Effective today, three of the directors with Tourism Langley – including the chair – have resigned.
The organization’s chair Teri James, as well as treasurer Karen Long, and director Lynn Whitehouse issued their resignations to the board of directors, effective March 8.
“Future board members will have a direct say in how our region is presented in the world,” said James. “It is an opportunity for others to rise to lead the charge.”
Despite the resignations, James said she believes Tourism Langley will continue, and that recent turmoil has served as a “wake up call.”
“People want the organization to stay intact,” James said.
She was personally resigning because, after eight years on the board and 18 weeks of uncertainty, she was “exhausted.”
The organization has been in the midst of uncertainty and controversy since last fall, when the Township of Langley announced it was going to conduct a review of the service and that council was contemplating pulling out to create its own agency.
Last month, the Township came back and announced it would remain connected, but gave a list of demands including voting rights on the board, and increased Township staff involvement in day-to-day operations of Tourism Langley.
Not long after, the board moved to dissolve Tourism Langley, saying Township demands were too invasive. The proposed end to the organization was taken to the membership for a vote last week (March 2), at which time there was insufficient support to dissolve.
After the vote last week, Langley City council made an announcement last Friday. Similar to the Township’s fall revelation, the City said it wanted to review its options and it would consider if going it alone would be wise.
Tourism Langley is run, and partially funded, by both City and Township, as well as taxes collected from Langley hotels.
Langley Township Mayor Jack Froese, like James, believes Tourism Langley can continue.
“It’d be a shame to throw it away and start completely from scratch,” said Froese.
But he said that other boards and agencies have seen changeover in leadership, and Tourism Langley can as well.
“I think it’s definitely going through a bit of a rebuild,” Froese said.
Now, it’s unclear how this latest announcement will impact Tourism Langley, but James had said previously the uncertainty had caused a halt to some long-term programs, all but one staff member was gone, and it would take a a lot to rebuild – even at this point.
In today’s announcement, she said the existing board members expressed their thanks to the businesses and community for its support and engagement during tenure.
“We are exceedingly proud of the work Tourism Langley has accomplished,” James said. “Any success can be attributed to the dedication and hard work that Tourism Langley staff, board and stakeholders have given this community over the past nine years. We look forward to seeing what successes the future may hold for the new board.”
During the past years, the Tourism Langley Association has received national recognition for its efforts, much of which have been a direct result of the contributions from staff, the board, community members, and local business, she added.
The remaining voting directors Gareth Abreo, Melissa Banovich, Jason Froese, Sylvia Jung, and Jeff Leung intend to remain in their respective capacities with Tourism Langley until the upcoming annual general meeting on the books for May, according to today’s statement.
“The last several months have certainly been a trying time for this organization, and Teri, Karen and Lynn went above and beyond what could possibly be expected of those fulfilling volunteer positions,” Abreo said.
“We would like to sincerely thank Teri, Karen and Lynn for their years of service in promoting tourism in the Langleys.”
