Mountain and all the other elevated vistas with hiking and biking trails. Right at the top were the wealth of countryside wineries, 19 challenging golf courses, and…

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An American in Kelowna – Bowled Over by Pinheads and the Pond at Silver Star Mountain Resort

An American in Kelowna – Bowled Over by Pinheads and the Pond at Silver Star Mountain Resort

Here’s a make-believe scenario I never thought possible or probable at any winter ski resort on any continent. A group of eight Australian college students are on an extended holiday at Silver Star Mountain Resort, British Columbia’s third-largest ski area. One morning these energetic Aussies are scurrying up and down the mountain with youthful abandon. They’re basking in the resort’s All-Inclusive package of choices: 128 runs, skiing four different mountain faces and 3,269 acres of skiable terrain, 21 acres of…

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An American in Kelowna – Marketing Myself to the Okanagan Young Professionals Collective

An American in Kelowna – Marketing Myself to the Okanagan Young Professionals Collective

Oy Vey – while waiting for an OWP from CIC, we scheduled a chat with the OYP Collective.  That roughly translates into:  “Woe is me, while biding my time in anticipation of receiving an Open Work Permit from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Elaine and I participated in an informational interview with the team leader of the Okanagan Young Professionals Collective (www.oypcollective.com).         That quarterback would be Donnie Ungaro, Culture Development Officer and entrepreneurial Sherpa of a flock…

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An American in Kelowna – Saturday Night Live Featuring the Kelowna Rockets and Everett Silvertips

An American in Kelowna – Saturday Night Live Featuring the Kelowna Rockets and Everett Silvertips

Am I the king of romance, or what?! It was Saturday night in Kelowna and I needed to show my girl a good time. Assuming the restaurants and movie theaters were at full strength, I needed to light the lamp and breakaway from the usual. No way could I be a goon and end up in the penalty box.       Holy hat-trick, a power play idea rocketed into my crease. Why don’t we head down to Prospera Place…

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