Radium Hot Springs Chamber and Tourism Radium is holding its annual general meeting and elections on Monday October 22^, starting at 11 a.m. at the Radium Resort.

There are 10 candidates vying for the seven directors’ seats available.

The following are biographies of the very passionate individuals who would like to serve you on the board of directors for Tourism Radium and the Radium Chamber of Commerce, as provided by the candidates.

Graham R. Kerslake

Graham and his wife Fern have owned and operated the Village Country Inn and the Fireside Tea Shoppe in Radium Hot Springs since 2008. Visiting the Columbia Valley has been a common occurrence of Graham and Fern’s for over 35 years, starting with camping vacations that included their 3 sons and moving on to regular golf excursions to one of the many valley golf courses.  Prior to purchasing the Village Country Inn, Graham and Fern had bought a condo in Radium Hot Springs to use as a weekend and vacation get-away location.

Graham is an Accredited Appraiser with the Appraisal Institute of Canada as well as a senior member of the International Right of Way Association. With over 35 years of experience in commercial real estate in the Province of Alberta, Graham’s work experience includes working in the corporate environment with large national energy firms through to his role as a Senior Director in the Realty Tax Division with a publicly traded real estate advisory services firm.

In addition to his corporate experience, Graham has had involvement with numerous volunteer and not-for-profit organizations including: President, Tourism Radium Hot Springs Association; Volunteer Firefighter, Radium Hot Springs Fire Department; President, Board of Elders of the Canadian District of the Moravian Church in America; Board of Director, Metropolitan Calgary Foundation (providing subsidized housing for seniors); Training Instructor, Alberta Community Development (delivering Board Governance programs); President, Board of Director and Volunteer, Calgary Crime Stoppers Association;

Conference Chairman, International Right of Way Association Annual Education Seminar for 1100 delegates; Team Leader, Calgary Police Service Volunteers, 1988 Olympic Winter Games; Assistant Leader, Scouts Canada

Leann Laisnez

In 2005 I relocated to Radium Hot Springs to run Meet on Higher Ground Coffee House.  Radium appealed to me as an ideal location for an independent coffee house, I had a keen interest in running my own business and needed a location that would allow me to be creative.  Building and growing a small business has been a great learning experience, far different than my previous career as a Record and Information Manager.  It is a pleasure to serve and work with the residents and visitors of Radium.

Over the past few years I have branched out and become involved in the community.  Three years ago I helped form the Radium Events Committee (REC).  Our goal in creating this committee was to provide locals and visitors with entertainment and activities throughout the year.   I am very proud of our accomplishments as a committee and look forward to many more events in years to come.

I have been on the Tourism Radium and Chamber of Commerce boards of directors for the past year, this has given me a great opportunity to expand my knowledge of the Tourism sector and experience in the activities of being on a board of directors.  My responsibilities on the board have included the role of Vice President as well as chair of the Membership and Events committees. The board and committees are in the infancy stages, which are not without challenges, and through we have made some significant accomplishments.   I look forward to the new and exciting initiatives on the horizon and I would welcome the opportunity to continue on for another term.

Rodney (Rod) Conklin

Hello everyone! My name is Rod Conklin and I have been fortunate enough to serve on the Board of Tourism Radium for this past year. In the process I have worked with a number of hard working dedicated individuals whose goals are to make Radium a busier more vibrant tourist destination.

I have also learned more about our community and the people who live and work here.

I hope that I can continue to work effectively with the Tourism Board and would appreciate your vote of confidence in allowing me to continue for another term.

Kristin McCauley

Hi I’m Kristin McCauley and I own and operate the Crystal Springs Motel.  For the last year I have had the honor to Chair the Finance Committee and serve on the Events and Accommodators Committees.  Along with the typical responsibilities of the treasurer position, it was my goal last term to provide additional financial information to the membership such as the comparison of two per cent funds collected since the start of the ARHT/MRDT in 2007 and a comprehensive annual report.  I am eager for the opportunity to serve for the next term as I think it’s going to be an exciting time for Radium with a new branding strategy, the opening of Canfor Mill and the amazing new team in the office with the addition of Courtney (Marketing) and Kara (Events).  I feel that the next term will be instrumental in making Radium shine and stand out as the destination for visitors.  I have a vision of Radium as a community of ‘No Vacancy’.  I want to see our main street retail spaces filled, restaurants and motels operating at capacity, a strong real estate market and tourists enjoying all of the great activities our area has to offer.  I thank you in advance for your consideration and I would feel privileged to work on behalf of Tourism Radium and the Radium Chamber for another term.

Douglas McIntosh

Douglas has been involved in the Tourism Industry in the Windermere Valley and other areas for approximately 35 years starting with Radium Hot Springs Lodge and the building and operation of Radium Hot Springs Resort and its Best Western Franchise.
Currently Douglas is the director and secretary treasurer of Tourism Rockies, the owner of a restaurant and investor in pubs in the Windermere Valley.
Douglas is managing director of Lake Windermere Pointe which is being constructed at the north end of lake Windermere a marina, condominiums, and commercial development space.
His credentials in the tourism industry include:
Director and Secretary/ Treasurer, Kootenay Rockies
Managing Director Lake Windermere Pointe
Director Invermere Panorama DMO Invermere Panorama
Past President, The Radium Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce
Past Chairman, East Kootenay Tourist Committee
Elected Founded President
British Columbia Rocky Mountain Visitor Association
Past President
Ski Marketing Advisory Council of British Columbia
Past President, Tourist Industry Association of British Columbia
Past Director Provincial Tourist Advisory Council
Past President B.C.R.M.V.A. and Director.

Nazir Rahemtulla

Nazir is a new resident to Radium Hot Springs and prior to that was a resident of Alberta for 39 years.  Three years ago he attempted to take over management of the Park Inn but was not successful; this time he is now the manager and part owner of Park Inn and is looking forward to making a contribution to the community. He has witnessed sweeping changes in the economic cycles in the province, and feels the community needs to position itself for continued uncertainty in light of the global economic conditions.

He has actively volunteered services for the community, right from his students’ day. He graduated from The University of Lethbridge with a degree in Management, and while at university, he was on the executive committee of the Young Liberals and VP Finance with Students Union. He has also interned as Assistant to the Minister Senator Bud Olson.

Nazir has been closely working for the betterment of the society for decades; he volunteered as a fitness instructor for 18 years at the YMCA and is currently a volunteer Yoga instructor at a community place of worship.

He knows that his expertise, experience and a liberal outlook will help in heralding the change Radium Hot Springs has been awaiting for decades.

He is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Fraud Examiner. He served on the CFA Calgary Board, with the responsibility for advocacy and initiating a newsletter. Having served on the Global Financial Reporting Committee (CFA Society), he then worked at the CFA Institute in Advocacy being responsible for global security markets.

He has worked at the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) for seven years and has been an expert witness on securities matters in Court of Queen’s Bench, for the FBI in the USA and before the Board of the ASC.

Prior to the University of Lethbridge, Nazir initiated Tourism Accommodation and Restaurant Association at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Has diplomas’ in Hotel and Restaurant from SAIT and Hotel and Tourism from Ryerson University. He was involved in operating a family restaurant business for seven years.

He knows that his rich experience in finance, education, health care, care for seniors, etc. will stand him in good stead to serve the community through commitment towards continued lobbying of the government for the interests of Radium to creating an environment to attract new investment.

Scott Sauermann

Scott Sauermann attended Medicine Hat College and majored in Business Marketing. Upon finishing at Medicine Hat College in 2002, Scott returned to Canmore where he began his career in real estate.  In 2006, after four years of being a realtor in Canmore, Scott was given a wonderful opportunity with Schickedanz West to bring his skills in marketing new home and land sales to the Columbia Valley.

Since his arrival in 2006, Scott has considered the Columbia Valley home.  He was a board member with the Chamber of Commerce in Radium for four years before the transition to Tourism Radium at which time he chose not to run do to personal reasons. However, Scott has stayed actively involved in the community and looks forward to the possibility of returning to the board of directors.

He is currently a sales representative with Royal LePage Rockies West Realty.

Arnie Wassing

Owner of Radium Bighorn Gift and Souvenir with Angie Matchett. Also, we are the managers of Johnston Canyon Resort gift shop, Banff Canada. Lived in and around Radium since 1980. Banff, Calgary and now back living in Radium. I did spend three years in Ontario.
Worked for Canadian Souvenir Sales for 10 years, Radium Hot Springs. Sales and marketing, Alberta and B.C.
I have also worked 16 years for PCF Souvenirs, Markham Ontario until current, just finished. This included working all of Canada’s tourist areas coast to coast, both in sales and marketing, worked into Canadian Sales Manager developing new souvenir programs for both major resorts and chain stores. CN Tower, Niagara Falls, Calgary Stampede, Fairmont Resorts, former Canadian Pacific Resorts, BC Ferries, Butchart Gardens, Banff Gondola, all Brewster locations plus many other Resorts. Chains included Wal Mart, Hudson News, all airport locations, Chapters, and several other chains at both head office and at their store level.
Twenty six years in and around the tourist market. I look forward to the next 25 years plus in the tourism business.

Jim Spiers

My wife Pam and I and our children, Jodie and Matthew, are originally from England. In 1991 we moved to Manitoba and in 1995 to Radium. Since arriving here Pam and I have been owners and operators of The Piccadilly Motel and Condos and are currently the second longest serving accommodator in Radium. I was the producer of the Sounds Over Rockies music concert for 10 years and for the past year I have served on the Board of Directors for Tourism Radium. During this term on the board I was given the responsibility of chairing the Marketing Committee.

If elected again to the Tourism Board I will be there to serve the membership by ensuring that we remain focused on the following:

Retaining  and maintaining our Membership with the Chamber of Commerce and taking advantage of the benefits that that Membership affords;

Develop partnerships Valley wide and beyond that produce results for Radium;

Creating advertising campaigns that have flair and get us noticed;

Seek participation and input from the Membership at every opportunity;

Use funds appropriately with a view to producing results for the membership.

The cost for Oct. 22 lunch is $12 if you are dining; please RSVP back to the chamber (250-347-9331 or [email protected] )and let them know if you are going to enjoy lunch or are attending the meeting to vote.

For more: www.RadiumHotSprings.com

Above photo: Four of the candidates from last year’s executive are running again: Graham Kerslake, Leann Laisnez, Rod Conklin and Jim Spiers. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

---

Article Share

---