The Greater Victoria Spirit Committee Society

The Greater Victoria Spirit Committee Society formed in 2003 as a Spirit of BC Community Committee and registered as a society in early 2009. The "Spirit Committee" as we're commonly known is proud to provide leadership and support to the community of Greater Victoria to promote community innovation, pride and excellence, and to create excitement, engage a broad spectrum from the community, and take advantage of opportunities associated with the 2010 Winter Games.

Our committee is made up of community leaders in civic affairs, recreation, education, arts, culture, media, and business. We are excited about being involved in presenting a wide range of memorable events and activities in our region that contribute to the economy, culture, community spirit and civic pride of our region. These hardworking individuals contribute their time voluntarily to help make Greater Victoria a more 'spirited' place to live.

Past activities of the Spirit Committee include producing "Spirit in the Sky" - the Snowbirds' visit to Victoria in September 2008, producing "Living Colours - A Spirit Spectacular" at the Victoria Conference Centre in February 2009, as well hosting a series of speaking engagements with RBC and 2010 Legacies Now, contributing to BC150 events and celebrations and creating the successful bid package to the Vancouver Organizing Committee for Victoria to host the launch of the Olympic Torch Relay. The Spirit Committee has assembled an Olympic Torch Relay Task Force, which is responsible for working with VANOC the planning and execution of the relay and the Community Celebration on October 30.

Board Members
Alan Lowe, Chair (former Mayor City of Victoria, Alan Lowe Architect, Inc)
Hugh MacDonald, Vice Chair (SportHost)
Bruce Carter, Secretary (Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce)
Frank Bourree, Treasurer (Chemistry Consulting)
Pauline Rafferty (RBCM)
Paul Servos (Greater Victoria Harbour Authority)
Val Green (Volunteer Victoria)
Valerie Kuehne (University of Victoria)
David Sovka (Camosun College)
Peter Kupiak (Save-on-Foods Memorial Arena)
Cindy O'Regan (City of Victoria)
Jeff Day (City of Victoria)
Rob Phillips (District of Saanich)
Lorna Curtis (District of Oak Bay)
Lynn Hunter (City of Victoria council)
Helen Welch (Tourism Victoria)
Kristine George (Tourism Victoria)
Roger Skillings (Chamber of Commerce)
Kyle McLellan (Altitude Youth - UVIC)
Chris Wright (Altitude Youth - Oak Bay Secondary)
Denis Johnston (Provincial Capital Commission)
Patrick Duncan (School District 61)

Olympic Torch Relay Task Force Lead Profiles

ALAN LOWE Task Force Chair
Alan Lowe became the 50th Mayor of Victoria when he was elected in 1999, and was re-elected twice. Mayor Lowe was the youngest person to hold this position when first elected and was the longest serving Mayor in the City of Victoria's history. Throughout his mandate, he was a champion for greater regional cooperation, a healthy downtown core and economic development opportunities for the City. Alan has been involved in raising sponsorships to build Canada Day celebrations in the province's capital city, has played a key role in organizing Nelly Furtado Day and the Steve Nash Assist Day. Alan Lowe is a recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and was recognized as one of the top 100 influential Chinese Canadians by the Vancouver Sun in 2006.

HUGH MACDONALD Task Force Co-chair (SportHost Victoria)
Hugh is Executive Director of SportHost Victoria. SportHost is a collection of key sport and tourism industry leaders located in the Greater Victoria area. Major International events brought to Victoria have included the World Cup Soccer U-20 Zone qualifying matches, the Women's U-19 Soccer World Cup, the World Military Sailing Championships, the 2005 World Curling Championship, the World Cup of Track Cycling, the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the first World Martial Arts Games, the 2007 U 20 World Cup of Soccer and the 2007 World BMX Cycling Championships. Hugh has been co-chair of the Spirit of BC Committee since 2004.

ALICE BACON Spirit Coordinator (City of Victoria)
Alice brings an extensive background in special events and communications to her role as Spirit Coordinator. Prior to joining the city as Spirit Coordinator, Alice spent nine years as producer of the hugely popular and successful Luminara Lantern Festival in Beacon Hill Park. Alice has conceived, produced and managed large-scale events for a wide range of clients in the corporate and non-profit realm, including the Inter-Cultural Association, the City of Victoria, the Downtown Victoria Business Association, Pacific Opera Victoria, Belfry Theatre, Cadillac Fairview Corporation and many others. She brings to her role eighteen years of practical experience in event management, cultural administration, communications and media relations experience.

FRANK BOURREE Concessions & Marketing Chair (Chemistry Consulting)
Frank Bourree (CMC, FCSI) is the CEO and a Principal with Chemistry Consulting Group Inc. Until June of 2006, Frank was a Partner and National Tourism Consulting Director for Grant Thornton LLP Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants for 12 years and held the position of National Tourism Consulting Director. He has over 30 years of personal and professional experience in the tourism and hospitality industry and is widely recognized as an expert advisor to the accommodation and Tourism sectors. Frank has sat on the Board of Directors of Tourism BC ,Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Victoria, The Victoria DMC, Chaired Tourism B.C.'s 2010 committee and is the President of Community Living Victoria. In December 2007 Chemistry Consulting group won Best Places to Work From BC Business magazine (#1 in B.C. for companies under 100 employees).

DAVID CALDER Volunteer Chair (Olympic Rower, Silver Medalist)
The Olympic Torch Relay task force is thrilled to have David Calder as our chair of volunteers. After competing at three Olympic Games - winning a silver medal this past summer in Beijing - David stumbled upon a career in motivational speaking. David graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, but his focus now is with the parallels that exist between the sporting and corporate worlds. David is currently working with large corporations and government agencies that are keen to hear his message around breaking down existing barriers that stand in the way of accomplishing long-term targets. David does this by encouraging individuals to set and meet short term goals through the telling of his Olympic story. David also has a strong belief in supporting youth in our communities. David has been involved with a community-based rowing program for youth-at-risk since 2000, and is now the National Spokesperson for Dynamic Opportunities For Youth. David's message to elementary aged students is to dream wild dreams - and then back those dreams up with smaller goals, healthy choices and a strong support network. David's message to middle and high school aged students is of perseverance, focus and work ethic. David is proud to say that his Olympic Medal has been held by well over 3,000 school aged kids.

BILL EISENHAUER Media and Communications Co-chair (Good Relations PR)
With an extensive and varied background in the communications industry, Bill has been providing strategic counsel to clients in the tourism, Aboriginal, education and sport sectors for the past 15 years. Bill brings a comprehensive approach to his work in planning, issues management, media relations, special events and promotions. Bill started Good Relations Inc. in 2007 following five years as a partner in Tartan Public Relations, an award-winning agency based in Victoria. Bill has worked for many years with cultural, Aboriginal and tourism organizations, including the Royal BC Museum, the Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C., Tourism British Columbia, Black Ball Ferry Line, the Osoyoos Indian Band, and others. Bill has been named a Vancouver Island Public Relations Professional of the Year and is a recipient of the Air Canada Award for Public Relations Education. He is committed to giving back to his community and currently serves on the boards of the Victoria Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation and the Queenswood Montessori Society. Bill holds a Bachelor of Public Relations degree from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.

KRISTINE GEORGE Media and Communications Co-chair (Tourism Victoria)
Kristine George works for Tourism Victoria and has been Director, Niche Market Development & 2010 since October 2008. This role will identify opportunities for market development specifically in the areas of 2010, sport tourism, cruise and arts & culture. Before taking on this newly created role, she was in the organization's Travel Media Relations department for seven years forming relationships with Canadian and International media. Kristine is keen to leverage media relations and communication opportunities that will showcase the destination to the TV viewers of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

DIANE LLOYD Fundraising Chair (Royal BC Museum)
Diane Lloyd joined the RBCM executive team as Director of Development in 2007 after seven years as the University of Victoria's Manager of Corporate Relations. At UVIC, Diane implemented a strategic alliances program that brought the corporate sector, the university and the wider community together in partnerships that leveraged $12 million for the university. She won a best practices award for this success. Diane previously lived in Winnipeg, where she was Executive Director of the Manitoba Games and Sponsorship Manager for the 1999 Pan-American Games.

KELLY MANN Liaisons and Protocol Co-Chair (BC Games Society)
As an Event Manager, Kelly has worked with volunteers in 15 communities to plan and implement BC Games. He has worked co-operatively with provincial sport organizations to create technical packages for many of those Games. Kelly has a firm belief in the philosophy of lead the leaders wherein volunteers are empowered to give their creativity, enthusiasm and hard work to stage the BC Games. In the role of President and CEO, he recognizes the need to develop strategic alliances with others in the provincial and national sport systems in order to continue/expand quality experiences and opportunities for athletes, coaches, officials, parents, and volunteers.

COLIN WATSON Security Chair (VicPD)
Colin Watson is a sergeant with the Victoria Police Department's Operation Planning Section and the police liaison to the Victoria Special events technical committee. He brings his expertise in safety, security and crowd management to the OTR task force.

ROGER SKILLINGS Liaisons and Protocol Co-Chair (Canadian Sport Centre Pacific)
Roger Skillings is the CEO of the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific (CSC Pacific), operating within BC through eight PacificSport Centres, and resides in Victoria. He is a former National Jr. Tennis Champion and was a member of the national team 1968-1970. He joined the CSC Pacific after leaving the provincial sports scene where he worked as President and CEO of the BC Games Society.

TNT PRODUCTIONS Celebration Producers
For the past ten years, TNT Productions has been developing and supporting some of the most prominent arts and entertainment events in North America: from action sports classics like the Winter and Summer X Games and the FIS World Snowboard Championships to large-scale festivals and community events like the ICA FolkFest in Victoria, BC and the BC Millennium Celebrations. In 2006, they channeled their entrepreneurial spirit into the launch of transmission, a critically acclaimed annual international music conference and industry showcase that they developed from start to finish. With CEO Tyl van Toorn and Artistic Producer Tracy Summers at the helm, TNT employs highly skilled full-time employees and contractors to deliver a wide-range of professional services, including comprehensive event management; planning and development; human resources and volunteer coordination; artistic programming and talent buying; fundraising and sponsorship; marketing and publicity; production management and site design.

Olympic Torch Relay Task Force members:
Regional Route Coordinator: Sarah Mulhall, VANOC
OTR Sponsor: Shelley Eaves, RBC Community Relations Manager
OTR Sponsor: Wayne Penny, Coke, Regional Sales Executive
City Special Events Liaison: Cindy O'Regan, City of Victoria Manager of Facilities and Operations
City Special Events Liaison: Jeff Day, City of Victoria Community Recreation Coordinator
Fundraising Committee member: Peter Kupiak, Save On Foods Memorial Arena
Host First Nations: Chief Robert Sam, Songhees Nation Chief Host First Nations: Chief Andy Thomas, Esquimalt Nation Hereditary Chief
Francophone Liaison: Angelina Thiellman, Francophone Society of Greater Victoria
2010 Legacies Now: Brian Dolsen, 2010 Legacies Now