Big donor to PRH

John Pankiw, president of the Cantex group of companies, has donated $100,000 to the new patient care tower at Penticton Regional Hospital.

Pankiw made the big donation to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s campaign to supply the medical equipment for the PRH expansion.

Pankiw founded Cantex in 1971. The company mainly concentrates on heavy construction and mining services, but is also involved in aggregates, paving and real estate.

Although he retired in 2006, Pankiw remains as company president. 

“It has been a fun trip,” he said. “Not without its challenges, but at the same time there’s a lot of satisfaction.”

He is confident the foundation will reach its $20‐million campaign goal.

“I find Penticton to be a very generous community. We’re known for our volunteers, and that’s just another form of generosity.”

Pankiw is also a member of the Penticton Rotary Club, which also intends to contribute to the PRH campaign.

This is not the first time Pankiw has made a major donation for the community. He previously donated $100,000 to Okanagan College’s fundraising campaign which spawned the Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence at the Penticton campus.

“I consider both the hospital and the college to be very significant entities in the community,” he said. “So I thought they were very worthwhile causes to contribute to.”

Construction of the new tower at PRH is set to get underway in the spring of 2016.