After nearly 10 years at the helm of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis, executive director John Samms is stepping down.
While he will no longer be in charge, Samms has been named the new director of sales for the destination marketing organization.
Andrew Nickerson, vice-chair of the TCK board, said the change is exciting news as the organization is looking to grow and move forward.
“From a board perspective, this is almost the best-case scenario,” Nickerson said. “We know where we want to be in five years time and we need the resources to get there.”
He said the move will allow Samms to continue what he is passionate about – selling the area and its tourism opportunities.
In November, TCK began advertising for two new positions, director of sales and membership services manager.
Up until then, it had operated with two full-time staff, and Nickerson said after a summer strategic planning session the decision was made to change the staffing structure.
He said after careful consideration Samms decided the role of director of sales suited his skills and at the same time Jen Lowery was hired in the role of member services manager.
“(Samms) has taken the organization and developed a real presence in the international market… he has put Canmore on the map,” Nickerson said. “And that gives us the opportunity to bring someone in who is a specialist in leading an organization like this.”
Currently, TCK’s board is searching to hire a new president with the new title reflecting the anticipated growth of the organization within the board’s strategic plan.
Lowery, a Canmore resident with a background in hospitality management and teaching, is charged with engaging and expanding the organization’s membership as well as managing the downtown visitor information centre.
“The TCK board has spent much of the last year evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the organization relative to others in Alberta and B.C. and one of the biggest areas of opportunity identified is engagement and growth of membership,” said board chair Dan DeSantis.
Currently, the marketing group has 180 members out of a total 1,200 local businesses registered in Canmore.
Nickerson said TCK was able to double its staff to four due to the support of its stakeholder organizations.
That includes the local Destination Marketing Fund, which put $200,000 in 2010 towards TCK’s annual budget. The DMF collects a three per cent charge on rooms from hotels that are voluntarily part of that group.
