Driving force of Downtown Kelowna's street teams to retire

Downtown fixture retiring

Photo: Contributed

(L) Ron Beahun, retiring DKA manager of On-Street Services with DKA executive director, Mark Burley; (R) incoming director of operations, Brent Lobson.

The man who developed and managed the Downtown Kelowna Association's on-call and clean teams is calling it a career.

More than 15 years ago, Ron Beahun, the original manager of Kelowna's Downtown Association's on-street services, took on the task of building up what we now know as the 'red shirts' and 'blue shirts', which have become familiar fixtures in downtown Kelowna.

Beahun's last day will be December 31, and he'll spend the next two months working closely with his successor Brent Lobson who is joining the staff as director of operations.

"Brent is a familiar face in Downtown Kelowna. As the Manager for Impark/Reef Parking, he has worked with many of our property and business owners over his 24+ years there," said Mark Burley, executive director DKA.

"Brent has also served on the DKA Board of Directors for over 20 years and was on the committee that initiated and created the downtown on call and clean team initiatives. We welcome both his experience and depth of knowledge with respect to Downtown Kelowna to our staff."

Last year alone, the DKA's on call team answered over 6,000 calls from members. The team is also famous for their visits to businesses throughout downtown Kelowna when time allows. The on call team helps visitors with directions and they liaise with the RCMP and Bylaw services on a daily basis, while the clean team members move around Downtown removing garbage, pressure washing and painting over graffiti daily.

"All these duties have been built into the program by Ron and we owe him an immense 'thank you' for a job well done," adds Burley.

"We will always value Ron's contribution to the Downtown Kelowna Association and our members."

Beahun’s contributions to the DKA will be celebrated at the Downtown After 5 event, November 30, at the Laurel Packing House from 5 to 7 p.m.

Photo: Colin Dacre