Sometimes in life, you have to leave your hometown for a while to realize how much you miss it.
For Bryce Shegelski, it was always his goal to move back to Lake Country after leaving town when he was 18.
After growing up in the Okanagan, playing Winfield Minor Hockey and every sport imaginable at George Elliot Secondary School, Shegelski made the move to Calgary to join his dad in the auto glass industry.
“It was either go and work in the oil rigs or move out and join Dad in Calgary,” said Shegelski.
His dad, Rob Shegelski, started in the business at 20 years old, made his way up the ranks, and eventually owned his own business in Calgary.
Over the 10 years in Calgary, Shegelski learned the ropes of replacing glass as well as sales and worked his way up.
During his time there, in late 2016, GlassMasters Autoglass, a solely retail shop, joined forces with ARG Wholesale to cover both sides of the business.
After this, the business continued to grow and expand to multiple provinces.
“When I found out that we were opening in B.C., I put my hand up in the air because I thought it’d be pretty cool to go back home and be able to run this,” said Shegelski. “For me, it was a pretty cool opportunity.”
Because of this, Shegelski has moved back home and is now the Branch Manager of GlassMasters Autoglass on the Kelowna/Lake Country border. This move doesn’t just fulfill his dream of bringing the business home, but his father’s as well, even though he remains in Calgary for now as he believes his store is for Shegelski to run with.
The wholesale side of the new location opened in Sept. 2023 and the GlassMasters retail store opened at #150-220 Beaver Lake Court in Feb. 2024.
“It’s crazy to see the growth in this area,” said Bryce. “We’re pretty happy with this location.”
Now that the word is getting out about the newest auto glass shop in town, the Shegelski name is being recognized again.
“Everyone I talk to in [the industry], they used to deal with my dad and now they’re dealing with me,” said Shegelski, adding there are some people he’s done business with who are the sons of people his dad dealt with.
GlassMasters is ICBC-certified and aims to replace glass for vehicles in a two to three-hour span. Being both wholesale and retail, they have more than 10,000 parts in their store and more on the way.
“We want, not only to have the best customer service out here but we’re also wanting to provide the most windshields for everybody on the wholeside side,” said Shegelski.
And on top of bringing this business to Central Okanagan, Shegelski is just happy to be home.
“It’s pretty cool, driving by the lake and the vineyards every day to work, nothing beats that,” added Shegelski. “Nothing beats home and now that’s the sun’s shining down, I don’t know why I ever left.”
Also with these factors, and being an athlete growing up in Lake Country, Shegelski is looking to sponsor local teams in the future and help give back to the hometown.
“We’re happy to be back and provide for the community,” said Shegelski.
This store is the company’s 14th location in Western Canada, with their 15th scheduled to open this June in Manitoba.
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