Lyn Radford has been named the chair of the board of the 2019 Canada Winter Games Host Society.
“I consider it an honour. To be selected I definitely feel very honoured. I don’t want to take a commitment on like this unless I can give it my all,” she said.
Radford said she was approached by both the Canada Winter Games Council and the 2019 Canada Games Transition Team Nominations Working Group and encouraged to put her name into the hat for the chair position.
“It took me a little while to decide that – it was a busy time with the bid and I had a lot of other volunteer work on my plate at the same time. I needed to clear some of that off the table and my family came to me and said they supported me,” she said. “It was at that point that I decided that I definitely was interested. It is a passion of mine and I think we can do so much to shape the landscape of our community. I thought what better way to do something that I already have knowledge on?”
The decision to select Radford was unanimous by the Canada Games Council. Radford will be the first solo female chair of the Games in its 50-year history.
Meanwhile, applications are currently being accepted for board members for the 2019 Canada Winter Games Host Society. The application deadline is Jan. 8th.
Up to 15 board members will be chosen of which some will be predetermined. Those predetermined positions will include two representatives from the Canada Games Council, a representative from the province, one from the federal government, one from the City and one that is a community partner.
“One thing that I am really hoping for our board is that we have a good cross section of our community and that we have it balanced with male and female members. I am a strong believer that each brings such a strong and different skill set to the table. Both are needed to have a really strong vision.”
Radford said a board will be chosen quickly after the deadline as some of the members will be traveling to the Canada Winter Games in Prince George shortly after being selected. “We will also need to hire a CEO immediately.”
Applications for the board can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/zda255py61p5b26/2019%20BoardofDirector%20Nomination%20Overview_Final%20(1).pdf. Applications can also be picked up at the Recreation Centre, the Collicutt Centre and the Dawe Centre.
“I encourage people to put their names forward for the board if they are interested. If someone is not selected then I hope they don’t take that personally. We have some really strong community members but there are some specific things we need as a board,” she said.
“There will be many opportunities for people to get involved because there will also be advisory committees and then we get into the operations of it in different sections. We need expertise all over the place.”
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
