Aileen Dougan of Washington Way Chalets joins the Board for the first time as Secretary. She represents the private rental sector, taking over from Pam deBoer of Peak Accommodations.
Tim Defert, Director of Hospitality, is one of two appointees from Mount Washington Alpine Resort. The other appointee is Cathy Saflin, Manager of Slopeside Accommodation.
Tobin Leopkey of Section 8 Snowsport Institute was elected to his first term, while Ray Culberson, an owner in Bear Lodge, is starting his second term.
Lana Blair representing the Alpine Village rounds out the new Board.
“New Board, new faces, new energy to take us forward to the next stage,” Tourism Mount Washington Manager Sarah Nicholson said.
Nicholson said she’s excited about working with the new Board. “It’s a great progression. The earlier Board set us in the right direction. They assisted greatly in getting Tourism Mount Washington to where it is today.”
Gibson said Tourism Mount Washington will continue to succeed with more support from its members. “The more members we get and the more involved they are, the more successful the organization will be,” he said.
Tourism Mount Washington held its Annual General Meeting on Nov. 12, and Nicholson said it was an opportunity to update members on the group’s marketing achievements in the past year as well as highlight the programs they will focus on in the coming year.
One of the group’s successes last year was the implementation of a two per cent hotel room tax that will come into effect Jan. 1, 2010. The tax will be directed back into marketing, tourism promotion and development programs.
“We’ve established Mount Washington as a geographical location in its own right, which opens up future opportunities for funding,” Nicholson said.
New programs include increasing mid-week occupancy and developing travel trade with tour operators as a destination marketing arm for the mountain.