A hockey player turned entrepreneur has parlayed his passion for business into an efficient way to keep Okanagan beaches clean.
Kade Jensen is the founder and owner of Jensen Sand Cleaning, which launched six years ago while the now 28-year-old studied business at Mount Royal University and played for the school's men's hockey team.
"We have these beautiful beaches here and not everyone in Canada can say the same," said Jensen, who lives in Kaleden, about 13 kilometres south of Penticton, but operates his business across the Okanagan. "I wanted to be environmentally conscious and make sure that the beaches are safe for all the little kids, parents and families."
Jensen's company uses machinery that gets underneath beach sand and pulls out hazardous material or unwanted debris. Among his customers include homeowners with private beaches, resorts, golf courses with sand bunkers, City of Penticton and Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, he said.
The Calgary-born Jensen played parts of four seasons in the Western Hockey League from 2013 to 2018, suiting up for Lethbridge, Swift Current, Brandon and Victoria.
Most recently, from 2023 to 2025, the defenceman played for the Utah Grizzlies of the minor professional ECHL.
"Anyone that has a passion for starting a business is also able to multi-task and somehow manage their time," said Jensen. "The cleaning takes a lot more labour than people think and that's definitely helped me stay in shape (for hockey season)."
Jensen recalled door-knocking in the early days of the business, presenting a "20-second pitch" to potential customers as he eyed his first sales.
"After about a month of that, we got our first deal and it was my fianc茅 who got it for us in Naramata," he said. "We went to that property, cleaned for about four and five hours, and ever since then, it's been word of mouth."
Jensen also thanked his parents, Todd and Donna, and brother, Carter, for helping him "carry the business forward" in times of need.
More information about the local business can be found
"It鈥檚 nice to know that kids and families can go enjoy these areas and not have to worry about rusty nails/screws, broken glass and animal manure," Jensen added.
