On Tuesday, May 1st Go East Regional Tourism Organization held its Annual General Meeting (AGM). This meeting was held at the Ramada Hotel in Wainwright, Alberta with 42 people in attendance for a very informative afternoon with a variety of speakers this year. Joining us with a presentation was Bodo Archaeology Society and Ribstone Creek Brewery, as well as a few words from Wainwright Stampede Association. This year Go East said farewell to one of its founding members Dave Humphries. Go East is appreciative for all the time and effort that Dave has put in throughout the years. Farewell Dave!
Other board changes include the addition of Diane Jenkinson, M.D. of Bonnyville; and Marielle Brodziak, Town of Vegreville (pending Council approval). We look forward to welcoming them to our existing Board of Directors who remained on the board for 2018.
(Pictured above left to right: Doug Lefsrud, Cheryl Livingstone, Yvonne Brown, Heather Atkinson, Kevin Kisilevich, Diane Jenkinson, Jennifer Filip, Donna Jenson, Marielle Brodziak, Rick Barr)
Kevin Kisilevich provided attendees with a presentation and slides outlining a summary of the past years work, 2018 activities, and important marketing stats. This part of the meeting gave our members a bit of an overview on what membership offered in the past year and what is to come.
(Pictured above: Kevin D. Kisilevich)
Robyn Veneau, Programs Manager, Bodo Archeological Society, provided an informative presentation with slides about what they do at Bodo. Bodo is a member of Go East and an important tourist attraction in the M.D. of Provost as it draws visitors from all over the world. We felt very lucky to have them come out and share this information with us. Robyn encourages all members to come out and visit them to see what Bodo is all about.
(Pictured above: Robyn Veneau)
Marty Shaw, General Manager of Ribstone Creek Brewery, provided an equally informative presentation about Ribstone Creek Brewery. Ribstone Creek Brewery is located in Edgerton, Alberta and is a successful craft brewery in our region. Some of the things explained were how they got started and an overview of how they make craft beer. Marty hopes that by sharing his story about Ribstone with others we can all work together to spread the word and he hopes that everyone will come out to Ribstone Creek Brewery.
(Pictured above: Marty Shaw)
Judy Bethune, Director of Wainwright Stampede Association advised attendees that this year is the 65th Anniversary of the Annual Stampede on June 21-24th. This is the 5th largest professional rodeo in Canada and one of the only few that offer professional chuck wagon races as well. She proves that this is an important draw for tourism to the Wainwright area and encourages everyone to come out and see why it is such a great success year after year.
(Pictured above: Judy Bethune)
If you have any questions regarding the 2018 Go East Regional Tourism AGM or would like slides from the presentations please contact Donna Jenson at (780) 632-7699.