Statement of Purpose:
Support excellence and leadership in tourism facility management.
Vision:
We believe that well managed tourism facilities are a key pillar to providing a safe, welcoming and exceptional visitor experience that will exceed visitors’ expectations. Advancing and supporting the practice of tourism facility management will help develop Vancouver as a world-leading sustainable community and tourism destination.
Mission Statement:
The Vancouver Tourism Facility Managers Association strives to foster a collegial relationship amongst the tourism & hospitality facility managers and their associated service providers. We endeavour to nurture innovation, share best practices, and deepen the collective knowledge of tourism facility managers in Vancouver to maintain thriving and sustainable tourism facilities.
Values Statement:
- A commitment to maintaining a spirit of collegial collaboration and communications. Working together towards common goals, with open and frequent dialog is essential to the success of the association.
- We espouse honesty, forthright ethical practices and environmental responsibility.
- We encourage knowledge sharing and leadership through a shared passion to excel we inspire each other to grow and achieve their goals.
- We support the professional development of our members and partners through innovative educational opportunities and recognition of accomplishments.
Meeting Frequency
The goal is to hold at least one meeting per quarter each year. We commit to make sure all the topics at our presentation meetings are current, relevant and informative for Engineering & Facility Managers, Building Operators and Maintenance Technicians and provide networking opportunities to all our members.
The first Annual General Meeting with a newly elected board took place in the fall of 2016 following a successful pilot year. There will be an Annual General meeting in the Fall of each year. At this meeting, Board position elections (on a bi-annual staggered basis) will be had so as to maintain continuity and institutional memory.
The Organization
The Vancouver Tourism Facility Managers Association is a provincially registered not for profit association created on the 17th June 2015, whose members are directly involved in maintenance, engineering and facility management of tourism & hospitality businesses. We are directors of engineering, chief engineers, facility managers, maintenance & housekeeping managers of tourism organizations. We also have supporting members who provide supply and services to the hospitality industry, such as security, fire protection/prevention, energy management, plumbing, HVAC, electrical supplies and services, interior furnishings and services, construction services, elevating devices, etc. We encourage participation and professional growth through our associate membership category for students and facility professionals not currently working in tourism.
History
The genesis of creating the VTFMA was inspired by the shared experience of the founding board members in other jurisdictions with tourism and hospitality facility engineers and managers associations. The platform for being able to come together to discuss their experiences, share latest news, enhance their knowledge and grow in their specialty was missing in Vancouver. Following a series of meetings and informal conversations the idea of creating an association took hold. The founding board members worked in the following organizations:
- Delta Vancouver Suites
- Four Seasons Vancouver
- Hyatt Regency Vancouver
- Pacific Gateway Hotel at Vancouver Airport
- Tourism Vancouver
- The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver
Founding Board of Directors 2015 (From left to right)
- Joe Weiss – President (Director of Hotel Facilities, Hyatt Regency Vancouver)
- Gwendal Castellan – Board Secretary (Tourism Energy Specialist, Tourism Vancouver)
- Dan Morin – Director of Membership (Director of Engineering, Pacific Gateway Hotel, Vancouver Airport)
- Paul Hemmings – Treasurer/Director of Comm. (Director of Engineering, Delta Vancouver Suites)
- Anthony Lucas – Vice President (Director of Engineering, Westin Bayshore Vancouver)
- Priyan Jayetileke (P.J.) – Director of Events (Director of Engineering, Four Seasons Vancouver)
Current Board of Directors as of 2022
- Dan Morin – President (Director of Engineering, Pacific Gateway Hotel, YVR)
- Gwendal Castellan – Secretary (Sustainable Destination Dev., Tourism Vancouver)
- Paul Hemmings – Treasurer (Director of Engineering, JW Marriott Parq Vancouver)
- Johanne Tsotsos – Membership (Director of Engineering, Westin Bayshore)
- Shawn Mahon – Membership/Events (Owner, Great Heights Building Maintenance)
- Amy Barilla – Events (Business Dev. Manager, FirstOnSite Restoration)
- Vladimir Kostka – Communications (Major Key Accounts Manager, FortisBC)
- Garrett Wiseman – Membership/Events (Director Bus Dev. First District Mechanical)
