Here and there

When we were kids didn’t we have the school nurse come around every season and give us shots for things like mumps and chickenpox etc? What ever happened to that idea? Was it a bad service or didn’t parents want their kids being inoculated without them being there? Come to think of it we had dental checks at school also in those olden days. I think we had a school nurse as well back then. Things were different back then weren’t they?...

It is an excellent Christmas gift for Grandma and Grandpa. A calendar for 2010 using pictures of the family. Just take your pictures to the UPS store on Dilworth across from Sears and they do the work for you. I think it is a great idea, not expensive and perfect for the grandparents or someone special. They do a great job of making it a surprise worth giving...

It is that time of year again to be planning the Christmas lunch with staff or friends and the perfect location is the Dickens Lunch in the Vintage Room at the Coast Capri Hotel. Executive Chef Monika Lauterbacher and her staff put on a real show with a menu you won’t believe. I understand the reservations are coming in. For what must be about the fifteenth year we have done this food treat and the atmosphere is exciting. It all begins Dec. 8th and lasts through to Dec. 23rd. The room is open from 11:30 AM to 2 PM. For reservations call 250-860-6060...

One of the most informed and best presenters I have ever had the pleasure of presenting in the Okanagan has been Jennifer Podmore Russell at our Real Estate and Development conference every year. She had a way with her knowledge of the market to deliver the most comprehensive overview of the situation at that moment. She is terrific.

She has moved her MPC Intelligence operation over to the offices of Deloitte as senior manager of their of their financial advisory practice specializing in advisory work to the construction and development industry. What a find for the Deloitte group, she is a winner...

When that semi trailer truck from Alberta rolled over on the highway at Grinrod, there were three thousand hives on board being transferred to the warmer climes of the lower mainland for the winter. That’s a lot of buzzing. Experts at the scene said most of the bees remained docile because of the temperature. We certainly know the need for bees for the fruit crop in the valley - things wouldn’t happen without them. These Alberta bees work in that province in what has become a $350,000 business for the beekeepers. What I didn’t realize is that it’s worth about $1.5 billion to the Canadian economy.

Alberta beekeepers move 25,000 to 30,000 hives of bees to B.C. and in turn B.C. beekeepers move bees to Alberta every year to help with the Canola crop. Canadian honeybees are known for their production, which is nearly double the volume of honeybees around the world. I read that it is thanks to longer days during the peak growing season and lots of food available...

A real friend over the years to the B.C. Tree Fruit industry, Tony Anselmo passed away in Calgary at 91-years-old. Tony probably wasn’t known to a lot of people in the valley but when he retired he was the CEO of Safeway Foods Canada, headquartered in Calgary. Tony was always a booster of Okanagan fresh fruit and was one of the first executives to see the future of the new Tetra Pac packaging that Sun-Rype Products was about to introduce in the 80s. I’ll never forget the warehouse people in the chain who handled the 48 ounce cans and they just weren’t so sure the new cardboard box as they called it would work at all. Until Tony came into the presentation room and immediately endorsed the product in the only way he could with enthusiasm. He was a supporter and always good to work with promotions like Apple Month because he believed in the product.

Mr. Anselmo gave much of his private time to the Calgary Stampeders Football team for many years and was just honored by being inducted into the CFL Football Hall of Fame. For many years he was president of the club.