It didn’t take long for Doug Ross to find something involving recreation.
The longtime, newly retired director of recreation services for the City of Vernon has been named to board of directors of the B.C. Games Society.
Ross was appointed to the board Monday, July 10, along with marketing and operations executive Lisa Craik (Maple Ridge), philanthropic solutions consultant Sue Griffin (Vancouver), and fundraiser Mindy Stroet (Prince George), with each set to bring their expertise to the organization.
Ross’ 40-year career in recreation with Vernon included 23 years as a recreation programmer, seven years as the manager of recreation services and 10 years in the director’s role.
He has been involved with numerous games, both submitting bids and acting as the liaison for the city for the 2012 Greater Vernon B.C. Winter Games, the 2017 Greater Vernon 55+ Games, the 2019 Greater Vernon B.C. Special Olympics Winter Games and the 2023 Greater Vernon B.C. Winter Games.
Ross is a lifelong weekend warrior and volunteer having coached both soccer and cross-country skiing as well as serving as the volunteer Jack Rabbit coordinator and board member for the Sovereign Lake Nordic Club for a number of years.
“I believe that sport provides youth with many positive life skills,” said Ross, who has also been on the committee for Greater Vernon KidSport for more than 20 years. He’s recently transitioned to a new part-time role with Vernon as the project program manager for the Vernon Active Living Centre at Kin Race Track.
The board is also welcoming new leadership, as marketing consultant Niki Remesz (Kamloops) will be taking over the role of chair from Jamey Paterson (Langley) with the expiration of his term. Paterson had served as chair of the board of directors since 2017. Also departing from the board after successful terms are Jim Martin (Prince George) and Michelle Webster (Kelowna).
The four new members of the board are joined by current board members Charlie Bruce (Kamloops), Kylah Bryde (Fort St. John), Francis Cheung (Langley), Chris Densmore (Nanaimo), Wayne Naka (Nelson), Veronica Planella (Victoria), Pamela Rai (Nanaimo), and Christine Ulmer (Kelowna).
“The B.C. Games Society board of directors is in excellent hands with Niki’s leadership and the appointment of our new board members,” said society president and CEO Alison Noble. “Our staff is fortunate to be able to draw on the expertise of this multi-talented and diverse set of voices to be able to set the direction for our organization and contribute to the growth of participants, volunteers, and communities.”
The B.C. Games Society is the leadership organization that guides the B.C. Winter and B.C. Summer Games, British Columbia’s biennial celebration of youth sport and community, and leads the Team B.C. program at the Canada Games. The BC Games Society board is appointed by the Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport and is responsible for setting policy and direction to ensure the objectives of the society are met.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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