Join us June 18 & 19 for the annual Community Economic Development Forum at Red Mountain Resort in Rossland, BC. This event includes presentations by tourism experts, Entrepreneurs, sharing of collaborative tourism marketing initiatives from throughout the Kootenays and Boundary Region, a tour of the Lower Columbia and finishes with a unique way to celebrate our uniqueness!
In keeping with the Tourism theme, we ask all attendees to bring a small tourism-related gift or souvenir from your region to exchange with another participant during the opening ice breaker session. This should be something that showcases your community and it’s many different tourist attractions, and hopefully entice a new visitor or two. Some examples could be tickets to your local festival or your home team’s sporting event, coupons to your museum or other local attractions, or samples of locally made chocolate or wine.
The afternoon will consist of presentations by local experts Deanne Steven of Tourism Rossland on ‘Funneling Tourism dollars into our economy’ and by Andrew Zwicker of AZ Creative on ‘You Can Do that Here – Making your job fit your lifestyle’. Next on the agenda is a tour of the Lower Columbia Region. Beginning at Red Mountain, the tour will continue throughout Rossland, stopping at the Redstone Golf Course for a presentation by the Course Manager, Cary Fisher. From there, the tour will continue throughout Trail to view the murals and downtown revitalization, ultimately leading to the enchanting Columbia Gardens Winery. After drinks and appetizers at Columbia Gardens, the bus is scheduled to head back to Red Mountain to end the evening with a networking social.
Friday, June 19 starts with the ‘Trends in Travel and Tourism’ focusing on the emotive drivers and outcomes; featuring guest speaker Ingrid Jarrett, GM, VP Business Dev. of Watermark Beach Resort, President of the BC Hotel Association and Past Chair of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA). Guest speaker Rebeckah Hornung of White Water Resort will follow up with a presentation on the benefits of regional collaboration and how White Water Resort makes it work! Returning to the podium, Ingrid Jarrett will partner with Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, to speak on creating an industry led regional tourism strategy, in turn creating jobs and supporting community development. They will also address adhering to the underlying principles of economic, environmental, social and cultural sustainability. After a lunch networking break, there will be a round table workshop on brainstorming your community’s uniqueness! Remember, it’s not enough to say your community is unique because of lifestyle, because let’s face it, all our communities have an incredible lifestyle.
The 2015 Community Economic Development Forum will conclude with a fun and interactive tourism-related activity celebrating our uniqueness with Entrepreneur and Community Futures Manager, Don Freschi!
We request all practitioners bring examples of successful collaborative initiatives – be prepared to speak to them, there will be prizes!
Thursday, June 18, 12:30pm – 9:30pm
• Set up showcase of collaborative initiatives
• Icebreaker and introductions
• Presentation by Deanne Steven, Tourism Rossland
• Presentation by Andrew Zwicker, AZ Creative
• Lower Columbia Regional Tour
• Snacks and tour of Columbia Gardens Winery
• Networking Social at Red Mountain
Friday, June 19, 8:00am – 2:00pm
• Continental Breakfast
• Guest Speaker: Ingrid Jarrett, Watermark Beach Resort
• Guest Speaker: Rebeckah Hornung, White Water Resort
• Guest Speaker: Glenn Mandziuk, TOTA
• Lunch and Networking Opportunities
• Round Table Workshop
• Presentation by Don Freschi, Community Futures
For more details, see full agenda and registration information at www.lcic.ca/ced.
Contact the LCIC office at 250.364.6461 or kjackson@lcic.ca for any further information.