Itsa国际传媒檚 not a normal Friday for Kelowna resident Paul Jackson if he doesnsa国际传媒檛 stop by the sa国际传媒 building on Enterprise Way to pick up the weekly newspapers and have a chat with the staff.

Jackson has made the stop religiously for the last 22.5 years, adding up to nearly 1,100 times.

While hesa国际传媒檚 seen some changes to the building and some new faces at the newspaper, itsa国际传媒檚 the hospitality he receives that keeps him coming back weekly.

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sa国际传媒淚 started picking up the newspaper on Friday. It gives me a chance to see and talk to the people and lets me get out of my apartment and have a good time,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淲hen staff recognize me coming from the door, they normally see me and say, sa国际传媒楬ey look, here comes Jack.sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�

Despite having a healthy and active schedule, Jacksonsa国际传媒檚 life changed dramatically around the time he started visiting the newspaper in 1997.

On Jan. 20 of that year, he suffered the first of three brain aneurysms that occurred just days apart from one another.

Jackson said visiting the building has served as a coping mechanism as hesa国际传媒檚 continued along his healing journey.

sa国际传媒淲hen I first started coming here, I was really, really bad. While one side of my body was totally injured, the other side was okay,sa国际传媒� he recalled.

sa国际传媒淎fter 11 years of rehabilitation, slowly but surely things started working again.sa国际传媒�

Jackson said while there have been many memorable memories made while visiting the news centre, one particular occasion stood out like no other.

sa国际传媒淲hen one of the managers left (Glenn Beaudry) that was a choker for me. Beaudry had been working with the newspaper for 25 years. He knew everything about Kelowna like you wouldnsa国际传媒檛 believe,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淚 picked up tidbits of information from him over the last 22 years. Itsa国际传媒檚 been interesting coming here, I hope you know that.sa国际传媒�

On top of making the visit every Friday, Jackson keeps a busy schedule by doing daily workouts at a local pool and going to the gym.

During the conversation, Jackson described his relationship with sa国际传媒 staff as inseparable.

sa国际传媒淲hen I come in here, Isa国际传媒檓 hugged and Isa国际传媒檓 squeezed. Everyone is like family.sa国际传媒�

Just like the last 20 years, Jackson has made it clear he plans to stop by the office for another 20 years to come.

connor.trembley@kelownacapnews.com
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