Charlie Hodge is a best-selling author, writer, current Kelowna City Councillor, and a Director on the Regional District of the Central Okanagan Board. He spent more than 25 years as a full-time newspaper journalist and has a diverse background in public relations, promotions, personal coaching, and strategic planning. A former managing editor, assistant editor, sports editor, entertainment editor, journalist, and photographer, Hodge also co-hosted a variety of radio talk shows and still writes a regular weekly newspaper column titled Hodge Podge, which he has crafted now for 41 years.
Charlie recently completed his third novel, Lost Souls of Lakewood – the History and Mystery of Blaylock’s Mansion, a riveting historical fiction factually based on a haunted mansion and acreage in the interior of British Columbia. His biography of Howie Meeker, titled Golly Gee It’s Me is a Canadian bestseller and his second book, Stop It There, Back It Up – 50 Years of the NHL garnered lots of attention from media and hockey fans alike. Charlie is currently working on a third hockey book, as well as a book of his memoirs and poems. His creative promotional skills and strategic planning have been utilized for many years in the Canadian music industry, provincial, national, and international environmental fields, and municipal, provincial, and federal politics. Charlie is a skilled facilitator, a dynamic motivational speaker, and an effective personal coach. His hobbies include gardening and fly fishing. Charlie shares his Okanagan home with wife Teresa and five spoiled cats.