viaSport – viaSport announces four new Board members

Vancouver, B.C. –  Now in its fifth year, viaSport British Columbia is continuing to deliver on its mandate to increase awareness, opportunity and participation in sport across the province – at every stage of life and in every community. As part of furthering this strategy, viaSport is proud to announce the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors. The combined knowledge, experience and provincial perspective of the full Board will help the viaSport team achieve their vision of an active, healthy British Columbia where sport inspires a field of possibilities for all.

Trisha Davison is the Director of Parks & Recreation for the City of Trail and has been a professional in municipal recreation service delivery for over 20 years. She is known for taking a holistic approach to municipal recreation service delivery through the recognition of the role of local governments while nurturing the unique needs of the community she serves. Over the years, Trisha has been involved in facilitating many large sporting events through her role in municipal government, including various provincial championships and the 2011 BC Seniors Games. She is currently serving her second term on the British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) Board and is a Board Director of the Greater Trail KidSport committee.

Jon Festinger, Q.C. is a Vancouver-based lawyer, strategic advisor and educator practicing law in digital media, creative freedoms as well as entertainment, communication and sport matters. He brings a wealth of experience, having held leadership positions with various organizations including Chair of Ronald McDonald House British Columbia, Director of the eatART Foundation, Director of City Opera Vancouver, and Director of the Vancouver Board of Trade. Jon is also an educator as he has taught media, entertainment, communications and corporate law topics for almost three decades. Currently, he is a Professor of Professional Practice at Simon Fraser University, a faculty member at the Centre for Digital Media, an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia as well as Sessional Faculty at the Faculty of Law, Thompson Rivers University.

Jennifer Heil is the most decorated female skier in Canadian history, having achieved both gold and silver Olympic medals in freestyle mogul skiing. Complementing her Olympic success, Jennifer is also a four time World Champion and five time overall World Cup Champion. Although no longer a competitive athlete, Jennifer has been and continues to be involved with a variety of charitable initiatives. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, she launched and successfully completed a challenge to raise $1,000,000 for girls’ education as part of the “Because I am a Girl” campaign. Jennifer is currently the Co-Founder and Manager of B2ten, a privately funded charity utilizing business-based principles alongside Active for Life to fund and develop elite Canadian athletes wishing to attain a podium finish at the Olympics.

Rick Ramsbottom is a leading Canadian sponsorship and marketing executive.  Over the past 20 years, he has worked in professional sports with the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Whitecaps, as well as on major nation-building events including the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  Rick was also the Vice President, Sponsorship Sales and Service for the highly successful Toronto 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. In this role, he was responsible for all corporate partnerships and was the leader for the record-setting sponsorship program that delivered $135M in revenue – over three times any previous Pan American Games.  Rick is currently a sponsorship marketing consultant based in Vancouver. 

viaSport also expresses its gratitude to Lauren Woolstencroft who has recently resigned after four years of service as Board Director at viaSport.

“We are very pleased to welcome Trisha, Jon, Jennifer and Rick to our Board of Directors,” said Caley Denton, viaSport’s Board Chair. “Their unique knowledge, expertise and vision for the sport sector in B.C. will strengthen viaSport’s ability to champion positive change so that more British Columbians thrive through sport and physical activity.”

For more information on viaSport’s Board, please visit www.viasport.ca/about-us/board-directors.
 

About viaSport British Columbia:
viaSport British Columbia is a not-for-profit organization created by the Provincial Government in 2011 as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Our mandate is to increase awareness, opportunity and participation in sport across the province – at every stage of life and in every community. By leading the province’s sport sector in building a stronger, more effective system, we will bring more families to the field of play, more fans into the stands, more athletes to the podium, and more sports events to the province. Learn more at viasport.ca

Media Contact:
Michelle Tice
Director, Communications & Engagement, viaSport
778.655.1774
michellet@viasport.ca