Okanagan Business Examiner

SPECIAl EDITION Okanagan’s

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A DIVISION OF FIRST WEST CREDIT UNION

The Influence of Inspiration

T

Time to step up and meet the best and the most influential that our business has to offer. These are the men and women who know how business ticks, how to connect the dots and make it all come together – these are the people who make up the Business of Influence

Picking out people of influence in the Okanagan is both easy, and devilishly difficult at the same time.

Easy because there are so many contenders within business circles who have made remarkable achievements, and difficult both because there are so many to choose from and because, in all honesty, no one builds their business single handedly.

Yet, if we acknowledge that most success depends on the contributions of many, it doesn’t take away from those contributions to also realize that a leader, someone who can influence and lead others, is essential.

It’s not just hard work, although that

4 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

is crucial. It takes vision and energy and the ability to reach out.

Our profiles were chosen, primarily, by you the readers, through feedback in surveys and questionnaires. The biggest influence from our editorial department was in choosing businesses to reflect a wide selection of people geographically across the entire Okanagan and from various business sectors and sizes.

Some of the people we interviewed wondered that they had been chosen at all. Judy Sentes and Donna Benson said they do not consider themselves business people. Others, including Esther Brown, are well aware that their business is not the largest or the richest either in their sector or their community.

Size, all arguments to the contrary, isn’t everything.

Obviously people who lead the largest, most financially successful

businesses do have a great deal of influence, but the size of a payroll or a ROI aren’t the only measures.

Listen to what Sentes had to say: “You have to get involved – at some point – you have to step up if you want to make a difference.”

Here then are 18 people who have made a difference to many people. Some, like Sentes, achieve that distinction through an enormous commitment to their community.

If there was a common theme to almost every discussion it was the ways in which each person wants to contribute back to their communities, beyond dollars and cents, jobs or even charitable donations.

That is why others here who made the list, like Kyleen Myrah or Joanne de Vries are not business people, but are enormously influential in a positive sense.

Most of the others have more obvious business connections whether it is Ron Gorman at Gorman Brothers Lumber, Don Turri the chartered accountant at MacKay Chartered Accountants, developer Renée Wasylyk or TOTA’s Glenn Mandziuk.

Some people have an influence that is not well known outside of their own communities, like Ted Morrison in Enderby or Esther Brown in Oliver, but all of them are, in their own way, someone you wish you could have on your team.

Something else they all have in common is passion, passion for their work that is, in the end, simply inspiring.

Publisher Craig Brown publisher@businessexaminer.ca associate Publisher Chytra Brown chytra@businessexaminer.ca DIRECTOR OF SALES Roy Kunicky roy@prospermediagroup.ca MANAGING Editor Devon Brooks editor@businessexaminer.ca ADVERTISING SALES Sales Representative Don Jack Jesse Kunicky Production Corrina Deters production@prospermediagroup.ca Assistant to the publisher Joanne Clarke jclarke@prospermediagroup.ca Contributing Photographer Shawn Talbot 1.888.317.1403 shawn@shawntalbot.com www.shawntalbot.com Subscription Rates 12 issues annually | One year: $27.00 778-755-5727 Distribution The Okanagan Business Examiner is published monthly at Kelowna, BC by Prosper Media Group Inc. Copies are distributed to businesses from Osoyoos to Greater Vernon. The views expressed in the Okanagan Business Examiner are those of the respective contributors and not necessarily those of the publisher or staff.

Ron Gorman The Adaptable Lumber Baron

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Esther Brown Big Philosophy from a Small Shop

Peter Haubrich

Early Adopter

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Nick Frost The Patient Builder

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Joanne deVries Green on Green

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Michael Ballingall Ski King

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Kyleen Myrah The Enterprising Educator

Maria Byland Grounded & Rooted

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Ted Morrison The Reluctant Banker

Renée Wasylyk Pray, Work, Build

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Don Turri Working Man

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Glenn Fawcett Entrepreneurial Toast

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Judy Sentes Special Needs, Special Responsibilities

Donna Benson Impossible Business Woman

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Joe Sardinha Man of the Earth

Glenn Mandziuk TOTA’s New Emperor

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Robert Smithson A Fixer, not a Fighter

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30 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 5

Ron Gorman

people of influence

The Adaptable Lumber Baron View from the

The Glass Half Full “The only way to describe it is, we’ve been blessed, the family and the company.”

“We used the people we already had in place, went and stood in trade shows, shook hands, and showed our product. We learned about what new customers wanted, made adjustments here in West Kelowna and found new customers,” says Gorman. “We found our new customers one at a time. It has been quite a transformation in the last few years.”

Gorman had a young stint working for a large forest corporation, but came home in his early 30s to Gorman Brothers Lumber will have been settle into the family business. “I’ve wanted to be a part of Ron Gorman’s life for 60 years as of last with the family business. I like month. Within his personal the idea of being a builder over collection is a photo of him as time; you get to see a three-year-old in front of the Sentenced to Li fe a lot of progress.” original shed used to house the Except for a fiv e year stint at th e fledgling company.

It is always easier to enjoy Rainier forest pr oduct company af te r your job when the company is co mpleting a degr In the last three years Gorman ee at UBC, Gorm succeeding admits Gorman, and an proclaims that has overseen tremendous he is a happy ‘li fe being a part of the community r’ at market turbulence including the mill his fath er built. on the West Side of Lake the financial crisis and the Okanagan is an important part of U.S. housing market bust.

Gorman’s success. “At the heart The company is thriving despite those hurdles of it we are aware we have a social license to cut says Gorman, due in small part to an unexpected trees, and are very aware of that ‘public’ contract.” source: the soft wood lumber agreement imposed on Canada by the Americans.

The perennial contention surrounding the agreement spurred Gorman to look for other markets. When the U.S. market crashed, Gorman already had 5% of their business overseas. In the past three years the company has expanded exports to Asia and the Middle East. Exports, excluding the United States, now takes a third of the mill’s production.

6 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

Other Business Interests A former co-chair of BC Forest Safety Council and a board member at Fibreco pulp, but Gorman is wary of making too many commitments. “You gotta be careful or all you do is travel. I really still like the day to day operations at Gorman. I love my job.”

Westside

Born in what is now West Kelowna, Gorm an has lived in this community most of his life.

He remembers a less crowded landscape whe n there were only 19 homes in Glenrosa between Power s’ Creek and Drought Hill.

Old Places & New Homes Ron Gorman’s home famously burnt down to the concrete in the West Kelowna fire of 2009 while employees worked feverishly to save the mill.

There is a wide angle picture in the Gorman office lobby showing fire racing down the hill toward the mill on all sides.

“We now have a nice new home. Yes, it was dramatic and you feel a bit sad for what was lost, but what happened was the best alternative. The mill almost went and that would have been a disaster.”

Self-propelled

usiastic about Gorman is enth f-propelled’ almost any ‘sel agan has to sport the Okan untry skiing at offer: cross co g nhill skiing at Bi Telemark, dow n ai nt ng, mou White, road biki king. ka biking and ya

Peter Haubrich

people of influence

Early Adopter Peter Haubrich started his career as an engineer with the equivalent of a Masters degree granted by the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

His career included stints at Philips where he worked on creating that company’s VCR system, dubbed Video 2000. He went to Japan to help launch that system and, on returning to Europe went to Germany to work in Philips’ subsidiary Grundig.

He finally left Philips to start up an R&D laboratory for Sony in Europe. During that time the self-termed technology geek purchased a small cottage in 1997 in the Okanagan. In 2003 he retired and immigrated to Canada the next year.

Retirement didn’t last long. The year he arrived Haubrich helped to start up ORIC (Okanagan Research and Innovation Centre), a nonprofit organization designed to help start up technology companies.

ORIC recently merged with OSTEC (where Haubrich was a board member) to become the Accelerate Okanagan Technology Association.

ORIC’s start up is one of Haubrich’s proudest achievements.“I am most proud of my ability to start something from nothing. It is a kind of file rouge in my career.”

On keeping Manufacturing in the West “If you have highly automated anufacturing, it doesn’t make sense to move it to China.

There are ways to keep companies here and grow them.”

While the Okanagan’s small population will prevent it from being at the forefront of every technology, the area can still flourish in technology. He points out his homeland, the Netherlands, with only 16 million people, has a plethora of hi-tech HQs.

He observes,“We have all the ingredients and if you look at Silicon Valley, it wasn’t built overnight. It needs time and you need people who have a long term vision for the valley and are willing to fight for this.”

On Personal Computers “At the beginning everybody thought, ‘How nice, but what the hell do you do with it?’ My boss at the time at Sony didn’t think the PC would go anywhere. I had a different opinion, but when you’re a [tech] geek, you see things differently.” He adds, “I had my first personal computer in 1977.” It boasted 1 kilobyte of RAM, a 1 MHz processor, six seven-segment LED displays and cassette tape storage.

Haubrich’s career is marked by long term vision. He helped to develop the world’s first integrated circuit bus, also known as an I2C bus. It allows central processing units in TVs and VCRs to connect to control components.

VCRs may be nearly obsolete, but Haubrich believes the technological revolution is just beginning.“We see an acceleration of technologies that have a great impact on peoples lives. We are still in the transition to a digital economy and the drivers are miniaturization (smaller electronic devices that are more powerful and consume less power), digitization, better (software) algorithms, convergence (telecommunication, consumer electronics), mobile, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.), robotics, Internet of things.”

He stresses this is a long time goal for the entire Okanagan, not just one municipality.

“I call it the black hole – how Kelowna can suck in everything. Kelowna is a fine city, but it isn’t everything. In my vision there will be a Penticton hub, a Kelowna hub and a hub in Vernon.”

On the Pros of Recession Recessions are normally great for nnovation (as history shows). It can create new entrepreneurs as some people will lose their job and consider entrepreneurial activity.”

The Importance of Creative Thinking Haubrich believes there is a link between acceptance of different points of view, creativity and technological success.

“I am a fan of Professor Richard Florida and I am getting more interested in creative communities and how it could be applied to the Okanagan.

The other thing that interests me is how can we improve our technology transfer and commercialization from our universities/ colleges and research institutes.”

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 7

Ted Morrison

people of influence

The Reluctant Banker Ted Morrison never intended to follow in his father’s footsteps. Morrison senior was a branch manager at the Yorkton Credit Union, the same town where Ted was born in Saskatchewan.

At first Morrison had his eyes set on becoming a veterinarian but failed to apply himself in geometry-trigonometry. His second choice was to work as a farmer, but an allergy to grain dust ended that idea.

On a possible Merger “While the trend won’t completely end, I think that mergers will be approached with much more caution. It’s been proven way too many times that bigger is not necessarily better.”

He considered the Canadian Armed Forces, but bailed and then, uncertain, accepted a position as a teller at the credit union in the tiny town of Kamsack.

Morrison worked his way up becoming a loans trainee, a loans officer and then a manager at the Indian Head Credit Union.

He was appointed general manager at a credit union in Stockholm, Saskatchewan, then at Fairview, Alberta, back to Stockholm and finally in 2003, the Enderby Credit Union where he is today. He says, “Having worked the way up I did, I think you have a better work ethic.

There is no job that’s below me.”

Morrison says he’s a “fixer,” known for his ability The Best Job Perq to rescue failing credit unions. “In Stockholm “Probably the most fun in my job is the coaching (both times), Fairview, Nokomis and here and mentoring of staff. To watch someone learn in Enderby, I inherited credit unions that all and grow and succeed – and you had a positive had some measure of duress – either under part of that – is so very rewarding.” regulatory supervision or damn close to it.”

Enderby may have been in the greatest need. “When I arrived in Enderby, the credit union [had] about $27 million in assets, was hemorrhaging products and services to our competitors and was under a Financial Institutions Commission Supervision Order.

Not a very happy place.” Morrison places the blame squarely on the previous manager’s terrible practices.

Today the Enderby Credit Union is profitable, assets have doubled to $55 million, the equity position is “excellent” and 45% of net operating income goes back to the community as dividends paid to members (40%) and major community donations (5%).

Morrison may have stumbled into his profession, but he gives every appearance of being someone who both loves, and excels at his job.

8 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

Good Eats “I have a collection of over 100 cookbooks, so by combining my other passion – reading – I really find nothing better on a snowy Sunday afternoon than to get out a few favourite cookbooks and browse through them.”

Morrison, “a food-TV junkie,” recommends his favourite cookbook, The Old World Kitchen by Elisabeth Luard. Says Morrison, “It’s peasant cooking – it’s all of the pig except for the squeal. [It has] one of the best spaghetti sauce recipes I’ve ever tasted.”

Beauty and the Beast a.k.a.

Banking Regulations “If you look at what happened with the financial crisis in 2008 the regulations we have are there for a damned good reason. When I was younger I used to scream and rant at the regulators, now I think of them as a tool.”

The 2008 Banking Disaster “The true root cause of the financial crisis – it was plainly and simply GREED.”

The Okanagan Real Estate Paradox “I truly think real estate is very much overpriced. The Okanagan has been become a retirement destination for the affluent. These people expect services and to be served. The people providing those services can’t afford to live near the ones they serve. Kind of a vicious circle.”

Enderby C.U. applies common sense to mortgages lending. “We qualify people at the highest rates so, if rates jump, [they] could still pay. You do not jeopardize someone’s future by giving them money.”

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 9

Renée Wasylyk

people of influence

Pray, work, build The Price of Kno

“It is now more

The Full Life “I am a very integrated person. I don’t have a lot of subgroups in my life. It is a full life, but I love what I do.”

On Gaining Kno

wledg

e “I love the crea tive process of development; ov er time as the business has gr own it has been great to gain knowle dge and momen tum.”

Development is no longer a ‘rich old guys’ game. Renée Wasylyk learned that lesson early on as a teen in southern California, when she was awarded an extern position at the fabled Irvine Corporation, the builder of Irvine, CA. Wasylyk has made her mark in the Okanagan as the founder and CEO of Troika Ventures, the development, manufacturing and construction company in Kelowna.

Wasylyk arrived in Kelowna from Edmonton with her husband, a local dentist, fresh from University of Alberta with her Masters of Theology in 1997. Unfortunately Master theologians were not much in demand, so she returned to her roots in development to work as a subcontractor locally, essentially doing odd jobs. “It was make your own adventure,” recalls Wasylyk.

When she started her own development projects, Wasylyk

Education Ten years ago, Wasylyk was looking at a PhD in theology, but after moving to Kelowna, she felt it was too cold in Canada to move somewhere else to pursue the degree. Instead Wasylyk will be presenting her second Master’s dissertation this year, this time for an MBA from the University of Wales, completed through distance education.

had enough experience to begin the relatively small Ambrosi commercial/residential project, which was quickly followed by an apartment development in Rutland.

Under Wasylyk’s leadership Troika went on to several multifamily developments including Yaletown in the Glenmore neighborhood and The Gate at Black Mountain.

West Harbour in West Kelowna on Westbank First Nation land was planned as a multi-tower, multifamily development when the recession hit. Wasylyk retooled that development and the entire company.

West Harbour became a single family home development and Troika aggressively diversified, pursuing a commercial and public building portfolio across western Canada.

It was not easy. Troika shrank from 160 staff to 35, and now works extensively with contractors. “It was horrible. We did everything we possibly could to give our staff soft landings,” says Wasylyk.

The drop in the housing market has ultimately been good says Wasylyk, attainable housing is now more diversified and more buyers can enter the marketplace.

Troika is sitting on some large land masses in the Okanagan waiting for the right time to be developed.

The manufacturing division of the company, Rise and Run, is still producing, and a new 77,000 square foot commercial building in Winnipeg is well on its way to being fully leased prior to completion. It is a singular measure of diversification for the Okanagan-based company.

wledge

intimidating to start a project today, not because of the market, but because I no w know what can go w rong.”

Recent Business Highlights Troika built the new Trail Hospital and the Winfield Arena. The West Harbour development in West Kelowna consists of 250 single family homes on a 99-year prepaid lease. To beat the age-old conundrum of declining values for lease holders Wasylyk developed the unique approach of offsetting depreciating lease values through a managed trust fund. It has proven popular.

In December 2010 nine homes sold at a value of $650,000 to $750,000.

hen to Play On Knowing W Fold and When to ue plan

the Aven “When we had ea wna hospital ar lo place in the Ke g tin ke ar gun m and had even be to expand the d de ci de A and IH the project and ed hospital we clos cult was really diffi sold the land. It d ha at th k e wor to give up all th d ha e w t bu t, ojec gone into the pr ing be of lk ta e th k to decide to wal mmunity.” a part of the co

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 11

Maria Byland

people of influence

Grounded Maria Byland, manager of the Bylands Garden Centre, has her life story rooted in agriculture, grounded on the Westside. The Garden Centre is part of the Byland family horticulture enterprises, which covers 350 acres of land.

Born in Portugal, the youngest of eight, Maria grew up in a farming family whose older brother turned 17 in 1966. It was also the last decade of the Portuguese military dictatorship and Maria’s brother was about

Gazing into Crystal Balls “Our business has no resemblance to what it was 50 years ago. If the same amount of change occurs over the next 50 years I can’t even comprehend what our business will be like.” to be drafted to fight in Portugal’s ongoing wars with its African colonies. Censorship and suppression of civil liberties were harsh realities.

Maria’s family decided to come to Canada.

“My parents were immigrants from Europe and had a great work ethic that was passed on to all of us children. I had various jobs when I was growing up and at the age

Lowlights “If there is one thing that I do not enjoy as much, [it] is doing paper work. I much prefer being on the sales floor and having contact with our customers.” In addition, she notes, “I dislike people that are pessimistic and negative.” of 10 I started picking tomatoes for a farming family in East Kelowna.”

Eight years later she would work at Bylands, having no idea she would one day marry into the family and become an integral part of the business. Before that happened she

attended Olds College in Alberta to study horticulture.

Today, surrounded by greenery as part of her every day business, she still loves growing.

Grow Local, Eat Local “We should be going back to the days when our grandparents grew everything. The local consumer can really, really help the farmer out by buying local.”

“There is nothing more relaxing for me than…going to the garden and getting all the produce for our own dinner.”

When she and husband John travel it is frequently on garden tours.“We always learn something; it brings you back to the basics of the industry.”

Even when ostensibly not traveling for business she says they will likely slip into a garden centre to look around. This year they

What Makes for a Sad Grower “There are two things people usually do – they overwater or underwater. I hate to see neglected, unwatered plants.”

want to go to Costa Rica, one of the few countries they have not visited before.

The business will continue in family hands. Maria says,“Our son Mike received a commerce degree from Seton Hall University [in New Jersey] and is now working…as the sales manager of the wholesale nursery.”

Maria is happily aware she and her husband are now only one step in the family line.“It is very important to have a succession plan in a business and knowing this, I’m hoping not to be involved in the day to day activities in 10 years. I love my job and I want to be involved only if I can contribute in a positive way.”

The Best Place Although an inveterate world traveller Maria is delightfully rooted in the Okanagan. “We live in the best country in the world, in the best province and in the best city in B.C. We are so lucky.

12 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

The Tough Questions The plant business has its own terminology, one that is easy for the public to get wrong. Maria says these three are common: • a lady comes in wanting to buy a clitoris for her neighbor. What she really wants is a clematis; • a customer comes in looking for a Cotton Easter when she really means a cotoneaster, and; • a customer will ask if we can tell her what kind of tree is down her street, the one with green leaves.

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PRACTICE RESTRICTED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW L A W C O R P O R AT I O N R E G I S T E R E D P AT E N T & T R A D E -M A R K A G E N T P H O N E : (250) 418-3250 F A X : (250) 418-3251 T O L L F R E E : 1-877-943-9990 E-M AIL : gordonthomson@shaw.ca PG_4848_final.pdf 1

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Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 13

Michael J. Ballingall

people of influence

Ski King

Play Hard Ballingall is an amateur ski racer.

His boys always loved baseball, and for years commitment to their teams kept him busy. Today, he says, “I like to float on the lake. Sometimes I am out there for brainstorming and strategy, often I just get a sense of this place being special.”

The Bigger Picture Every ski season a familiar voice blasts out over the radio in the Okanagan, reminding residents that at Big White “locals never pay full price.” Michael J. Ballingall, known to radio listeners as Michael J. is the senior VP at Big White ski resort.

Ballingall started at Big White in 1985, but in 1990 he moved to Australia to work in media as the national sales manager for a group of 17 radio stations.

In ‘95, he and his wife, Diane moved back to Big White just as the mountain was gearing up to market outside the valley in a substantive way. “Hotels were being built, travel packages were being put together, and we really started to develop a family aspect to the resort,” recalls Ballingall.

On why it’s still Lonely at the Top “Only 11% of people in Canada ski. We also know that 70% of the people in the valley have never been to the resort. Our challenge is to get those people out, to see what it is like and give them a great first experience.”

“We needed a day care then we realized we needed to teach these children how to ski, so the school was launched. It really started to work well, so we added carnival night, bingo night, and created a situation where customers participated and entertained other customers.”

Even in the early days Ballingall says there was recognition that a ski destination holiday isn’t cheap. They had to stress a different goal, which was a seamless experience where families could spend quality time together. It’s all paid off – in recent years Big White has been lauded by industry insiders as one of the top family ski resorts in North America.

14 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

The shift in focus for Big White matched the needs of the market and the demographics.

Gone were the days of skiing and nights of partying from the 1980s. Instead the staff and clientele focused on families to keep parents coming to the hill.

Family Connections to the Big Hill When sons Alex and Dan were young, the Ballingalls

Ballingall just finished his term as Chair of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association board, which recently has exploded in membership numbers because of a change to TOTA’s structure.

Just as Ballingall firmly believes Big White needs to be connected to regional tourism, so regional tourism must be connected to the wider world. “The Kelowna Airport is incredibly important. We need to keep advocating for its growth. We need to be looking for direct international flights. Yes, it will be expensive. When I look at opportunities in Europe I am strongly in support of lobbying airlines to come to Kelowna. Everything will flourish.

lived at Big White for 12 years, a decision that had numerous benefits. “At the time the school had two teachers for 28 kids. The kids were getting as ton of social activity on the mountain itself; it was a great childhood.”

The decision to live on mountain was a benefit to the resort as well. “My wife and the other moms on the mountain really see things through the eyes of kids. The little things for children and guests on the mountain that make Big White such a special place, many of those things were suggested by mothers living at Big White.”

On why Five Dollar Fridays are here to stay “We understand affordability and that there are levels of affordable for everyone.”

Judy Sentes

people of influence

Special Needs, Special Responsibilities Secret Desires “I’m sure the community doesn’t believe it, but there is a piece of me that likes some privacy.”

On the World’s Best Ironman

have to step up if you want to make a difference.”

A Reluctant Pol

itician “They convince d me at the elev enth hour – they said Penticton needed a chan ge . I saw it too.

Penticton was at a crossroads an d it really needed a change. I didn ’t run an aggres si ve campaign, but I thought they kn ew who they w ere getting.”

If you don’t live in the south Okanagan you may not know Judy Sentes. She is a city councilor and deputy mayor of Penticton, a mother and grandmother, a volunteer for the Subaru Ironman Canada Triathlon, a director at the Penticton Art Gallery, a member of the Tourism Advisory Committee, a member of the Rotary International Children’s Festival and perhaps, most importantly, she is the main fund raiser and the executive director of the OSNS Child Development Centre.

That’s just today.

She has, in the past, been a director of the Penticton Chamber of Commerce, a school trustee, the chair of the Ironman Canada Community Fund and president of the Ironman Canada Race Society.

“We’re still the most popular

Despite her many, and varied pursuits, the OSNS clearly has a huge claim on Sentes’ heart. The Centre helps developmentally challenged children broaden their horizons and reach their potential.

Ironman.” When Penticton hosted its first Ironman in 1983 it was one of only six in the world and 23 people participated. Last

When she started as the executive director Sentes took over an organization with 12 people and a budget of $850,000 of which 10% had to be raised by the OSNS. By default Sentes became chief fund raiser too.

year 2,600 athletes pumped $12

Now the OSNS has a staff of 32 and a $1.3 million budget, but they must raise $300,000 of that budget annually. One of Sentes’ fondest achievements was raising the money to build the Centre’s customdesigned, $3 million facility on provincial government land. Obtaining money for the mortgage was a feat. She relates, “You try to get a mortgage when you have a lease and no title and you’re a not-for-profit.”

stepping down when her position

million into the local economy.

Sentes worked as president of the board for 20 years, only

Land and money issues aside, important as they are, the OSNS is important to Sentes because it is important to children. “What we’re doing is helping children who will come after us to be the best they can be.”

She adds, “I am a teacher. I know the value of early intervention.”

She is not, strictly speaking, a business person, but it is unlikely any business person in Penticton doesn’t know of her.

The facility sees 250 children a year, but could handle more if there was more staff, yet Sentes is cheered by the Centre’s many successes. One such is Amanda Lewis, who, 17 years ago was enrolled at the OSNS. Today she is a director at the Agur Lake Camp society helping other children.

Sentes explains extraordinary levels of involvement by saying, “You have to get involved – at some point – you

Says Sentes, “I think all of us have a special need of some kind.”

of councillor was perceived to create a conflict of interest. She asks, “How do you attract 4,500 volunteers? I think it’s because they take ownership. The course officially closes at midnight, but volunteers won’t leave if there is someone still out there.”

Toughest Part Politicking

of

ic meet her they When the publ ow why she often want to kn or that on an voted this way imes Sentes issue, but somet ’s speak out. That isn’t allowed to g in ak m is h thing hard. “The toug n io at d on inform decisions base ade public.” that can’t be m

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 15

Joe Sardinha

Man of the

people of influence

Earth

Joe Sardinha’s parents emigrated to the Okanagan from Portugal the month before young Joe’s fourth birthday. The valley has been home ever since. Sardinha farms an 11 acre apple orchard in Summerland, but it is his role as president of the BC Fruit Growers Association that has him constantly in the public eye.

Sardinha, at 49, is an active orchardist, scheduling interviews around pruning, and board work around the rhythms of the seasons. It is a balancing act between agriculture and advocacy. Says Sardinha, “You do give up hobbies at times.” A former Cub and Scout leader Sardinha still yearns to head outdoors with a tent, but the opportunity is rare. Fishing makes the wish list too, but Sardinha describes his time with a rod and reel as “occasional.”

To be Board or Not Sardinha is in his sixth year as the BCFGA president, something he says he enjoys, but won’t do forever. “There are always things you are looking to accomplish. Personally I would like to leave when the industry is doing well, but I won’t stay forever.”

He is also an active member of the Canadian Horticultural Council; the current chair of the CHC Apple Working Group; active on the CHC Business Risk Management Working Group, and is the B.C. representative on the CHC Science Advisory Committee.

Finally, he is an appointee on the provincial Agriculture Minister’s Agri-Food Trade Council.

In 2001 Sardinha was first elected to the BCFGA. He served three years on the executive, a year as VP before stepping into the president’s role in 2005 when Penny Gamble stepped down.

He admits,“I never once dreamed I would be on the executive for this long, and in the president’s role for six years.”

16 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

Family Ties “Joe and wife Julie run their 11 acre apple orchard in Summerland together.

Son Brian is an aspiring teacher in Campbell River and daughter Katie is at UBC in Vancouver.

“If we have free time we go and visit the kids,” says Sardinha. Sardinha still lives next door to his parents, an arrangement he treasures. “I realize how lucky I am to have my parents nearby.”

Acknowledging the past two years as “difficult” Sardinha observes,“The fruit returns are what they are and we have to live with that.”

One response to the industry’s tough times is to aggressively streamline the fruit packing and processing infrastructure in the Okanagan. To that end the BCFGA is looking to sell unused fruit processing and warehouse facilities on prime land in various locations.

“We have to make operations as efficient as possible. We have to stop the bleeding.

Those empty buildings cost a lot to maintain, we can take the proceeds and reinvest in the local industry.”

Sardinha’s optimism runs strong, something that he says is an occupational necessity.

One ray of hope is the burgeoning ‘buy local’ movement.“We are actively targeting the local consumer. We are looking at producer empowerment by building consumer allegiance and loyalty to our producers.”

Sardinha is eager to share credit with a strong membership that, he insists, makes the president’s role easier.“This is not a one man show. The position is made easier by a great board and we have a stability and experience on our staff that is important.”

Growing his only Business School never held as much interest to Sardinha as the wide open skies and solid earth. His first orchards were on leased land he farmed in partnership with his parents. “I started young and developed the knack.” The knack today involves growing to meet changing consumer tastes, which is why last fall he harvested his first crop of Pink Lady apples.

The Work Ethic “I do most of the work at the orchard myself. Labour is expensive and often for a farmer the difference between a profit and loss is how much work you do yourself.”

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To learn more, contact FortisBC PowerSense at 1-866-436-7847 or powersense@fortisbc.com. www.fortisbc.com Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 17

Ingrid Jarrett

people of influence

Passionate Foodie Really good food that is sustainable, flavourful and memorable motivates Jarrett’s ongoing drive to help bring local abattoir options to Okanagan producers.

“We are still working with nine government agencies to develop better regulations. I am so committed to local food.”

Hostess by Choice A quick study of Ingrid Jarrett’s CV reveals a lifetime long love affair with hospitality, good food, good wine and service. From Jarrett’s start as a chambermaid in her home town of Kelowna to running boutique hotels across British Columbia and a ranch in Alberta, Jarrett has focused on experiencing and delivering the good things in life to customers from around the world.

Watermark Beach Resort and Hotel in Osoyoos is where Jarrett hangs her hat right now.

The vibrant property is a mix of holiday ownership and traditional hotel. An aggressive marketing campaign into global markets is backed up by Jarrett’s high standards for food, drink and facility quality.

Why great food matters “Clean, safe, fair food. I am so passionate about it because it matters to our communities. We need to tie consumers to producers, that sustainability and diversity is vital.”

“One of the keys at the Watermark is sustainability, including supporting the local community. It feels very good to know you are contributing to the local community.” At Watermark, Jarrett and Watermark’s chef partner with local farmers to arrange farm tours for guests. They then bring back food from the excursion, prepare and serve it with pairings from local wineries.

After education in hospitality at BCIT in the mid ‘80s Jarrett first management position was at the Quilchena Hotel in Merritt. Successive positions followed at the former CP Hotel chain, including the Hotel Vancouver, Hotel MacDonald and culminating as the Director of Operations at the Palliser in Calgary. “I did spend time in the kitchen at the Hotel Vancouver and that is where I learned, through generous teachers, about food and taste and the experience attached to that.”

Then Jarrett did an apparent 180, and left hotels to raise beef (and her young family) in central Alberta at the health-oriented Red Willow Cattle Company, which boasted directmarketed, grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic free beef.

“I loved my time on the ranch,” says Jarrett, but not so much that she could resist returning to the hotel business. Jarrett went to The Empress in Victoria before returning to the Okanagan four years ago to help launch The Cove Resort in West Kelowna. Jarrett also lent her drive to the vision, brand and strategy for Boutique Hotels and Resorts British Columbia, before coming to the Watermark.

Jarrett’s influence extends past Osoyoos, she brings her considerable tourism prowess to her new role as Board Chair of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association.

18 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

Singing the Light Fantastic Music holds a special place in Jarrett’s life, who donates her skills as an event organizer to the Okanagan Symphony. “I grew up with music, I love music. There is a cultural component to life, the symphony makes a difference to the culture in the valley.”

Born to Move Avid skier, loves to hike and, in the past year completed her first sprint triathlon at Harrison Hot Springs.

Team Builder “I believe everyone has something to contribute, I look to build a diverse and engaging team. You’ll get results faster, and often in a much different way than you expect.”

On staying profitable, even in a down market “I love stats and strategy. There is a whole strategy around revenue management that I find fascinating.”

Don Turri

people of influence

Working Man On the Gridiron Sport remains a continuing interest – presently, Turri lends a hand with the Okanagan Sun scholarship program. service they are looking for.”

Turri’s passion has been to work with ownermanaged businesses, both large and small.

When he left the managing partner position and returned to full time client work, he wanted to Choose your C lients, don’t let drop the constant balancing them choose yo u act required by anyone who “One of the be st things to do wears two hats at the firm. is to pi ck your clients wel l at the outset.”

“The most satisfying part of Go od clients help sa ys Turri becaus the work for me is working e, “You just never wan t to let a client with my clients, who own their down.

My clients are people I like to own businesses. Some are work with and for, an startups, some are growing d that makes it easy to go the extra mile and some clients I have had for for them.” more than 25 years.”

By the age of 15 hometown Kelowna-boy Don Turri knew he wanted to go to business school. UBC from 1975 to 79 provided the solution, and after his B. Comm, Turri came back home to build a career by obtaining chartered accountant (CA) and chartered financial analyst (CFA) designations. After a rise to the top of his profession, in 2008 he stepped back from a 20 year stint as the managing partner at MacKay Chartered Accountants in Kelowna.

With over 30 years of experience in accounting Turri has grown, but so has Kelowna. He watched it go from 35,000 people to more than 100,000 and the accounting industry in the B.C. interior has grown with it. “I remember when some larger Okanagan businesses would go to Vancouver CA firms for their accounting and tax needs. Today, Kelowna has itself become a regional centre where companies of a certain size can come and get the expertise and the

Turri is also known for a lifetime of service work. From coaching football to volunteering with the United Way, Turri has taken the time to invest back into the community he has called his lifetime home.

“There is always something to do. I have a firm belief in participation in community. There are so many groups worthy of support.”

Boards and Charities Turri is a current board member and Treasurer of the Central Okanagan Foundation and a Director at the Sunrise Rotary Club. “The United Way has always been something I’ve stayed involved with over the years,” says Turri.

Career Highlights At 29 Turri accepted a leadership role at the new MacKay office in Kelowna.

The job came at a time of corporate transition. MacKay had purchased a small, existing accounting firm and Turri describes the experience as a classic business success story. “It was a great experience, the previous office was small, but had great people who were looking to retire. We came in to have things grow and the existing people couldn’t have been better. It was one of those situations that you hope your career can experience.”

d Beginnings an ns io at ct Expe

her first came Turri’s grandfat 12 and his to Kelowna in 19 active in the family has been since. Turri community ever MacKay as the sees his time at career. highlight of his ine a better “I couldn’t imag We’ve all been place to work. gether over a building this to ve sweated lot of years, we’ the time, made together, put in s got looked sure our client of people get to after. Not a lot careers.” do that in their Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 19

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20 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

Esther Brown

people of influence

Big Philosophy from a Small Shop Esther Brown, owner of the Handworks Gallery in Oliver, has a refined air, in keeping with the tasteful shop she runs on the main street of the south Okanagan town.

Brown, born in 1937, is well past the point where she should be retired, but seems to take everything in life at a more relaxed pace. She smiles, “I had a very much delayed adolescence.”

The Lethbridge born art-seller says she ran away from home and tried her hand at a variety of jobs. Unknowingly, those jobs were preparing her for her current position of running an art store in a small town.

Running a small shop may be one of the most challenging occupations anyone can pursue, especially in the notoriously fickle world of art.

Brown says, “I always wanted to own my own Read a Good Book lately? business.”

Brown lists gardening, cooking (“I LOVE Her background included a stint on cruise ships cooking!”) and reading as her favourite as retail manager. Brown remembers those pastimes, and says her printed pages are years fondly, saying, “It was the most fun I ever dominated by travel accounts, Biblical history had.” and current fiction.

With the retail experience in her pocket Brown moved on, eventually putting in a decade at the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation. Although she credits an aunt with teaching her to appreciate art, it was her time at the Foundation that “got me started on art as a career.”

Brown followed up as the managing director of the Canadian Craft Museum. By 2004 she had opened up Handworks in Oliver. “Originally I started, especially with painting, very tentatively, to bring in things that I connected with.”

She adds, “It’s not necessarily a good thing if you buy what you think is good. Your common sense gets overridden by your feelings.”

Tough going for Artists “Most of our artists are below the poverty line. Most people don’t see them as a necessity, but I do.”

Her Favourites Brown’s home boasts photos, abstract and representational artwork, but she says, “My favourite oil is of bantam roosters.” She bought it years ago in Calgary. Ironically the artist was the daughter, which she insists she did not know when she bought it, of the aunt that first introduced her to art as a child. Her aunt had always raised bantams on her farm.

“I love working with the artist. I love that grounded feeling you get working with stuff –art– that people have touched.”

The “Easy” Photograph “Photography is hard to sell; people think that they can do it themselves.”

Why she doesn’t Paint “I’ve tried painting and sculpting, but it’s so solitary and I’ve done enough.”

Behind the Paint “You want to say someone looks beyond, that they see something beyond the clump of grapes. Even if I don’t particularly like the piece, I want to understand where they got the idea from.”

The shop’s bread and butter is pottery sales, silver jewelry and landscape paintings of the Okanagan. Now she admits, “Sometimes I buy the tackiest thing because someone will buy it.”

It was going well until the recession of 2008 and 2009. Things haven’t picked up since. “I manage with great difficulty because of the economic times.”

The store had 4,400 visitors in 2008, split half and half between tourists and locals, but she says it has slowed down greatly.

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 21

Nick Frost

people of influence

The Patient

Builder

Silk FM was the soundtrack of Kelowna for 25 years before being renamed EZ Rock in early 2011. What is not as well known is that it took founder Nick Frost three tries spread over 11 years to secure the initial radio license from the CRTC.“It started as the same Silk as now.”

Room to Grow?

“To super-serve Kelowna will always be our mandate. As the numbers grow, it is clear there is more and more interest in Castanet from outside Kelowna.”

Silk radio was only the beginning.

On a trip to a Las Vegas trade show in 1995, Frost was taken with another idea.“The Internet could be like a transmitter, it could reach everyone in Kelowna.” Eventually, Silk.net, as it came to be known, inspired Frost to start the venture that he still runs today, Castanet.

“We used the name ‘Silk’ because it was known and trusted. That was Labour Day, we had five memberships in the first four days.”

Frost sold the Internet service provider part of the business in 2000, in part because of

Before the Dollars “We got the number of people right who would come to the site, but revenue was way off. But Silk was doing okay, so I decided to keep on going until it worked.”

On becoming an industry leader with sky high audience numbers: on September 2010 Castanet recorded 750,000 unique visits to the site “We have shown what a community website can do.”

Endurance and Perseverance Frost always knew, without doubt, he wanted his own radio station. “It took 11 years for me to get that station. I am not a quitter. That might be the only talent I have, not quitting.” the coming onslaught of high speed cable, and to invest the money into Castanet.

It wasn’t an easy launch,“We lost money for the first three years. A lot of money. I invested a lot into Castanet.”

It was the drama of 2003 Firestorm that showed the community Castanet was a vital piece of the local media puzzle.“Those

Fiery Pride “When we had people who saved possessions in the fire based on the information we were able to provide, it was life changing.

There were tears on their faces.” instant pictures combined with text, even directions of where to go, people needed the information we were giving out. Prior to the fire we had 20,000 hits per day, after we had 30,000 hits per day.”

In 2007 Frost sold Silk FM to Astral media, while retaining Castanet.

Today the website is arguably the online hub for information, classified advertising and community forums for Kelowna and the greater Okanagan Valley.

Frost does not view Castanet as an ‘Internet’ company, but as a media company delivering audio, video, test and more.

“In many ways we have a conventional media approach to the Internet.”

An Advertising Revolution “To build Castanet as a business we had to move advertisers to a whole new understanding of how advertising would work on the Internet.”

22 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

How Castanet got its name “One day in the spring we were sitting down with the creative and marketing people and we just couldn’t get the name right. We were getting stuck. I reflected on some Spanish dancers who had performed at a recent Rotary Club meeting, and we liked the idea of ‘cast a net’ to find out what was going on. The name worked, in fact our first commercials used ‘clicketyclick’ to mimic the sound of real castanets and get people clicking on the site.”

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45

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Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 23

Joanne de Vries

Green on

people of influence

Green

Sustainability advocates aren’t born, they’re built and sometimes the task is done on the anvil of guilt. Joanne de Vries, now linkedrelentlessly to the sustainable theme promulgated by the Fresh Outlook Foundation that she founded, was recruited into the fold by her then six-year-old daughter. De Vries’ daughter ran home telling de Vries she knew how to save the world. ‘How?’ asked de Vries. ‘Recycling!’ was the excited reply, but every day when her daughter asked, de Vries had failed to set aside the paper, tins or glass. Only when her daughter broke down and cried, feeling that her mother didn’t care did de Vries realize how important it was to “save the world.”

That was two decades ago.

At that time, she was changing her career, from broadcasting to advertising. Eventually her work evolved and she became a consultant, helping local governments with sustainability issues, but five years ago she realized the limitations of government.

She observes,“Like most people I used to think that government was the most important part, but what I’ve learned is that each sector has a crucial part.”

When Enough is Too Much “Five years ago I read Our Ecological Footprint, by Bill Reis [and Mathis Wackernagel]. Then I saw a bobbleheaded dog and it occurred to me how much shit we have. No one on God’s green Earth needs a bobble-headed dog.”

The other sectors are not-for-profits, green groups, academia and private enterprise.

Each has its own strengths and blind spots.

Business, she says, may respond to consumer demand, or it may lead the way, which is as true locally as it is on the international stage.

“There are literally hundreds of companies in the Okanagan making a huge difference and it’s not just recycling or waste reduction.”

24 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

The Best & the Worst “Sustainability is a continuum. If you look at the worst companies to the best in a line, we’re all on that line somewhere. No one can go from one extreme to the other instantly, it’s impossible.”

She started to see a new value in connecting the different sectors. In time, the Fresh Outlook Foundation was the result. She stresses,“The Foundation is not an advocacy group or a lobby. Our job is to educate people on these issues.”

On Torture “Most people think I’m really outgoing, but I’m not really. I can talk about my work because I’m so passionate, but small talk and cocktail parties are torture.”

The majority of de Vries’ time is spent on organizing different events to help with that education and cross connection.

Certainly the most well-known is the annual Fresh Outlook conference, which started in 2006. This year the conference stretched over five days and featured 130 different speakers.

Following each conference attendees are sent a survey. De Vries gets excited about the results. She reports that because of what they had learned at the conference: • 85% of people said they had changed the way they work; • 83% of people said they had changed their lifestyle, and; • 65% of people said they had changed the way they play (recreation).

The point of the conference for de Vries is to uplift and energize. Despite how her daughter reached her, de Vries says personal and societal change won’t be done in a negative fashion.“Instead of being alarmist or doom and gloom, we focus on success stories and that’s what inspires people.”

On why GDP isn’t Enough “There are thousands and thousands of successful stories in business for companies that have opened their minds to cultural, social, environmental and economic bottom lines. It’s about a holistic approach, it’s about the business of community because if community is done well then business will thrive. It’s so shortsighted to look only at the economic piece of the puzzle.”

Kyleen Myrah

people of influence

The Enterprising Educator The Perils of ol

der A

ge “I loved my 30s.

I’m having a ha rd time getting ov er being in my 30s.”

As a professor could she do that, which precipitated the eventual move to Okanagan College. She’s been courted by universities but says, “At a larger university I wouldn’t want to do more research because it can be an isolating activity.”

Academics can get a rough ride. The simplest, hardest criticism for academics to refute is the disconnect between teaching theory and the real world. For Okanagan College professor and doctor of education, Kyleen Myrah, the answer is she’s spent as much time in the “real” business world as she does with her head in a book.

She has her CMA, a Master’s degree in Public Administration, stints at Community Futures and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), and she owns KyCo Management. While working at the BDC she got the taste for teaching. She says, “I realized I didn’t like the short term programs [at BDC]. I wanted a longer connection with the students.”

Favourite Sports

Myrah plays competitive soccer year round, completed a half marathon last summer and mini-triathlon with her daughter, and watches Rockets games. More surprisingly the slightly built professor used to play rugby, but says, regretfully, “I quit a little bit about the lifestyle, but mostly about the surgeries.” Injuries included a broken foot, a shoulder requiring multiple surgeries, and a mashed finger that even after surgery she refers to as “the claw.”

A quarter of her time at the college is spent researching, about half teaching and the other quarter on a favourite pursuit, SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise). That flexibility is essential to her.

“If I didn’t do this I think I’d have to go back to running a company because I don’t think I could ever fit into a box.”

SIFE Okanagan is part of an international organization, but locally it is the brain child of Myrah’s labour. “There’s classroom learning, and then there’s the competitions we do, and then there’s SIFE, which takes it to another level.

Instead of a simulation you identify an actual need in the community and you do a real project.”

Myrah argues, “We often get told, they think that business teaches them about one thing, which is to make money. And I would argue that a program like SIFE teaches them that you need to be productive, and you want to make a living, but you also need to contribute back to that community.”

Companies like the Body Shop or Kelowna’s Urban Harvest are good examples because the various social issues they champion utilize a sound underlying business to fund the solutions.

Ultimately Myrah believes they are a part of the new business reality, one that is being incorporated into Okanagan College’s business programs.

The Generation Gap 21st Century Style Today’s “indulgent” youth are said to have no work ethic.

Myrah disagrees, saying, “I had an owner say, ‘Why should I give them feedback?’ That’s such a different reality. [Today’s youth] want to be recognized.

They want to work with exciting and energizing people and they want, I think, to be able to contribute back to a meaningful cause. If you provide those things you’ll get their loyalty, but just providing a job isn’t good enough anymore. I don’t think it’s indulgent.”

What makes an Entrepreneur

taking ability, “There is a riskerance that is there’s a persev ant to be a high unique if you w s It’ r. eu trepren growth serial en m a lifestyle fro very different I think a degree business where e nt to you becaus is very importa t an w u yo curity, you want that se t no re but you’ to make a living, is explosive th looking to have it. growth and sell

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 25

Glenn Fawcett

people of influence

The Good Times Crowd

An Entrepreneurial Toast If entrepreneurial spirit could be measured like the number of millilitres in a bottle of wine then Glenn Fawcett was born with a magnum in his veins.

At the University in Calgary Fawcett had his fair share of youthful hormones, but while most students were trying to get a Friday night date, he was figuring out how to make money doing it.

At age 22, he started up Bust Loose Holidays. Package tours aimed directly at the crowd Fawcett knew best – university aged youth. He says, “Bust Loose…started out as my business 201 project at university. It was a very, very successful first foray into business especially for a young 20-something. It was a lot of fun.”

Glenn sold the holiday business after a decade. “At that stage of the game I was 32 and I realized how fortunate I was that no one had been killed on one of our trips, or severely injured and a lawyer sued us into oblivion. I realized there was always a liability for taking university-aged students anywhere doing anything, let alone Mexico drinking tequila, partying it up.”

In the 1990s Fawcett found a different passion while on a trip to Napa where he discovered the pleasures of good wine. He says, “I had the bug.”

He started to look at the B.C. wine scene, but as an Alberta boy, his youthful experience hadn’t been that great. “At that time my only reference to Okanagan wine was Lonesome Charlie and Baby Duck.”

After touring and sampling Okanagan wines Fawcett moved on to partly familiar ground – he decided to offer winery tours.

Then he got an idea. “It was in 2004, after hearing this a number of times on these wine tours… ‘Geez, wouldn’t it be fun to own a winery? It would be so cool to live in a vineyard.’

After they figure out how much real work was involved doing this they pretty much came to the conclusion ‘It would be fun to let someone else do the work and just have the glamour of being the winery owner.’”

After helping Therapy Vineyards launch he decided to repeat the experiment, but this time he would be in the driver’s seat. He started selling partial ownership of Black Hills to investors. Now, he says, “I’m the CEO of 265 different limited partners.”

“What you originally think and what ends up becoming the reality are different things.

Initially I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to do something like a Wickaninnish [Inn] in a vineyard setting. That was my initial dreamscape, but now that I am involved in the actual winery this is infinitely more interesting than I would have ever thought.”

26 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

“Oddly enough, the kind of energy people have when they come here on a tasting tour is very similar to the kind of energy that I dealt with on the ‘Bust Loose’ holidays.

People are here on holidays, they’re up.

Now they may not be doing tequila shots like they were on ‘Bust Loose’ trips to Mexico, but they’re out, they’re having fun, they’re energetic. I just love that aspect of the business.”

Why Small is Best “The success of small wineries over time – that works. It’s when they lose focus that they lose their way.”

Maybe Consolidation “I know that it has happened in Napa Valley; I know it has happened in Australia for sure, that consolidation. Vincor was one of those consolidators.”

…but Maybe Not “In my three years here I’m not hearing that a lot of other independents are being approached. I’m not hearing of that.”

The Best Part of his Day “My commute is a 500 yard walk through the vineyard, along this trail to here, and I think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m surrounded by the most beautiful surroundings and all this growth happening with the vines, it’s…it’s incredible.’”

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Regain trust Losing the confidence of employees, stakeholders or even in yourself can be wearying. Trust is a lynchpin of your leadership and re-establishing that trust starts with two steps: • Make sound decisions.

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Communicate openly The rumour mill can run at a feverish pace in some companies. To a lesser degree, innuendo can also affect organizations. Regaining both internal and external communication channels opens up the exchange of information. Increase the frequency, urgency and the importance of the messages you are using with employees and stakeholders.

Embrace anxiety Leaders must guide their companies and employees through anxious times. Rather than becoming frozen by anxiety, accept and embrace these inevitable moments. Trying times can be used as a challenge or opportunity to grow as a leader and position your business in new markets to increase revenues.

Use your resources The adage that it is lonely at the top does not have to be an actuality. Look to your board of directors, business banker and Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 27

Donna Benson

people of influence

The Impossible Business Woman It seems that almost every business person is told at one time or another, that they can’t accomplish what they inevitably do accomplish. Donna Benson, founder of the Medical Arts Health Research Group, heard that too. When her husband Peter, a chartered accountant now retired, moved them to Naramata Donna recalls how she fell in love almost immediately with the location, but also wondered if she wouldn’t have to give up two of her passions.

Benson, who has a BSc from Concordia in Montreal and a Masters degree in social change and development from UBC in Vancouver declares, “I love science. I love research.” Another of Benson’s passions is gardening and, while on a tour of the famous Chelsea Gardens in Britain, she met a woman there who did clinical research in Europe.

The meeting sparked an idea in Benson that, with her experience in organizing educational conferences and her contacts in the pharmaceutical industry, she could do a similar thing here.

That was when she was told it was impossible to run anything like that in a small rural setting.

The idea is simple: any medical treatment put on the market today must undergo rigorous, methodical testing on a sizeable number of patients. It is expensive.

A doctor is in charge of clinical work, but Benson must deliver the patients, and make sure the funding will cover off the patient visits, the treatments, equipment, professional salaries and record keeping. “Typically,” she groans, “there’s paperwork. Oh my God, there’s paperwork.”

Patients get access to experimental treatments, ones that are often very expensive and by definition, not yet covered by any medical plan.

As Benson notes, “We’re such a tiny part of this. We’re just one component, an essential component, but a small one.” A taste of her work includes a study for patients suffering from cancer pain, respiratory studies on asthma, weight management, osteoarthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, cardiovascular hypertension and research on a new drug to prevent blood clots following knee and hip replacement surgery.

Benson’s impossible business now employs 17 staff in five locations in Penticton, Kelowna, Kamloops, Powell River and North Vancouver. Despite all of that she says, “I don’t think of myself as a business person. I fell into this because I couldn’t get a job and I wanted to do research.”

Instead, she says, “I’m an entrepreneur. I’m always into the future. An entrepreneur is not really a business person. A business person is always crunching numbers and looking at cash flows.”

Asked why her “impossible company” works she thinks a moment and replies, “The small city makes it much easier for patients to work with us.”

Undoubtedly, she is correct that the smaller communities help, but it is also because Benson herself can deliver, which is why pharmaceutical companies from around the world beat a path to her door.

28 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

What gets her up in the morning “My passion is to create jobs in paradise.

There’s not a lot of good jobs here.”

What keeps Benson from going to bed at night “I’m always working. It’s very engaging.” To many that might be keeping the business on track, but what really keeps Benson going are new projects. “I’m really into computer stuff.” Right now she’s working on Rheumatoid Arthritis Man (R.A.M. for short), an online diagnosis tool to help determine the extent and severity of a person’s arthritis pain.

The best Vacation site on the planet Leduc, Alberta. Said with an enthusiastic, yet straight face, Benson maintains that her parent’s vegetable farm is the best place to unwind.

Family Pressure Benson owns two cats and Maggie, a golden retriever and shares her life with spouse Peter and one daughter, Natasha. Benson confides that Natasha’s overwhelming concern right now is one faced by any 18-year-old about to graduate: “Mom when are we going to get the prom dress?”

Glenn Mandziuk

people of influence

TOTA’s new

Emperor A small town can be the perfect place to hone your experience and credentials. Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association or TOTA, spent two very successful decades on tourism and economic development in Osoyoos before

Recognition Mandziuk became the first non-aboriginal person to win the Aboriginal Tourism British Columbia ‘Industry Partner Award’ back in 2008.

He was also awarded the Economic Developer of the Year Award 1998-99 from the Economic Development Association of BC. taking over the leadership position at what is arguably the most effective tourism organization in B.C. In a small community results are obvious.

“It’s rewarding to see the evolution of a community. If you can help put the fundamentals in place it is gratifying to be a part of that process,” says Mandziuk.“As an economic development officer the goal is to increase the standard of living for residents and that has dramatically happened in Osoyoos. It is exciting to be a part of that.”

Mandziuk moved on to become CEO of TOTA on April 1, 2009.“The timing was right

On why Tourism Matters “Tourism is my lifeblood, and it is rewarding – it gives you some insight to the human spirit. You can make a difference in what people experience in this world.” for me and I now get to work promoting a world class destination.”

TOTA has changed dramatically under Mandziuk’s aegis, partly due to government

restructuring of tourism in the province and partly because of his leadership.

The organization moved from a stakeholder structure consisting of approximately 700 regional businesses to a membership model (3200+ regional businesses). Members are located from Osoyoos to Valemont.

The aggressive new, global marketing campaign for TOTA has seen a buy in from over 750 members, one of the highest participation rates in the province’s tourism industry.“Our goal is to enable all 3,200 of our members to participate in our programs,” says Mandziuk.

A research partnership has been launched with Thompson Rivers University and Mandziuk is looking across the globe to

Extra Curricular To decompress Mandziuk can be found on the court in a local ball hockey league or at the gym. Recently, reading for pleasure has become a top priority. “It sounds crazy, but I have always read for work. Now I make the effort to read for pleasure, I find the time for reading.” find working models for a new regional destination management plan.

It sounds like bureaucrat speak, but Mandziuk expects every community in the region to eventually feel beneficial effects of the year long project.“It is the largest project of its kind in B.C. Tourists don’t see jurisdictional boundaries between communities; they look at a region as a whole. We want to look at how communities interrelate and build bridges. To stand out in the global marketplace we need to be exceptional.”

Beginnings Born in St. Boniface, Manitoba to hotelier parents, Mandziuk’s family had a pit stop in Dauphin, before moving west to Osoyoos in 1984 for weather and lifestyle. “I grew up in the industry. I went to University of Calgary and got my BA in tourism.”

The University of Calgary is also where Mandziuk received his Masters Degree in community planning and development with a focus on eco-tourism.

On how to make the Region Stand Tall in the World “We are working with the UN to have Wells Gray Provincial Park designated with world heritage status. This region has so much to offer.”

Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011 29

Robert Smithson

people of influence

A Fixer, not a Fighter On taking the C

ourt G

launch the Smithson Employment Law Corporation in January 2011.

amble “A lawyer’s ab ility to win in co ur t is 50/50.

Anyone who te lls you otherwise is ei ther deluded or they’re lying to you. In the m aj or ity of cases the facts decide the case and a la w ye r isn’t that important other than orga nizing your information an d presenting it well.”

He definitely has a sense of humour. When asked about his sport of choice, the 49-year-old Smithson replies, “I’m looking for a new sport which will get me into to the 2014 Winter Olympics.”

Not many lawyers will say this: “I firmly believe that litigation is a parasite and that parties are far better off finding a common (if only mutually disagreeable) solution to their disputes.”

Then again, there aren’t many lawyers like Robert Smithson who also says, “I don’t believe in the value of litigation. It’s a drain on everybody. I’m more of a fixer than a fighter.” He adds, “One hundred percent of litigants think they can win their case, but only 50% are right.”

Aside from having a self-confessed obsession with straight, parallel lines while cutting his lawn, he is a specialist in labour law, father of two, proud beagle owner, respected author of hundreds and hundreds of legal columns, a Beatles fan, and a former partner at the Okanagan’s biggest law firm (PushorMitchell). He quit that safe, prestigious position to

On Writing 375 ‘Legal Ease’ Columns “It’s important to me because I feel it’s critical that people (employers and employees alike) have access to descriptive legal information written in plain English and which is aimed at the practical result of allowing them to live (somewhat) in harmony.”

30 Okanagan Business Examiner / SPECIAL EDITION 2011

Funny and lawyers aren’t often seen together, but Smithson insists a lawyer’s personality is important.

He says, “I advise people to find a lawyer who fits. I would never advise someone to find a lawyer based on price alone.”

Since most court battles rarely produce a win the better option, one that he admits can be difficult for angry parties to accept, is compromise.

This is one of the cases where, believe it or not, high court costs and legal fees probably benefit society.

In his chosen specialty of labour law, he says, “Sometimes it’s the pressure of the legal fees that makes people be more reasonable about the offers.

It’s very, very rare that a case goes to a hearing without some offers.”

Many lawyers suffered somewhat during the recession as people cut back, but harder times almost always involve layoffs, the fodder of Smithson’s work. He is “almost recession proof.”

Where his work is growing is in human rights, especially, he says, “Right now, it’s under the family status heading, which is an employee has some kind of childcare needs and the employer reacts negatively.”

Two decades ago most of those cases would have gone nowhere, but those days are long gone. To employers, he has this warning: “The day of the employee being booted out the door and taking their licks is over.”

On why TV Law Sucks Many movies and TV law shows have one side or the other springing dramatic evidence at the last minute, evidence that sinks or saves the case. You should probably fire that lawyer. “As a lawyer you should aim to know as much as possible before you ever get to court. There should never be any last minute revelations, and if there is, probably one lawyer, perhaps both, haven’t done their jobs.”

any good Do you know s? lawyer joke

r. visits a lawye A new client ur yo e , “What ar The client asks “I s, wyer answer fees?” The la answer three charge $350 to ds, e client respon questions.” Th e Th ” it? eep isn’t “That’s a bit st , ps ds, “Perha lawyer respon t for your third but I can’t wai question.”

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