The first general manager of Events Whistler is moving on after
less than one year at the helm of the organization.
Michele Comeau Thompson of Tourism Whistler confirmed this week
that Greg Albrecht’s one-year contract is not being renewed. The decision she
said was amicable.
The board of Events Whistler, which is equally funded by
Tourism Whistler, Whistler-Blackcomb and the Resort Municipality of Whistler,
is now reviewing the position.
“The board is looking at the options at this point,” said
Comeau Thompson.
Albrecht was brought onboard mid-April 2006 after Events
Whistler morphed from Whistler Events Bureau. He came to Whistler with 14 years
of experience in event management, including running his own company, Barque
Communications.
Events Whistler was created to be a facilitator of third party
events, as well as producing events driven by the resort community, such as the
Crankworx bike festival. Its goal is to drive room nights to local hotels as
well as facilitate event producers looking to Whistler.
“The idea is to really look at incremental events and bringing
more people to Whistler,” said Comeau Thompson.
One of the success stories in the past year is the NBC curling
event, which took place at the Meadow Park Sports Centre in November.
John Rae, of the RMOW, said the board is looking at its human
resources requirements and possibly tweaking the general manager position.
In addition to Rae, the Events Whistler board is made up of Rob
McSkimming from Whistler-Blackcomb and Arlene Schieven of Tourism Whistler.
Its budget is $150,000 shared equally by the three partners.
