Jim Storie is the President, C.E.O. of The Vancouver Trolley Company which he acquired in 1996. At that time the trolley company operated seven months per year, operated 6 trolleys and had 17 employees during peak season. Vancouver Trolley now operates year round with 12 trolleys, two executive limo vans and two shuttle buses, employing over 60 employees in peak season. Growth has been created by establishing excellent relationships with local attractions and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships aimed at assisting all parties in attracting more customers and developing incremental revenue.

Jim was born in the City of Vancouver and raised in Vancouver and Burnaby. He attended Burnaby Central High School and then went on to Simon Fraser University and B.C.I.T. He has recently completed the requirements to attain his Bachelor of Hospitality Management Degree through the Executive Cohort Program at Vancouver Community College.

Jim was a member of the Vancouver Police Department before he changed careers and entered the service industry. He worked for multi-nationals such as Drake International, Ogden Services Corporation and Unicco Facility Services in senior management roles prior to purchasing the Vancouver Trolley Company in 1996.

Mr. Storie, as well as serving as President and C.E.O. of The Vancouver Trolley Company, has been an active participant in industry and community organizations. He has been on the COTA Board for the past five years, becoming Chairman of the Board of Directors in February of 2007. He is the Immediate Past Chair of the Boards of Tourism Vancouver, Action Line Housing and the Seton Villa Society. Mr. Storie formerly sat on the Boards of Vancouver Coast and Mountain Tourism Association, H.R. MacMillan Space Science Centre, The VanDusen Botanical Gardens Association and The B.C. Trucking Association.

Jim lives in Vancouver. He enjoys reading, golfing, and traveling.

David is operator of the Living Forest Ocean Campground. His expertise in the camping business has been generously shared on many occasions at conferences and various meetings. In addition, he has received national certification as a professional campground operator, one of the very few in B.C. to do so.

While David's main business interests are in the accommodations sector, he still operates Bastion City Wildlife Tourism, which he started with his father in 1976. David keeps up to date on activity in the marine tourism sector and is familiar with all the coastline of B.C., having seen firsthand the marine access issues that communities such as Prince Rupert and Bella Coola face. David has a special interest in BC Ferries issues and has long been a proponent of the Gabriola Island to Iona Island ferry crossing to solve fleet aging concerns.

David's first love is the wilderness and is a passionate supporter of our supernatural image and the wilderness tourism sector where he first entered the industry. David believes absolutely that tourism is the future of this province and promotes BC's sustainable tourism product, both here and abroad.

In addition to his appointment to COTA's board, David sits on the board of Tourism Nanaimo. From 1996 David has sat on the board of BCLCA and was president 1999 - 2002. David represented BCLCA nationally on the Campgrounds Campings Canada and sat a number of years on the Highway Service and Attractions Signage Advisory Committee.

As a member of the Osoyoos Indian Band, Brenda graduated as a Registered Nurse specializing in Aboriginal health with a focus on community development, and worked with the Osoyoos Indian Band in the area of community health.

Later, she was the responsible for the development of the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre, including managing Phase 1 of this operation, and playing a key role in the planning and development of the second and final phase of this centre.

In recent years, Brenda's focus has been to actively promote tourism as a foundation for socio-economic development within Aboriginal communities.

As the chair for Aboriginal Tourism BC, Brenda's focus has been to actively promote tourism as a foundation for socio-economic development within Aboriginal communities, and has committed her time and energy to the development and promotion of the Aboriginal Cultural Tourism Blueprint Strategy for BC. Brenda also serves as a regional director for the national board of Aboriginal Tourism Canada; and participates in various national and regional committees to support and promote Aboriginal tourism opportunities, including committees for the North American Indigenous Games, BC First Nations Economic Development Strategy, National Aboriginal Art Gallery, "Telling Our Stories" First Nations Summit initiative, CTC E-Commerce Committee and other committees that foster a growing, vibrant Aboriginal tourism industry.

Brenda also works as a contractor to Tourism British Columbia to support the development and to promote awareness of the provincial benefits of a strong Aboriginal tourism industry that will enhance the cultural and branding identity of British Columbia. She also continues to work with the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation as a business advisor, and project manager for a new initiative, the Osoyoos Indian Band Centre for Aboriginal Community Enterprise – a leading edge leadership training program that is inspired by the innovative economic development model of the Osoyoos Indian Band.

Since 1990, Michael has been the Managing Partner of the Best Western Inn at Penticton. Michael also serves on the Board of Tourism British Columbia and as an executive for numerous associations and organizations. To name a few, he is President of the Pentastic Jazz Festival Society and is a founding member and director of the Vancouver Legends Rugby Football Club.

Previously he has served as the Vice President of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, Director of Ducks Unlimited (Penticton), 2 year Director and 2 year President of the Penticton Chamber of Commerce, Director of the Penticton Board of Trade, Director of the Okanagan Wine Festival, and Director of the 1995 B.C Summer Games.

Dave Butler, based in Cranbrook, is a professional forester and biologist who is the Director of Land Resources for Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH). Dave's role with CMH, which operates throughout south-eastern and south-central BC, focuses on government relations, environmental issues, tenures/permits and community relations. He has also worked in tourism consulting and with the federal and provincial governments.

Over the last 10 years, Dave has shown a commitment to tourism in BC through active involvement in many processes and committees including: COTA Foresight Task Force and Steering Committee; Chair of HeliCat Canada Environmental Standards Committee; co-chair of the Tourism-Wildlife Guidelines Project Team; co-chair of Limits of Acceptable Change Pilot Project Steering Committee; and member of Adventure Tourism Policy Joint Steering Committee.

Under Dave's leadership, CMH's sustainability initiatives have been recognized with a number of federal and provincial-level awards. CMH is the first tourism company in BC to publish a regular sustainability report. As Chair of COTA's Foresight Taskforce, Dave is committed to putting sustainable tourism into practice in BC. He believes that this offers an incredible opportunity to sustain - for many decades to come - the businesses, communities and incredible places that we share with our visitors.

Director of Tour & Travel & Community Relations for the Oak Bay Marine Group. Lana has worked for the Oak Bay Marine Group for the past 8 years. Before that, as Publisher for Visitor Publications Group for 11 years, Lana produced tourism publications to encourage visitors to Vancouver Island. Previous employment in sales & marketing positions included Budget Rent a Car and C-FAX Radio.

Lana's experience includes involvement with numerous community organizations in Victoria and on Vancouver Island. A member of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce for over 25 years, Lana served as President in 1999 and now continues as a member of its Board of Governors. In addition, Lana is currently on the Board of Directors for Tourism Vancouver Island.

Other involvements include being on the Board for the University of Victoria Foundations Board and a tourism representative from the south island on the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister of Transportation. The Oak Bay Marine Group is a member of the following tourism organizations, Tourism Victoria, Tourism Vancouver, Tourism Vancouver Island, Tourism North Central Island, COTA, CITAP (Canadian Inbound Tour Operators for Asia Pacific), to name just a few.

Lana is married with two children and has been a resident of Vancouver Island for many years.

Lana is an active participant in the community and our province.

Since establishing Floody and Associates Restaurant Consultants in 1979, Richard has contributed to numerous restaurant and hotel projects, including over 70 openings. Today, he is the President of Good Times Entertainment a restaurant company that owns TGI Fridays in Burnaby that does in excess of $3 million in annual sales.

With over three decades of Industry involvement in Canada, Richard Floody has worked to create a more dynamic hospitality industry in British Columbia.

Richard moved from Toronto to Vancouver in 1986 to build and operate the Unicorn Pub at Expo 86. Two years later he spent a year in Australia for Expo '88, and then a year in Spain for Expo '92.

Frustrated by the province's outdated liquor laws, Richard joined the BCRFA to lobby for change. As chair of BCRFA and Past President of the Greater Vancouver Branch of BCRFA, he has been an integral part of the industry team that led the charge to modernize BC’s liquor licensing laws.

Richard's extensive experience and bottom-line successes made him the 1990 BCRFA Vancouver Restaurateur of the Year. The Canadian Association of Foodservice Professionals honored him in the year 2000 with the Association Excellence Award.

In 1997, Richard played an active role in developing and organizing the Destinations program in the Lower Mainland, a joint industry-government training program designed to attract British Columbians to the hospitality sector.

Mr. Floody holds a degree in Economics and a teaching diploma and currently teaches in the Hospitality Management department at Vancouver Community College. Mr. Floody resides with his wife Jan and two children on Vancouver's west side.

As owner and operator of Nimmo Bay Resort - an award winning fishing lodge located in Port McNeill, Craig Murray carries with him 25 years of experience managing resort start-up, operations, sales, marketing, human resources, office management and innovative business development. He created the hospitality theory e2=mc (expectations exceeded = memories created). He participated in the signing of the Wi'la'mola Accord with first nations and was instrumental in establishing the tourism/forestry accord.

As well as a member of the BC Fishing Resorts and Outfitters Association and the Wilderness Tourism Association, Craig is active working with the both provincial and municipal governments to ensure tourism stays at the forefront of land and resource planning projects. He also sat on the committee for the Cariboo Chilcotin Land and Resource Management Plan for 7 years as the tourism representative and was on the committee that penned the new provincial Quality Waters Strategy for fresh water angling.

Ian has held the position of General Manager of numerous Fairmont Hotels & Resorts including two BC properties & the Fairmont Empress and Fairmont Hotel Vancouver & most recently the Fairmont Hamilton Princess in Bermuda. One of the founders of GO2, the BC tourism industry's human resource organization, Ian was and is again, a Director of the British Columbia & Yukon Hotels Association and has also served as chair of Tourism Victoria.