News and Events
Sentes Automotive supporting the 4th annual Music Fest for MS – May 2022
On May 8th, some of our dedicated staff members golfed on behalf of Sentes Automotive just outside of Vernon, BC at Predator Ridge Golf Club at the Music Fest for MS. The golfers, Garret Thorne (Vernon Nissan), Stasi Raptis (Kelowna Mercedes-Benz), Greg Flemming (Kelowna Mercedes-Benz) took to the greens while our other team members guarded the sponsored hole. We were invited to this tournament by the Klick family to raise awareness and support Tom Klick who was recently diagnosed with MS. His son Ben Klick, a local country musician, has held this fundraiser event for the MS Society of Canada and the 4th annual Music fest (presented by BMO Private Wealth). Tom Klick thanked us for our participation and said that the event was sold out, and they passed the $50,000 fundraising target! We want to thank our team members for participating in this tournament for a great cause and we’d like to draw attention to raising funds for the MS Society of Canada and those that are directly and indirectly affected by Multiple Sclerosis.
President’s Award Trip – May 2022
We celebrated the top Sentes Automotive sales consultants for all the hard work over the last year. In attendance of this trip was Colton Steeds (Lexus of Kelowna), Eric Jameson (Kelowna Mercedes-Benz), Vik Jaiswal (Kelowna Infiniti Nissan), Mark Samson (Kelowna Infiniti Nissan), Dylan Tran (Kelowna Infiniti Nissan), and Calvin Reich (Vernon Nissan) along with their spouses. After a two-night stay at Watermark Beach Resort, they finished their adventure at the Kartplex at Area 27 Race Track. Congratulations all!
Mercedes-Benz Star Dealer Event – May 2022
To celebrate the 2021 Star Dealer Award for the Kelowna Mercedes-Benz team, we treated the team to a night out at BNA for some food, bowling and photo booth fun. Congratulations on all your hard work to achieve this award!
Google Review Contest – May 2022
For the month of April, Kelowna Mercedes-Benz ran a Google review challenge in hopes to gather 80 reviews to go from 4.8 to 4.9/5.00 stars. The team had an exceptional run with this challenge and ended up gathering 53 unique 5 star reviews. The KMB team has a total of 503 reviews as of April 30th, and only needs 27 more to achieve 4.9. There were multiple prizes to be won throughout the month, and GM Sam Kaloti drew names of the final winners. Reviews play an important part of a clients research into a business. We deserve to be recognized for our effort and commitment to excellence. Positive reviews will get you referrals and additional business. Keep up the great work and keep asking for those 5 star reviews and CSI surveys!
Vernon Nissan & Air Rescue One – April 2022
The OurCommunity committee, decided to spend $1000 of our $105,000 annual budget on supporting the Okanagan’s Air Rescue One helping raise enough funds to purchase a portable helicopter winch. The donated $1000 was given directly to the local Vernon Air Rescue One Heli Winch Society. This donation will help the society purchase a dedicated rescue winch for the Air Rescue One program. This program is fueled by donations and started in 2014. Since then, they have rescued over 150 people and winch rescue is becoming the new standard in BC!
Lexus 10 Year Anniversary – April 2022
We were thrilled to celebrate our Lexus dealership’s 10 year anniversary. We celebrated with an open house for staff and spouses, featuring local beer, wine and food!
KGH Foundation Donation – April 2022
We are proud to provide a $500 donation to the KGH Foundation Students for Heart Health. We’re excited to know that this donation put them over their $10,000 fundraising goal! This cause is to raise “awareness for heart conditions, promoting healthy lifestyles, and supporting heart and cardiovascular foundations through fundraising and collaborations.” Sentes Automotive and our 4 dealerships are committed to giving back to our community and organizations that are important to our teams. We look forward to not only giving back by donating funds, but also to donate their time to charities and organizations that are meaningful to them.
Employee Appreciation Program – April 2022
Throughout April we have continued showing our appreciation for our team members by selecting positions to celebrate and recognize, with a personal touch. This month, we recognized receptionists, sales admins, lot managers, and photographers. We celebrated each person by ordering them lunch from their restaurant of choice, and gifting them a gift card and item from their favorite local spots. We appreciate each and every one of you!
Sentes Ice Skating Day – March 2022
Our team rented out our local ice rink and invited our staff and their families for an open skate with the kids, followed by a staff hockey game!
Lexus Pursuit of Excellence Award – March 2022
We are extremely proud of our Lexus of Kelowna team for being awarded the 2021 Pursuit of Excellence award, ranking top 3 in Canada. We celebrated our entire Lexus of Kelowna team with an evening for them and their spouses at Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna.
Our Community Committee – February 2022
We are very excited to announce the formation of Sentes Automotive’s, OurCommunity Committee. This committee will gather monthly to brainstorm, discuss and execute initiatives for our company to dedicate time and donations to our local Kelowna & Vernon communities.
Appreciation Days – February 2022
Our company dedicated specific days to appreciate and value each of our staff members. This past month we celebrated our sanitization specialists for all of their hard work keeping our buildings clean and safe for our staff and clients.
Lexus Pursuit of Excellence Elite Award 2021 – February 2022
For a second year in a row, Lexus of Kelowna is a Lexus Pursuit of Excellence award winner! Our dealership came in 3rd place in the pursuit of excellence competition out of 13 Lexus dealers across Canada. This could not be achieved without the hard work of each and every member of the Lexus team.
New Mercedes-Benz Ground-breaking – February 2022
On February 15th, 2022 the Kelowna Mercedes-Benz team held an official ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of the new build. In attendance along with our staff was the Fillmore construction team leads, Mayor Colin Basran, Counsellor Maxine DeHart, and a rep from Mercedes-Benz Canada. Thank you to those of you who came out for the photo opportunity! This is the beginning of an exciting and innovative community project.
Kelowna Mercedes-Benz Star Dealer Award – February 2022
We are excited and proud to announce that Kelowna Mercedes-Benz has been awarded the Mercedes-Benz Canada Star Dealer Award for 2022! Congratulations to our hard working and dedicated team on their success.
Kelowna Mercedes-Benz #1 in CSI in Canada – January 2022
We are extremely thrilled to announce that Kelowna Mercedes-Benz achieved #1 in customer satisfaction, competing against 52 other dealers in Canada. We are incredibly proud of this accomplishment on behalf of our team.
Promotion to General Manager – January 2022
On behalf of Kelowna Mercedes-Benz and Sentes Automotive, we are very excited to officially announce the promotion of Sam Kaloti from general sales manager to the role of dealership general manager. Sam commenced his employment with our team as a sales consultant in the spring of 2008 and has also served as pre-owned vehicle manager, and sales operations manager prior to his time as general sales manager. We couldn’t be more proud of Sam’s accomplishments and our team is thrilled to see him move into this important leadership role!
Kelowna Infiniti #1 in CSI in Canada – January 2022
Congratulations to our Kelowna Infiniti team for ranking #1 in ISI customer satisfaction. Kelowna Infiniti ranked #1 out of 38 dealers across Canada. This is a major achievement and could not have been accomplished without the dedication, attention to detail and professionalism of the entire Infiniti team.
Potluck & gift exchange – December 2021
Every year our Kelowna Infiniti Nissan team looks forward to our annual staff potluck and gift exchange.
Kelowna Nissan Adopt a Family – December 2021
Each year along with other dealerships in our automotive group, Kelowna Infiniti Nissan sponsor’s a family in need through the Boys and Girls Club during the holidays. This December, our Infiniti Nissan team was able to donate, shop and wrap Christmas presents and hand deliver to our adopted family. We are grateful for each of our staffs generosity and participation.
Christmas Sweater Day – December 2021
During the holidays our Lexus of Kelowna team celebrated with our most festive sweaters.
Lexus of Kelowna Adopt a Family – December 2021
Each year along with other dealerships in our automotive group, Lexus of Kelowna sponsor’s a family in need through the Boys and Girls Club during the holidays. This December, our Lexus team was able to donate, shop and wrap Christmas presents and hand deliver to our adopted family. We are grateful for each of our staffs generosity and participation.
Vernon Nissan Secret Santa – December 2021
Our Vernon Nissan team celebrated each other and a year well done before the holidays by doing a secret Santa gift exchange and catered lunch.
Vernon Nissan’ Adopt a Family – December 2021
Each year along with other dealerships in our automotive group, Vernon Nissan sponsor’s a family in need through the Boys and Girls Club during the holidays. This December, our Vernon team was able to donate, shop and wrap Christmas presents and hand deliver to our adopted family. We are grateful for each of our staffs generosity and participation.
The Grinch Stopped By – December 2021
A few days before Christmas, we had a surprise visitor stop by each of our dealership. We are always grateful for our festive Kelowna Mercedes-Benz General Sales Manager, Sam Kaloti and his holiday cheer.
Potluck & gift exchange – December 2021
Every year our Kelowna Mercedes-Benz team looks forward to our annual staff potluck and gift exchange.
Kelowna Mercedes-Benz Foodbank Donations – December 2021
Each year along with our adopt a family sponsorship, our team collects donations from our generous staff and make a delivery to the local Kelowna foodbank.
Sentes Automotive & Women in Trades – December 2021
Human Resources Recruiter, Jamie Glutek, was able to work alongside the Women in Trades program with Okanagan College / Penticton Secondary School to present to students about Sentes Automotive, careers in the automotive industry and our apprenticeship program.
Lexus Luxury Lunch – November 2021
To celebrate a job well done and a successful 2021, we treated our Lexus of Kelowna team to a luxury lunch catered by Kelowna’s Deli City Café.
Women In Trades Student Tour – October 2021
Sentes Automotive works closely with both the Women in Trades and Automotive Apprentice Technician programs at Okanagan College. We offer dealership tours, in-class presentations, career mentorship and part time / full time employment opportunities to the students. Our 4 Kelowna locations offer an apprenticeship program to support 1st year students throughout their entire apprenticeship. (Second photo was taken pre-COVID)
Farewell Penticton Stores – SlackWater Event – September 2021
As of September 30th, 2021, Sentes Automotive has sold Penticton Honda and Hyundai to the Harris Automotive group. We value and appreciate each and every staff member and will miss them greatly. To show our appreciation and say goodbye in style, we hosted on final team event and at Slackwater Brewing, downtown Penticton.
Kelowna Gospel Mission Charity Golf Classic – September 2021
Our company supported the 2021 Kelowna’s Gospel Mission Charity Golf Classic on September 10th at Sunset Ranch. Four of our team members represented the company on the course!
Mercedes-Benz Pizza Day – September 2021
Our Kelowna Mercedes-Benz team had a little internal competition, and the reward was a staff pizza lunch! They crushed their target and enjoyed a lunch from local Kelowna pizza kitchen, Red Swan Pizza.
Penticton annual golf tournament – August 2021
Every year we look forward to our annual golf tournament with all of our Penticton staff together. This year we had the tournament at Penticton Golf and Country Club.
Kelowna annual golf tournament – August 2021
Every year we look forward to our annual golf tournament with all of our Kelowna staff together. This year we had the tournament at the beautiful Two Eagles golf course in West Kelowna. The day was filled with sun, laughs and healthy competition!
Technician appreciation month – August 2021
August is technician appreciation month! We could not operate without the knowledge, skillset and dedication of our hard-working apprentices and journeyman/women technicians. We treated each team to snacks and drinks throughout the month, as well as a grand finale full day of fun at Area 27 Motorsport Park in Penticton.
Accounting appreciation month – July 2021
July is accounting appreciation month! Our accounting team works extremely hard with a keen eye for detail, behind the scenes, to keep our business running smoothly. This is a critical and valuable role within our organization, and we want to ensure each, and every member of our accounting team feels appreciated. The CEO and general manager’s took our accounting staff for a lunch, and we delivered the team special treats throughout July.
Detail appreciation month – June 2021
June is Sentes Automotive’ s detail appreciation month across all 6 locations. Detail is a vital department for our business to serve our customers. Our skilled detail teams work tirelessly to ensure every vehicle leaves the dealership looking brand new. Over the month of June, we celebrated our teams by gathering all departments to show detail some extra appreciation. From individual staff features, to contests, treat days and cooling towels as a gift for the hot summer heat, we hope the detail team feels the extra appreciation this month and onwards.
