Chamber luncheon hopes to inspire Penticton

PENTICTON – Three Penticton men who made it big in the business world are returning to Penticton to inspire others.

Penticton Wine Country Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Chamber Luncheon where guest speakers will be Jim Treliving, Brad Treliving and Rick Kozuback.

The three Penticton natives had early business success in the city, and have since gone on to national and international success. Chamber Events and Communications Coordinator Brandy Maslowski says the chamber hopes to 'inspire members with a great Penticton success story.'

Jim Treliving opened the first Boston Pizza Restaurant in Penticton and is now chairman and owner of Boston Pizza International. From a single restaurant in 1968 Treliving now heads up the T& M Group of Companies with partner George Melville, with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. He is best known outside the business community for his role on Dragon’s Den, now in its 10th season.

Brad Treliving is Calgary Flames’ general manager. Prior to joining the Flames in 2014, he was vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes. He also played five seasons of professional hockey in the International Hockey League from 1990 to 1995.

Rick Kozuback moved to Penticton in 1975, working in the city for two years as a teacher until becoming partner in Lakeland Okanagan Hockey Schools and Lakeland Super Camps.
He is a founding member of the Western Professional Hockey League in 1996 and has spent 30 years playing, coaching  and managing junior hockey teams, including owning, managing and coaching the Penticton Knights Junior A team from 1982-86.

The Chamber generally hosts a few luncheons each year, Maslowski says, adding the sessions are a way for the organization to give something back to its members in a relaxing and informal setting.

Tickets are on sale now for the event, which takes place on July 23 from noon until 1:30 p.m. Admission is limited to chamber members.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.