The Kelowna Hotel Motel Association has a new board of directors.
The board, elected at the association’s annual general meeting on earlier this month, includes Daniel Bibby of the Grand Okanagan Resort as its new president, as well as two new directors, Edan Fay of the Lake Okanagan Resort and Ben Hechter of the the Super 8 Motel.
They are joined by:
Past president: Rosemary Patterson, Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel and Suites
Returning treasurer: Heather Schaub, Casa Loma Resort
Returning secretary: Kelly Watt, Sandman Hotel and Suites Kelowna
Returning directors at large:
Glen Standen, Okanagan Seasons Resort
Don Culic, Holiday Park Resort
Carla Carlson, Comfort Suites Kelowna
The board consists of eight hotel operators elected by members of association.
It acts as a liaison to facilitate, develop and support the business initiatives affecting the accommodation sector in Kelowna, through the relationships with the city, Tourism Kelowna, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association and other organizations, associations, and institutions involved withthe hotel/motel industry.
In 2011, an initiative to provide educational support through a KHMA bursary program to help subsidize and encourage students enrolled in the hospitality program at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus was created by the association. The implementation, vetting and awarding of the bursary will now be an annual responsibility of the board.
The board says it will also continue its efforts to support, build and integrate the accommodation sector as an integral segment of the business community here, as well as and a significant employer in Kelowna.
