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Category: Relationship Building

An American in Kelowna – Csek this Out, My First Job Interview was First Class

An American in Kelowna – Csek this Out, My First Job Interview was First Class

Almost everybody remembers their first.   Mine was on Wednesday, August 5, 2015. I parked on Doyle, walked to Ellis, and climbed the stairs to the second floor of a downtown Kelowna office building. It was 2:00 PM on the dot. I was about to embark on my first official job interview in the Okanagan, a fact-finding face-to-face where a full-time position was on the line, with Jim Csek (pronounced check) at Csek Creative. Geraldine greeted me at front reception…

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An American in Kelowna – Surrounded by Champions-in-the-Making

An American in Kelowna – Surrounded by Champions-in-the-Making

Champions are Made. According to Gini Basketball, that was the T-shirt mantra of the week at the Ganon Baker Elite Camp that took place from August 17-20 at Okanagan Mission Secondary School in Kelowna.     About 120 kids starting at grades 6-7 and all the way up to the first year of university attended the four-day basketball bonanza. These wannabe champions had the chance to receive first-hand instruction from father-and-son camp directors Dino and Andrew Gini, as well as…

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An American in Kelowna – Cherry Picking with a Raspberry Twist

An American in Kelowna – Cherry Picking with a Raspberry Twist

Were we out of our cotton-pickin’ minds?! It was the Thursday morning after Canada Day. About 12 hours earlier we had been at Kelowna’s Tugboat Beach watching a feast of fireworks light up the Okanagan sky. The grand finale elicited major applause from the late-night gazers. Little Dreia loved it. We got home late.     On this scorching-hot new day, Elaine’s best gal pal Mary had invited us down to her hillside hacienda in Peachland to reap a bounty…

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An American in Kelowna – Dining on Wilderness Fast Food

An American in Kelowna – Dining on Wilderness Fast Food

A Moose can run up to 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour).         A Mule Deer can run up to 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour).         A Snowshoe Hare can run up to 27 miles per hour (43 kilometers per hour).         A Grouse can fly between 25-50 miles per hour in the open.     I would call them fast – for woodland creatures. But…

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An American in Kelowna – Finding a Marketing Pulse in Kamloops and Kelowna

An American in Kelowna – Finding a Marketing Pulse in Kamloops and Kelowna

For the past nine months, I’ve been taking the pulse of the local business community.   Kelowna is a resort town – not a corporate melting pot. Kelowna is headlined by healthcare, construction, and tourism – not exactly my wheelhouse. Kelowna wants to become a tech mecca – not a marketing metropolis.       All of the above makes my job-seeking mission a little tougher. Like a two-dollar steak. Like building a second bridge spanning Okanagan Lake. Like the…

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An American in Kelowna – Samsung + Sears and our Space Age Washer + Dryer

An American in Kelowna – Samsung + Sears and our Space Age Washer + Dryer

Doing laundry is about to enter an eco-friendly frontier.     Holy Spacely Sprockets – where do I start?! In mid-March, Elaine and I strolled into the Sears Home department at the Orchard Park Mall. It was Saturday afternoon and we were on the hunt (big gulp!) for a new washer and dryer. Appliance Consultant Don showed us around. Having not been even slightly hip to the latest in laundry luxuries – I was blown away at what turned out…

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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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