(L-R) Owner of Rickys Parksville Slava Govorov, Darryl Saywell from Rickys and her dog Indy, Nadine Durante with the SCPA and her dog Oscar, and senior manger for BC SPCA for Vancouver Island Leon Davis. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

season of giving

‘It was a good year:’ Parksville business owner gives back with huge donation to local SPCA

Dec 16, 2022 | 4:05 PM

PARKSVILLE — A mid-Island business owner delivered an early Christmas present to an invaluable local non-profit organization.

Slava Govorov, owner of Rickys All Day Grill in Parksville, presented the Parksville-Qualicum Beach SPCA with $10,000 on Friday, Dec. 16.

“It was a good year for us here (at Rickys), the community has obviously stepped up and given us lots of business, so I thought it’s a good opportunity to give back.”

Also owner of the south Nanaimo Panago, Govorov estimates he’s donated thousands of pizza slices to support a variety of non-profit events all across the mid-Island.

“In the past we’ve done a lot of stuff in terms of pizza or in-kind, which probably matches this amount, but we’ve never done anything this major in just cash,” Govorov said at a cheque presentation ceremony in Parksville.

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A big animal lover, Govorov said he can’t imagine not having the ability to afford veterinary care for his mini papillon, Mia.

“I know there’s a lot of people going through trouble getting shots for their pets or getting any kind of veterinary care…I’m hoping with this donation will go towards helping some animals that otherwise would be in perhaps pain and distress.”

Govorov’s gift will help pay for everything from maintenance to the SPCA’s compassionate boarding programs to the discount spay and neutering events staged a few times annually.

Govorov said he woke up one morning and decided to do something significant this holiday season.

He issued a challenge to other mid-Island business operators to dig deep and support a non-profit cause.

“Hopefully this will encourage other business owners to step up when they have the opportunity to give back to the community and do something, whether they have two legs or four legs, fluffy or non-fluffy.”

Senior manager for the BC SPCA for Vancouver Island Leon Davis said this is a huge donation for the Parksville-based facility, which helps some 500 animals every year.

“It’s only a small facility and it relies completely on donations for the public, it’s not funded by the government or anything like that. Just a really dedicated team of volunteers and staff, so this is huge.”

Davis said Govorov has been incredibly supportive of regional SPCA events over the past decade, never hesitating to donate as many pizzas as possible.

“We also have amazing vet partners that give us great discounts but even then, when you’re seeing between Nanaimo and Parksville around 1,500 animals coming in a year, it’s things like this that really grow our heart three sizes every Christmas. With Salva’s help over the last ten years it’s grown about thirty sizes.”

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow