The mission for Sunshine Coast Tourism is to build a strong tourism economy on the Sunshine Coast consistent with the values of residents. Sunshine Coast Tourism will:

• Promote the Sunshine Coast destination in targeted markets through a strategic, research-based marketing strategy
• Facilitate the continuing evolution of the destination
• Increase awareness of the value, contribution, and importance of tourism among the government, population, and businesses on the Sunshine Coast.

President: Judy Spears
Judy worked as a Director of Nursing in Vancouver until her retirement in 1999 when she and her husband moved to the Coast and opened Soames Point B&B in their newly built home. Judy has worked on many Boards, most recently as:

• President of Elder College (Cap College in Sechelt)
• Gibsons & District Chamber of Commerce Board for 4 years serving as: Vice President, President, Past President.
• SCBBCOA Board for 4 years: Vice President - 2 years, President - 1 year
• Gibsons Economic Development Board

Vice President - Government & Community Relations: Chris McNaughton
Chris McNaughton is co-chair of Sunshine Coast Tourism, and is also the president of Tourism Powell River. Chris has been active in community development both as a volunteer and in his professional life.  Chris and his wife, Arlette, are completing their new home and B&B in the Regional District north of the City of Powell River.  "I welcome the opportunity to continue to work with a dedicated group of volunteers to build a strong and vibrant Tourism Sector on the Sunshine Coast."  

~ Chair of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership
~ Founding member and past-president of the Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast, Cottage Owners Association
~ Chair of the Dakota Ridge Society
~ Sechelt and District Chamber of Commerce board member
~ Chair of the Sechelt Economic Development Partnership
~ Chair of the Sechelt Marine Access Committee
~ Sunshine Coast Community Economic Development Society board member
~ BC Ferry Community Advisory Committee alternate appointed by the Sechelt Council
~ Sunshine Coast Spirit of BC Committee board member

Vice President - Marketing: Kevin Toth - Rockwater Secret Cove Resort
Kevin is the owner of Rockwater Secret Cove Resort in Halfmoon Bay. He is a member of SKAL International and La Chaine des Rotisseurs. Prior to moving to the Sunshine Coast, he was a 17 year veteran of Fairmont Hotels as General Manager:

• Chateau Whistler
• Jasper Park Lodge
• Hotel Macdonald

Kevin's previous board experience:

• Chair of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership
• Board member of  Vancouver Coast & Mountains
• Board member  of Tourism Whistler
• President of the Jasper Chamber of Commerce
• Chair of Heritage Tourism, Jasper National Park
• President of the Edmonton Hotel Association
• Board member of the Alberta Hotel Association.
• Was chosen to be a member of the Federal Minister's National Round Table of Tourism.

Treasurer: Jack Pope
Jack is a long time resident of the Sunshine Coast, moving here in 1975 with his wife Sheila, to begin a career in teaching.  He is recently retired, after an extensive career as an educator, including teaching and management at both elementary and secondary levels, and curriculum development at the district and provincial levels.

Retirement has offered the time and opportunity to continue working, now for the tourism industry. He is the past-president of the Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast and Cottage Owners Association - one of the largest B&B organizations in western Canada. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Vancouver Coast & Mountains Tourism region, and is a founding director of Sunshine Coast Tourism.

Jack and his wife Sheila live in Sandy Hook, where they operate Coracle Cove Waterfront Bed & Breakfast.


Membership:  Jean Billingsley
After graduating from Gladstone High School in 1963 Jean went to work for a lady who owned a wholesale jewellry business. She taught Jean a lot about running a business and Jean stayed with her for 8 years. She left the work force to raise her 3 children.
During the 12 years of raising her family she was involved in all aspects of community life. She was president of the PTA, a Brownie leader, volunteered for the Mothers March, and also helped her husband in his business.(Langley Esso)
When their youngest child went to school, Jean got a job in Surrey Memorial Hospital and worked there for 21 years in food services and took early retirement in 2004.
She and her husband, Dick, moved to Sechelt in the fall of 2004 and opened Sechelt Inlet B&B - by far the best job she has ever had!


Director: Eagle Walz - Sunshine Coast Trail
R.E. Walz is a founding member of the Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (1992) and the architect of the 180 km long Sunshine Coast Trail. Through PRPAWS he was also instrumental in the establishment of three provincial parks in the Powell River area. Eagle is now promoting the building of huts on the Sunshine Coast Trail. He wrote “The Sunshine Coast Trail” and “Along the Edge of the Salish Sea”, books of hiking trail descriptions in the Powell River area.


Director: Bryce Christie - Sunshine Coast Tours
Bryce's post secondary education was in the Faculty of Recreation at the University of Ottawa. Since then there have been numerous courses, certifications and upgrades, many technical in orientation.   Additionally, he took adult programs at Vancouver Community College to strengthen his business knowledge and skills.  He has worked in tourism related operations in a range of activities and in several geographic areas.  Since 1989 Bryce has lived full time on the Sechelt Peninsula, and is the principal in Sunshine Coast Tours.  During his time here this marine sightseeing operation has developed and grown.   Sunshine Coast Tours is a long term member of local Chambers and relevant tourism associations.  Bryce now looks forward to working with the board of Sunshine Coast Tourism and the promise it brings.

• He has experience in ski areas on three continents
• Worked in boating related positions across Canada and in the Caribbean
• Spent time in the service of a major world exposition (Expo 86).
• He has served on boards of the Sechelt and Pender Harbour Chambers of Commerce
• Was a 10 year member of our local Advisory Planning Commission
• Was involved with the 1990 creation of the Pender Harbour Tourism Association.

Director:  Linda Williams - Coast Cultural Alliance
Linda moved to the Sunshine Coast as a permanent resident in 1994. She comes from a variety of backgrounds including running her own goat dairy for 20 years (the 1st commercial goat dairy in Canada), working in the newspaper industry for 20 years and volunteering at many major events in Abbotsford and Vancouver, and continues in her 18th year organizing volunteers at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. She is a committed advocate for arts and culture, and has been involved in many non-profit organizations on the Sunshine Coast including:

• Chair and webmaster of the Coast Cultural Alliance since 1998
• President of the Sunshine Coast Jazz & Entertainment Society
• Festival director and production manager for the Gibsons Landing Jazz Festival since 1996.
• Representing CCA she was one of the founding members of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership.
• Past Chair of the Steering Committee for the Sunshine Coast Regional Cultural Strategy and continues in a leadership role to move the strategy forward.
• Past member of the CKAY advisory committee
• Current member of the Board of the Sunshine Coast Arts Council.
• Produces the Music in the Landing Series sponsored by the Town of Gibsons, now in it's 6th year.
• Music director and performer in 3 musical groups

Director:  Dale Schweighardt - The Lighthouse Pub
Dale has 27 years of experience in the food and beverage/hospitality industry. His roots are in Saskatchewan where he grew up & spent 6 years in restaurant management before moving to BC in 1988 where he spent 7 years in the Lower Mainland working in the Hotel Industry.  The next stop was Whistler for a 10 year stay where Dale was president of the Whistler Food & Beverage Association for 8 years.  Dale and his family became permanent residents of the Sunshine Coast in the spring of 2005, when he and a partner obtained the Lighthouse Pub and began the re-development of the facility.

• Was on the board of directors for the Dandelion Daycare Society for 2 years
• Spent 3 years as a member of the Whistler Village Enhancement Strategy Committee


• Was on the annual Whistler Father Daughter Dance committee
• Active member of the Halfmoon Bay Volunteer Fire Department
• Coaches girls soccer and occasionally plays in the over 30 men's league

Director:  Janice Gunn - Powell River Council for Arts, Culture & Heritage
Janice comes from a tourism background in Cottage Country in Manitoba where she had her first jobs in a resort area. A move to Powell River 4 years ago has renewed a passion for music, and she aspires to be a jazz singer.

• In Saskatoon she was involved in the Fringe Festival and other events
  
• Also in Saskatoon, she was a board member for the Broadway Business Improvement District, an organization thats focus was on creating interest in the area and promoting economic activity
• She is currently the Business Manager/Treasurer for the Powell River Chorus


• A member of the Powell River Academy Chamber Chorus
• Administrative Assistant for the Powell River Film Festival
• She does some concert promotion in Powell River
• She also works in the Finance Department for the City of Powell River

The Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership (SCTP) and Tourism Powell River joined forces in October 2007, through a Memorandum of Understanding to create Sunshine Coast Tourism. Since that time the Sunshine Coast Tourism Board, which is comprised of representation from the Lower and Upper Sunshine Coast, has been engaged in a number of fundamental activities to launch this new Destination Marketing Organization. Specifically, the Board has been focused on the following:

• Registering the DMO under the BC Society Act,and establishing the governance requirements to guide the Board.
• Finalizing Agreements with Tourism Powell River and Powell River Economic Development Society to provide DMO management and staffing.
• Initiating the procurement of UBCM phase One and Two grants, of which over $120,000 in funding has been secured
• Procurement of  Community Foundations grants from Tourism BC - $50,000 over the next three years
• Agreements with Vancouver Coast Mountains to provide community relations support, media design, placements and fulfillment.
• Collaborating with the five government bodies on the Sunshine Coast to garner support and sustainability initiatives for the DMO.
• Initiation and launch of the Global Media marketing campaign (print & TV) - Fall 2007
• Initiation and launch of the "Romancing the Coast" campaign (print & internet) - Spring 2008

Taking the Next Step

The SCT Board feels it is important that we now bring the stakeholders of the Lower Coast together to enable the Board to receive direction on our activities for the future. As a tourism business, support this new organization by becoming a member of Sunshine Coast Tourism, and take advantage of the many opportunities that membership provides.  For more information on membership, go to Member Information

With the launch of Sunshine Coast Tourism, there is now, after many years of development, an organization for government, associations and individual tourism stakeholders to pool their resources in an effective and coordinated manner to penetrate key target markets with our message, promoting the tremendous tourism experience the Sunshine Coast has to offer.
 
We hope that all businesses on the Lower Sunshine Coast whose bottom line is affected by tourism will join us to begin this important process of guiding Sunshine Coast Tourism as British Columbia's most successful Destination Marketing Organization.  

If you have any questions, please contact us through our Contact Us page for further information about becoming a member of Sunshine Coast Tourism.