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Meet Our Board of Directors & Team

Committees

TIABC is looking for volunteers from its membership to assist the committees.

Please contact us to inquire.

I feel we must speak with one voice and work hard to unify our tourism industry. This board helps us do just that.

Sandra Oldfield

Policy Committee

The Policy Committee develops and updates fact-based policies that clearly communicate the industry’s current concerns and influence decision makers. The Committee utilizes a range of tools to ensure the policy positions it recommends to the Board of Directors reflect the memberships’ views and are supported by research.

Committee members:
1. Michael J. Ballingall (Committee Chair) – TIABC Director
2. Brenda Baptiste – TIABC Director
3. Beverley DeSantis – TIABC Member
4. Barrett Fisher – TIABC Member
5. Katherine MacRae – TIABC Member (Commercial Bear Viewing Association)
6. Joss Penny – TIABC Member (BC Lodging & Campgrounds Association)
7. Paul Vallee – TIABC Member (Gaining Edge)
8. John Wilson – TIABC Member (Wilson Transportation)

Membership & Communications Committee

The Membership and Communications Committee assists the Board in its role of providing input and strategic direction on membership generating activities and communications strategies to support TIABC.

Committee members:
1. Mike Retasket (Committee Chair) – TIABC Director
2. Brenda Baptiste – TIABC Director

3. J.J. Belanger – TIABC Chair
4. Jamie Cox – TIABC Director
5. Ceri Chong – TIABC Member (Tourism Richmond)

6. Nicole Ford – TIABC Director
7. Dennis Innes – TIABC Director
8. Chris Lewis – TIABC Director
9. Joanne Burns Millar – TIABC Director

Finance & Audit Committee

The Finance Committee assists the Board in its fiduciary responsibilities. The Committee also plays a key role in the sustainability of the organization by overseeing the monthly financial statements and reporting back to the board at each meeting.

Committee members:
1. Sandra van Steijn (Committee Chair) – TIABC Director
2. J.J. Belanger – TIABC Chair
3. Jamie Cox – TIABC Director
4. Sandra Oldfield – TIABC Director

Governance Committee

The Governance Committee acts as a working group to assist the Board in ensuring that the organization has the necessary governance structure and policies, including appropriate bylaws, to be an independent and effective tourism industry association on behalf of operators, sectors, DMOs and key stakeholders.

Additionally, the Governance Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Board includes individuals with the skills, experience and broad industry perspective to effectively govern the organization. The process of recruiting qualified nominees for vacant Board positions is overseen by a sub-committee of the Governance Committee.

Committee members:
1. J.J. Belanger – (Committee Chair) – TIABC Chair
2. Brenda Baptiste – TIABC Director

3. Joanne Burns Millar – TIABC Director

4. Sandra Oldfield – TIABC Director

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Reconciliation Sub-committee

The purpose of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee is to assist the Board in its role to establish key metrics and a path forward to ensure TIABC becomes a fair and equitable association well represented by all underserved parties in the tourism industry. Given the current challenges, the Committee will play a key role in establishing the right path forward of the organization.

Committee members:
1. Sandra Oldfield – (Chair) TIABC Director
2. Jarrett Bachman, TIABC Member (Fairleigh Dickinson University)
3. Lisanne Ballantyne, TIABC Member (Tourism Kelowna)
4. Brenda Baptiste – TIABC Director

5. Krista Bax – TIABC Member (go2HR)
6. J.J. Belanger – TIABC Chair / Director
7. Miranda Ji – TIABC Director
8. Chris Lewis – TIABC Director
9. Sandra van Steijn – TIABC Director

National Day for Truth & Reconciliation

During the last week of each September, Canada observes National Truth and Reconciliation Week, culminating on September 30th with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR).

Tourism businesses and organizations can advance reconciliation by promoting understanding, respect, and meaningful engagement with Indigenous cultures by collaborating with Indigenous communities to accurately represent their history, traditions, and cultures in tourism experiences, supporting Indigenous-owned businesses and promoting employment opportunities, educating visitors and staff about the history and current issues facing Indigenous peoples, establishing a long-term partnership with communities, and highlighting and promoting Indigenous-led experiences.

September 30th also coincides with Orange Shirt Day and goes far beyond simply wearing orange in solidarity - it is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”.

Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) encourages everyone to look for an event in your area and "step forward as an active witness to ensure, through thorough and honest education, that this never happens again." 

TIABC encourages all British Columbians to wear orange on September 30th and honour the thousands of survivors of residential schools.

By taking these steps, we can all contribute to understanding, healing, and a more equitable relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
Postcards from BC 📬

Wish you were here from Kat Craats, Marketing Manager for Wildplay Element Parks, in Squamish! 🌲🧗‍♀️
At a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade breakfast meeting, TIABC CEO Walt Judas met up with Rocky Mountaineer President & CEO Tristan Armstrong, as well as VIA Rail President & CEO Mario Peloquin who outlined his railway's 2030 strategy aimed at increasing passenger rail service across Canada. 

Within the next five years, VIA Rail will update much of its fleet with new equipment to replace railcars that are up to 77 years old.

While the federal government has invested some $3 billion in VIA Rail over the past five years, it pales in comparison to Europe's $87 billion and $69 billion the United States is investing in rail service and infrastructure in the coming years.

VIA Rail onboards and delivers a combined 30,000 passengers annually in British Columbia with targets to increase the numbers, particularly as new railcars come into service.
BC TIC 2025 Sponsorship Opportunities

Our sponsors are critical to what makes the BC Tourism Industry Conference a consistent success. Aside from helping to offset the costs of staging this event, sponsors deliver benefits to delegates that help grow their businesses, as well as BC’s visitor economy as a whole.

If your company is keen to connect with tourism leaders and stakeholders throughout British Columbia and Canada, we encourage you to partner with us for the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference.

If you have a unique sponsorship idea that you would like to explore, please contact us. We offer the flexibility to customize packages to meet your unique business objectives. Packages are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Vancouver.

Contact us at: info@bctourismconference.ca
2024 TIABC Election Toolkit 

Just in time for the 2024 provincial election campaign that is about to begin, TIABC has produced a valuable toolkit for your use. The toolkit provides a wealth of resources to better inform you of the current political landscape, what the implications for tourism may be, and how to engage with politicians and candidates.

The election toolkit also addresses the value of tourism to British Columbia and informs on what the tourism and hospitality priorities are. 

The comprehensive toolkit expands on these areas by providing recommended questions to ask candidates, for example: "How does your party view tourism as an industry and government priority relative to other sectors of British Columbia’s economy?"

Please download the 2024 TIABC Election Toolkit below, share it with your members and your stakeholders, educate on the value of tourism and inform candidates on today's issues facing our sector. Feel free to send TIABC additional questions that can be added.

Download the toolkit through link in bio! 👆
Postcards from BC 📬 

Wish you were here from Joe Baker, Dean of Okanagan College School of Business, at Okanagan Stables in Lake Country.