Silver Star will be rolling out a new look this winter. Vernon Toyota has signed a two-year deal to be the official vehicle supplier for Silver Star Mountain Resort.

Silver Star's general manager Michael Sherwood said he anticipates a great new relationship with Vernon Toyota's owner Marty Steele and his staff.
"We were looking to build a relationship with a business that has a strong commitment to the community," noted Sherwood. "Vernon Toyota certainly meets that criteria. Marty and his staff have a proven track record as community business leaders and we are proud to be working with them."

Sherwood also said they were looking for more environmentally friendly vehicles in their fleet. "Toyota is a leader in the industry and businesses can't afford to ignore their environmental footprint. This was a conscious factor in going with Toyota," explained Sherwood.

The deal is also a natural fit for Vernon Toyota, said Steele, an avid skier who honed his skills at Silver Star Mountain Resort. Mixing business with pleasure is just a bonus, said Steele.

"You look around the community and there's not many businesses more synonymous with Vernon than Silver Star. It's been part of the community fabric for the past 50 years and we look forward to growing with them over the next two years and beyond."

Steele is also quick to point out his vehicles are equipped to make the trip up Silver Star Road come mid-January.

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The national do-not-call list is back up and running after faltering and crashing for most of the first day as a deluge of people tried to register. They told me it was 1,800 people per minute.

The website and phone lines were overwhelmed as soon as the new service was active, a sign of just how many Canadians wanted to limit their dealings with telemarketers.

At one point, 80,000 people were trying to access either the website or the phone numbers, said Denis Carmel, spokesman for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. He admitted the CRTC did not anticipate so many people trying to register their number at once. The bottleneck that choked off access eased with fewer people attempting to register and because Bell Canada was able to increase web and telephone capacity.

Telemarketers can be fined

Once your number is on the list, most telemarketers can no longer call you after 31 days. Telemarketers that breach the list could be fined up to $15,000.

People reporting a complaint will be asked to provide the date of the call and the name or phone number of the telemarketer.

There are some exceptions, such as pollsters, researchers, charities, government agencies and companies that already have a relationship with the household. However, people who do not want to be called even by companies they currently deal with, like cable, phone companies and banks, can ask to be put on those firms' internal do-not-call list.

People can register their phone numbers in three ways. They can sign up online at www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca or call the toll-free numbers 1-866-580-3625 or 1-888-362-5889.
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Mike Duggan’s Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia has appointed Peter Nielsen as General Manager of The Nelsen Lodge in Revelstoke.

A veteran of the industry, Nielsen has worked in various capacities in numerous hotels throughout B.C. including the Poet’s Cove Resort and Spa on Pender Island and The Fairmont Chateau Whistler in Whistler and the Cedarwood Inn and Suites in Sidney. Most recently, Nielsen was the opening General Manager of Boutique Hotel & Resorts of British Columbia’s Oswego Hotel in Victoria.

“We are thrilled that Peter decided to join us in the opening of The Nelsen Lodge,” says Mike Duggan, President of Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia. “Peter has proven himself to be a natural and talented leader, a skilled professional and a knowledgeable hotelier. With Peter at the helm, The Nelsen Lodge is undoubtedly set up for success.”

The first phase of development for the new 221-suite Nelsen Lodge at Revelstoke Mountain Resort is scheduled to open its first of three buildings in December 2008. Designed in a contemporary mountain alpine architectural style, the luxurious Nelsen Lodge will offer outstanding views from every suite that extends across the Columbia River to the glacier-peaked Monashee Mountains. The hotel’s amenities will include a restaurant and lounge, gourmet bakery and deli, media room, workout facilities and hot tubs and pool.

Boutique Hotels & Resorts of British Columbia delivers unique experiences in iconic destinations around British Columbia. Specializing in upscale hotels, lodges and resorts, the Boutique Hotels & Resorts collection includes the new Cove Lakeside Resort in Westbank and The Oswego Hotel in Victoria, Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler, The Outback Resort in Vernon, L’Hermitage Hotel in Vancouver, and the upcoming Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet, The Nelsen Lodge in Revelstoke, and The Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos. For more information, (www.bhrbc.com).