The village of Burns Lake has made a swift change to its tourism coordinator position within mere months.
In January this year, the village hired Charleen Tomlinson as the new tourism coordinator for its Visitor Information Centre (VIC). However, last week, the village told Lakes District News that “Meghan Olson has been hired as the Tourism Coordinator and Ms. Tomlinson is no longer with the Village.”
The village had received 29 applications for the position of tourism coordinator of which they interviewed six candidates, two of whom were Burns Lake residents. Tomlinson was finally selected and introduced to the village in a January council meeting. Olson has now replaced Tomlinson and no cause was provided by the village for this sudden change.
Olson, who has lived all her life in Burns Lake, will be a familiar name and face for many at the VIC. after graduating from Lakes District Secondary School, Olson worked as a tourism counselor at the Burns Lake VIC, then managed by the Burns Lake and District Chamber of Commerce.
“That position was why I decided to make tourism my field of study at University,” she said, “I have worked at the Burns Lake VIC as a summer student for two years in 2018 and 2020 and I am currently in my third going on final year at Thompson Rivers University for my Tourism Management Diploma.”
Olson has also worked at various locations in the community, all within hospitality and customer service. She was a summer student for the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN) in 2019, worked at the Beaver Point Resort in 2019 and in park maintenance with the Lakes District Outdoor Recreation Society in 2020.
“Being offered the opportunity to work as tourism coordinator for the Village of Burns Lake is an exciting milestone in my professional career. I look forward most to be working with members of the community and their businesses on developing more plans for our tourism and hospitality sectors,” she said.
Olson also said that she will be hiring new students this summer.
“I look forward to welcoming new and returning guests into our Visitor Centre once again!” she said.
Lorie Watson, the economic development officer will be heading up the Tourism Team. Currently, the village staff is in the process of compiling the applications they have received for the tourism committee and a detailed report will be presented to the council.
Priyanka Ketkar
Multimedia journalist
@PriyankaKetkar
priyanka.ketkar@ldnews.net
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