Contributors

Okanagan Life Magazine is driven by compelling content from a diverse and experienced cast of writers and photographers. We are proud to introduce you to some of Okanagan Life's best.

Andrew Affleck is a Vernon-based writer with a creative flair for coming up with interesting article topics ranging from collecting old records to investigating whether it's possible to get a shirt tailored for a reasonable price in the Okanagan. When he's not writing, he teaches high school auto mechanics.

Marissa Baecker is a gutsy Kelowna-based photographer whose freelance business is called Shoot the Breeze. She's up to her lenses shooting hockey and rock musicians but also has a weekly entertainment column in the local paper.

Michael Botner. A highly qualified sommelier from Ottawa, Michael has written about many Okanagan wines and wineries for Okanagan Life. For our readers he has covered the latest trends, places and people of interest to lovers of the grape.

Dorothy Brotherton is one of Okanagan Life's main contributors. Known as the hardest working freelancer in the Valley, this graceful lady pitches 'em harder than anyone in the biz and gets the job done right. We may have gotten Sharon Shepherd elected as Kelowna mayor when we ran her feature in November-December on women of distinction.

Gudrun Cobham has been writing for Okanagan Life since 1996, making her our veteran columnist. She is admired for the history she researches and incorporates into Green Piece, which is about gardening, and Food of Choice, which is about dining.

Rick Cogbill is from Summerland. Primarily an automotive writer, he also pens articles about interesting artists and businesses and writes humour under the pseudonym of Slim Shambles.

Jeanette Dunagan is Okanagan Life's woman-about-town, writing about the arts, food and travel. A long-time Kelowna resident, she knows everybody and everybody knows her.

Deborah Greaves Deborah Greaves is a veteran journalist, columnist and photographer who specializes in articles about both natural and built environments, as well as the people who manage and cherish the Okanagan Valley's natural community assets. She hikes, canoes and snowshoes whenever she can..

David Madison is a motorcycle enthusiast, small plane pilot and aerial photographer from Lake Country. Besides writing features on water quality, motorcycling and islands of the Okanagan, David has taken some of the breathtaking photographs that grace our cover and picture spreads.

Dawn Renaud covers the South Okanagan for Okanagan Life. In addition to writing freelance articles, she authors award-winning short fiction.

Karen Slivar is the writing intern who stayed, She began with Okanagan Life while attending the journalism program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and writes pieces of a scientific and environmental nature.

Stan Sauerwein has been a prolific Kelowna-based journalist, author and business writer for over two decades. A long-time contributor to Okanagan Life, he has contributed articles on highly interesting subjects ranging from how global positioning could affect auto insurance rates to the history and future of Kelowna's floating bridge. He is also the author of 12 books, the most recent Bill Miner, Gentleman Train Robber (Altitude Publishing).

Shelley Wood is a health and science writer who studied at the Sing Tao School of Journalism at UBC. She has been a long-time contributor to Life Lines, our health column. One of her most notable recent features was an essay documenting the experience of getting around with a badly broken leg.

Rand Zacharias, from Kelowna, has penned some of Okanagan Life's cheekier and more controversial features over the last two years: being an extra in a zombie movie, art censorship, dealing with the drug problem, how the homeless will be spending their holidays. His first novel, The Godfollowers, is currently in search of a publisher.