CHELSSIE BAKER – Sales Manager and Brand Ambassador Extraordinaire

Born and raised in Kelowna, Chelssie studied art and business in Indonesia, and went on to work in television as a presenter and musician. With her substantial business acumen and limitless entrepreneurial drive, she then successfully managed her own tour and travel business in Bali while continuing to serve as a fitness trainer. Through her success Chelssie enjoyed numerous opportunities to give back to the community through fundraising events, often with her daughter by her side every step of the way. On one such event they proudly raised money for an orphanage that needed a new building and sustainable food programs. Now happily back to her roots in the Okanagan, Chelssie joined the Cheers team and is active in the community sharing her strengths including networking, support and expressing her love of the Okanagan!

“Chelssie is heavily involved in the community – she’s everywhere. I LOVE working with Chelssie and I believe we are lucky to have her in the Okanagan.” Cheers! Ginny Scott – SilverStar Mountain Resort

DON BERGMAN – Chauffeur

Don is a semi-retired entrepreneur whose passions in life are business, skiing and golf. Don structured and managed real estate projects throughout BC and Alberta. A professional skier, in his younger years, Don might be spotted on the slopes at Silver Star or on the Cross-Country trails at Sovereign Lake. “Only on the warm sunny days”, he says. Don is a low handicap golfer with several tournament victories to his credit. He has enjoyed many years on the organizing committee for a charity golf tournament raising scholarship and bursary funds for Okanagan college students. His main claim to fame is a perfect lifelong driving record. Don strongly believes in Cheers’ corporate vision and is proud to be a member of the team. Witty, charming, sociable, blessed with a rare balance of listener and storyteller, Don is a quintessential “people-person”. If you happen to meet someone who is always smiling – it’s Don : )

“Don was very courteous, friendly and professional. We felt safe, and best of all, no stress trying to find and clean off the car on our return. Great service all around and would do it again.” Leslie

SHANE BENZ – Experience Co-Ordinator

Travelling is Shane’s passion; his journey began crossing the Canadian Rockies and discovering the sunny Okanagan in 1995. Since then Shane pursued a business education before venturing to the Cayman Islands as a scuba dive instructor. Hurricane winds then carried him away onto a luxury cruise ship in 2005. Shane’s ship life lead to romancing and marrying his wife, Jenni. He has successfully managed international tour programs in over 90 countries for more than 12 years and delivers great travel advice too. Shane’s love for outdoor activities and free diving our blue oceans brings life to his soul and attributes to the many many stories he enjoys sharing along the way. Shane brings a friendly and guest-centric approach to ensure your experiences in the Okanagan keep you coming back and enjoying our wonderful home.

“Shane exceeded our expectations…his only interest is that we enjoyed our Okanagan experiences. His passion and knowledge really helped us to decide what activities were best…Nothing was too much trouble. We’ll be back. Highly recommend!” Belinda B. & Sandra H, Marshall, TX

ALLEN BURKE – OWNER

“I care.” is Allen’s “why”. Authentic and a little nutty, achieving positive change and making a genuine difference in people’s lives has always been exceptionally rewarding to him. As an international humanitarian, disadvantaged people’s thanks in emerging nations always brought him to tears. Adopting twin Haitian orphans, training them up as global citizens and then observing them volunteer in orphanages themselves – more tears. Decades of helping children overseas blends with his newfound opportunities at home like Cops For Kids, Dreams Take Flight and other initiatives that help little hearts in the communities he serves. Allen is shamelessly obsessed with delivering extraordinary tour and transportation experiences. The opportunity to earn the privilege of each guest’s trust, commerce, testimony, and a lifetime of referrals is intensely fulfilling.

“We LOVED our tour and the beautiful wineries we were taken to. We totally scored with our incredibly knowledgeable and hilarious guide Allen. He is a cornucopia of awesomeness!” – Scott & Wendy K.

LOU BURKE – Research and Development, Tour Guide

When you meet Lou you instantly feel you found your best friend. Every detail of your experience has been thought about and Lou makes it her mission for you to feel you are the most special person in her day. She finds ways to encourage you with her uplifting words. “By the time we reached our first winery, we felt so welcomed and comfortable, it was if we had known her for a lifetime.” Lou is very authentic, genuine and sincere. She’ll flaunt a too-large ring and ask you if you noticed it. Laughter follows and you have found her weakness.

“We had an amazing time with Cheers Okanagan Tours and our guide Lou!! She made every moment fun, informative and she is a wealth of knowledge. Included is a wonderful picnic lunch set up near the vineyards!!” – Sharon M.

REIGN BURKE – Research and Development, Tour Guide

Getting a jump on a lifetime of adventure, Reign was born in an earthquake-ravaged, cockroach-infested “hospital” with intermittent electricity. Twice the size of indigenous newborns along with a radio announcer’s voice, the nurses exclaimed, “It’s a man!!!” Raised in Baguio City, Philippines, Barbados and western Canada, his love of adventure and travel never wanes. Self-employed and a philanthropist from 9 years of age, Reign has gathered a varied set of skills from retail sales to Commercial Diving (underwater construction). Reign enjoys fitness, shooting sports along with making personal and business connections while out and about in the community. Moreover, he greatly enjoys a good haircut and beard trim.

“I was blown away by our tour guide, Reign, who made learning about wine fun, interactive, and memorable. He went out of his way to make the entire tour exciting and engaging.” – Rachel P.

KEVIN MARTIN – Operations

Kevin is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba. After 35 years of adventures around Western Canada, he has settled in the Okanagan with his beautiful wife and two dogs. Sporting a diverse background in hospitality, Kevin brings a wealth of knowledge, leadership, and passion to Cheers! His light-hearted energy is contagious, and he is dedicated to amazing customer service; ensuring each guest enjoys an authentic Cheers! experience.

His love of travel has taken him on many journeys throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States, always hunting down places that expand his understanding of the world. He appreciates ethical, sustainable practices when it comes to food, and life, believing that a natural, organic approach often leads to the richest experiences.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

As employee/partners our goals are…

1) To Become the Top – Rated Employer in the Okanagan

2) To Become the Best – Managed Company in the Okanagan

3) To Become the Most Recognized Tour and Transportation Brand in the Okanagan

Demonstrating unparalleled growth year-after-year, we’re constantly evolving, introducing innovative experiences and services, creating fresh opportunities for employee/partners, scaling into new communities, generating economic development in the neighbourhoods we serve, growing our brand, all-the-while bringing our love, philanthropy, and community-mindedness.

We’re frequently looking for motivated, exceptional, extraordinary, rare, remarkable, brilliant, phenomenal, personally engaging, customer service aficionados to join our team.

If you, or someone you know, is looking for that rare culture that surrounds you with other like-minded, imaginative, talented, driven, positive, dedicated, respectful, and self-motivated people that share a commitment to work/life balance, please contact us about current and upcoming opportunities.

“Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire motivated people and inspire them.” Simon Sinek

PETER C. – Tour Guide

A truly multicultural Canadian, Peter is part Chinese, part Ukrainian, mostly Dutch… and did I mention that his wife is Polish? Starting life as a fighter pilot’s son followed by a career in software development has seen Peter living in a dozen different places across Canada as well as in London, England. After raising three children while caring for disabled parents, all under one roof (with the loving support of his partner), Peter has been embracing Kelowna and the surrounding area full on. He feels that the Okanagan is the most beautiful place in which he’s lived and that sharing it with others is everything but “work”. Beautiful landscape, terrific food, wonderful wine, and interesting conversation will all be a part of a tour with Peter.

“Best Wine Tour Ever!!! This past weekend my girlfriends and I went on a wine tour and were so very lucky to have Peter as our tour guide. He was absolutely wonderful! Would 100% go back! Thank you so much!!!” – Jade C.

DAVID EVANS – Tour Guide

David is an energetic, outgoing, recent retiree after enjoying an amazing 38.5-year career in banking. He unquestionably enjoys making people happy, just ask his wonderful wife Laurie! David loves to cook, play golf and has been a home wine maker for over 30 years. A self-taught gourmet home chef, he recently acquired his W-Set Level 1 Award in Wines Certificate to better understand how to select and pair wine and food. He’s been told over and over that he could pass as a “Doppelganger” for celebrity chef Guy Fieri. David looks forward to taking you on a tour that excites your taste buds and allows you to experience all that our award-winning Okanagan wineries have to offer.

“Fantastic Wine Tour Experience. Our guide David was wonderful, knowledgeable of the wines and the vineyards. We thoroughly enjoyed the choices of wineries and the sceneries along the way. The lunch picnic was set up so well and gave us a chance to enjoy pleasant conversations. We would recommend this tour to anyone.” – Farida S.

BRIAN MOHR – Chauffeur

Very personable and gifted at connecting with people from all walks of life, Brian is a pleasant, natural guide. Originally from Kimberly, BC, Brian gave much of his working life as a Professional Engineer in challenging oil-drilling operations in the Arctic. Blessed with the ability to work in demanding environments and simultaneously be relatable, Brian returned to the Kootenays and gave 5 years as a High School Educational Assistant. Relocating to Vernon in 2016, he built a house and moved his aging parents here. Brian loves building stuff, timber frame, chainsaw milling, welding, etc. Plus he loves sports, especially mountain biking and skiing.

“We had a great experience with Cheers! Our driver Brian greeted us at the airport, helped with bags and got us on our way. We were lucky enough to have him again on our way back to the airport.” – Michelle R.

PATRICIA NEELY – Tour Guide

Patricia brings a wealth of local and international knowledge to our team. After growing up in BC, she spent 26 years with the RCMP in Alberta, before returning to the Okanagan to retire. As well as policing, Patricia has worked in the travel industry, taking the opportunity to travel throughout the world. Most recently she has enjoyed teaching English overseas. She lives with her husband Randy and has two amazing adult children, her son is working in Vancouver, while her daughter is in Chicago finishing her medical degree. There is so much to see and do here, Patricia is thrilled to share her passion for this area with you.

“Massive thank you to Patricia for making our tour fantastic. Her knowledge of the area, wineries and the wine itself was excellent including teaching us novices how to taste wine properly. Lunch was perfect and the range of wineries we went to made the day!” – Ross & Fallon

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people like us to attain uncommon results.