Allen Dell Classification Talk
Allan gave a enlightened presentation about his family, growing up and his many work experiences.Born March 13, 1975, the Dell Family moved to North Bay in 1963. Some may know my father, Frank, a hockey fanatic who was the Referee in Chief for the NOHA, a loyal Mason and a member of the St. John's Church. He passed away in 2014. My mom, Evelyn, still resides in North Bay. I have 4 brothers and 1 sister.
As a young lad I was quite the entertainer. Always the centre of attention. I enjoyed the attention. At the age of 11 I was a rink-rat at the Ferris Arena. Sweeping, making hot chocolate, and coffee, selling 50/50 tickets, calling Bingo and setting up tables and chairs. It was all so educational! But I still remember the day the arena manager, Don Pecore, asked me to “go upstairs and play some records for skating”. That was the beginning of Mr. Bojanagles. From that day forward I would play records at weddings, parties and dances. In fact, while working at CFCH while I was 14 or 15 I would organize and play music at the “dance of the week”. That would make me about $1,000.00 per week, which was pretty good for a 14 year old.
Not long after that I was photographed by the Nugget for becoming the first Ice Cream guy in North Bay. The following summer I purchased a dozen Dickey Dee Ice Cream bikes from Moncton, New Brunswick and hired my friends to operate them. I was North Bay’s first Dickey Dee Ice Cream guy.
During this time I was manager of this building, and the one that used to be here, the Elba Lounge. I began my career in the food and beverage industry by creating Madam’s that was located right here.
After that I moved to Huntsville and began working at Deerhurst Resort. I worked alongside Shania Twain or Elaine as she was known by then. When I opened my own sandwich shop, the local Mikes Milk asked me to make them a couple of hundred sandwiches for their cooler. Once I found out they sold that many sandwiches a day, I bought out the company commissary and began making about 5,000 sandwiches a day and distributing them throughout Ontario. Within a few short years I was up to 15,000 sandwiches per day and delivering them all over the Province.
In 1987 I joined the Kinsmen Club of Huntsville and on the first meeting found myself in a debate over the cancelling of the Santa Clause parade. It seems the local merchants were against a Saturday morning parade while the local churches were against a Sunday parade. Being a new Kinsmen, it was easy for the group to nominate me to chair the Parade committee. During the second meeting I suggested a Friday evening parade and Festival of Lights. This idea was boo-hooed by the members until they found out that I had already raised $7,000.00 and presented a budget of only $4,000.00. The parade and Festival of Lights is still running to this day and will soon be 30 years running. Over half the town attended the first parade and even Global TV covered the occasion.
In 1993 I moved to the Okanagan Valley and purchased a dilapidated waterfront General Store which had been closed for nearly 80 years. And turned it into a high-end Restaurant and Country Inn. And so, the next chapter of my life was born. The Historic 1912 Restaurant and Country Inn. This elegant restaurant was written up in many travel and gourmet magazines and was listed in The Top 100 Restaurants in Canada. I received many local and regional awards and was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Canadian Restaurant and Food Service Association. The waterfront view was beautiful and the location, just 7 miles south of Penticton made it a destination of many celebrating special occasions. When property values started to escalate and the value of the property exceeded the value the restaurant could pay, I sold it and it became a private estate.
From there I went on to consult with developers who were looking to build food and beverage operations. My first job in this new career was at a local ski hill where I developed and built a restaurant in a high-end hotel. This mine-themed restaurant was named and fashioned after a gold-rush era, staked mine called Duncan Woods. This restaurant was efficient, sleek, modern and approachable. The interior was reminiscent of dining in a mine that was on the site in the 1930’s. From the original concept to the grand-opening, it was all Allan Dell.
My next assignment was to take the former Oliver B.C. Fire Station and transform it into a Wine Country Welcome Centre. The BC wine industry had just taken off and the town of Oliver was in the heart of the action and wanted a presence. I designed a multi-purpose facility that would feature a restaurant and wine-bar, a VQA wine store, community farm based winery, and an information centre. Following this project I was off to Victoria where I was in charge of developing a wine themed pub, wine store and general store at a brand-new 30 million dollar resort.
When my position at the resort was complete I moved back to Penticton where I headed a wine-bar and restaurant on colourful Front Street. Following that I was employed by University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna to design and open a new concept market-era built for the commuter student to have a meal like a ham sandwich, or the resident student to buy a half-pound of ham, loaf of bread and all the condiments and make their sandwich in their room.
It was during this time that I came back to Ontario and spent a week with my dear old Dad travelling with him to Georgia to see his brother. While we spent time together I became aware that he was suffering from the onset of Dementia and needed my help. My wife convinced me that the right thing was to move back to North Bay and look after my Father. After all my kids were too old to need me and the grandkids were too young to realize who the heck I was. I got a job drafting the business plan and building the dragway in Bonfield.
My wife in BC went on the internet and found a home for us to buy on Strathcona Drive. It was in the neighbourhood of my family home, just one street over from where I grew up. I had actually played in the home when I was a child and remembered it fondly. We bought the house and Brandy and her two boys moved here in the summer of 2011.
And when my time at the race track was finished, I decided to join my good friends Ralph Diegel, Nestor Prisco and Craig Rodwell on the volunteer board of MacKay Homes Limited. For those of you unaware, MacKay Homes, a project originally sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion, North Bay Branch 23, is 65 low income senior homes located on Olive Street. I felt it only right, since my parents had lived comfortably there for 20 years.
When the position of Property Manager became vacant, the board asked me to take the job. My knowledge of board infrastructure, building make-up, contractors and equipment operations had proved beneficial.
I have 4 children and 3 step-children and 8 grandkids - including the latest, Lucy, born just a week ago.
I know I am going to be asked this, so I will say now that the reason I joined Rotary is to give back to the community. When in Kinsmen, there was a saying—Rotary owns the town, the Lions run the town and Kinsmen play in it. In the last few years I have matured, and so have my goals. I am now looking not only to focus on the community's greatest needs, but also the needs of the world.