Al Horning will be missed
Several weeks ago, I was asked by someone who my favourite interview subject was during my many years as a print journalist. Al Horning would be up there – top five, for sure.
Al was one of those rare individuals who, even if you met him only once, you would feel that you had known him for years.
The former member of Parliament, MLA and Kelowna city councillor died this week.
He was 83.
I fondly remember Al visiting my office in Kelowna in 2019 and he was greeted with a rock-star reception by our team of reporters. Everybody liked him.
I was doing a “Where Are They Now” kind of feature and he shared his daily routine with me which, at that time, was basically jumping around from coffee club to coffee club.
His love of Rutland was obvious in every word he spoke.
Al, a Progressive Conservative, was a rare politician in that he was much loved by people of all political stripes.
He had a great sense of humour.
An alderman in Kelowna for many years, he was elected to Parliament in 1988 where he spent five years. He lost the following election to a Reform Party candidate. (“We put in the GST. That sort of killed us.”)
After failing at a comeback in 1997, he went back on Kelowna council. He was later elected as MLA in Kelowna-Lake Country from 2005-09 with the B.C. Liberals before retiring.
Many MPs would never think of returning to municipal politics once they left Ottawa. Al, like Ron Cannan and Tom Siddon, was on a very short list. He enjoyed politics. He loved serving the public. He appreciated people.
His proudest moment as an elected official was the expanding the runway at the Kelowna airport – not once, but twice.
Al was old school. You couldn’t help but like him. He will be missed by so many people.
(To read my 2019 interview with Al Horning, visit: pentictonherald.ca)
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I’d get an ‘F’ in journalism school for saying this because “anticipating the news” is equally important to covering current news.
Notwithstanding, the overhype on the forthcoming inditement of the 45th president of the United States has been media overkill. Please tell us if, and when, it happens.
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A follow up to my Academy Awards prediction column of two weeks ago. I was eight-for10, which was pretty good, missing on best original screenplay and best actor. (With the Academy’s love of rock biopics, I thought Austin Butler would win.)
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So you know: According to online language learning platform, Preply, The Louvre is the most commonly mispronounced tourist venue in the world. In Canada, it’s Niagara Falls.
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A reminder, especially to our readers in the Central and North Okanagan, Penticton will be a mega of everything arts from tonight until Sunday, April 2.
The second annual Ignite the Arts festival begins at 5 p.m.. Many of the events in the first week are free. Ticketed events begin Friday, March 31.
Among this weekend’s highlight is an Art Walk, Saturday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
For a complete list of events and activities, visit: ignitethearts.ca