Celebrating Summer

Okanagan Home celebrates the emerging "Okanagan style" of home design and construction. We also celebrate the creative ideas and work of builders, designers and construction companies, and the many service companies and individual craftsmen that support the developers, builders and renovators.

As part of our continuing effort to support the home building industry in the Okanagan, we convene the Express series of public presentations in downtown Kelowna, in association with the Okanagan Institute. These presentations cover a variety of topics of interest to homeowners, and feature a cross-section of architects, designers and style experts.

One recent presentation was by the environmentally sensitive Summerland builders, the Gerrits, along with our senior editor, Dona Sturmanis, discussing green building practices. Another covered the troubling issue of water. We also explore a number of the activities that make living in nature so enjoyable for many of us, and encourage participation. Pease visit our website to discover upcoming discussions.

In this issue, we present another in our series of articles investigating the development issues that inform our communities' quest for a balance between the people who live and work in the Okanagan, and the natural and social environments we all need and appreciate. It is a delicate balancing act, one that we must be continuously diligent in pursuing. We hope you will find much to enjoy and learn in these pages.

We again thank the advertisers who grace these pages, and encourage you to support them, as they have us. We welcome your comments on the stories we have presented in this issue, and we invite your suggestions of projects that we should be covering in future issues.

Robert MacDonald
Publisher, Editor, Designer

The four priorities of the Association are:
1. To adjust the GST rebate threshold for consumers and to reform tax laws to encourage private rental housing investment
2. Implement a national human resource action plan for more trained skills and trade workers and at the same time facilitate immigration of people with skilled trades
3. Secure priority local infrastructure investment by committing federal funds to support projects and to accommodate new residential development enhancing housing affordability and choice
4. To vigorously tackle the underground economy through effective enforcement actions.

CHBA programs such as the TOMMIE awards, the Home Show, the annual golf tournament and monthly general meetings provide benefits to the public and to the members of CHBA. We also support other local associations through relationships with Habitat for Humanity, Central Okanagan Hospice Association and Kelowna General Hospital.

Through partnerships with local schools and colleges, and programs such as the Okanagan College Home for Learning, CHBA Kelowna provides bursaries to students in construction, and supports on-going programs to alleviate skills and trade shortages. Education and training programs are also offered through the provincial office of CHBA, available to all members of the industry.

Another integral part of the Association's future is the Built Green BC Program, which demonstrates a commitment to promoting environmentally responsible and energy efficient buildings.

We encourage readers of Okanagan Home to support the CHBA members that support you.

Executive Committee and Board of Directors 2006-07
President: Terry Heinrich, Distinctive Developments
Past President: Shane Warawa, Enviro Choice Sewage Treatment Solutions
1st Vice President: Howard Rensler, Dilworth Quality Homes
2nd Vice President: Tim Evans, Kirschner Mountain
Treasurer: Matthew Ross, Grant Thornton Chartered Accountants
Secretary: Paul Donaldson, Kentland Homes

Directors:
Charles Cullen, Team Construction Management
Lou Gauthier, Home Hardware Building Centre
Brett Innis, CAIB, Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services
Kim Jones, FortisBC
Alf Leimert, Okanagan College
Jim Morris, National Home Warranty
Rob Murray, SHAW Cablesystems
Margie Rhode, RJM Management
Rob Siddon, Coast Wholesale Appliances
Carol Teschner, Cherry Lane Homes
Shaun Weimer, All Weather Windows

Copyright © 2008 Wheat King Publishing and the authors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Okanagan Home are those of the writers and editors, and do not represent the official position of the Canadian Home Builders' Association, Central Okanagan, or of its members.