Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: October 31, 2009 12:00 PM
A City of Vernon committee may eventually lose its spirit. It hasn’t been determined yet if the Spirit of B.C. committee will continue after the Winter Olympics and that may depend on government funding. “The province is broke so it will probably fail,” said Coun. Jack Gilroy, a committee member. The Spirit committee was formed to create opportunities for the community before and after the 2010 Winter Games. “The potential components focus in the area of sport, recreation, arts and culture, tourism, convention, trade, investment, procurement, human resources, literacy and volunteerism,” states its terms of reference. One of the main activities has been organizing the torch relay’s stop in Vernon.
Membership on the committee has included a city councillor, a tourism and marketing person, an Olympic athlete, a Paralympic athlete, the Okanagan Indian Band, the visitor centre manager, a school district liaison, the Downtown Vernon Association and the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce. Council has suspended the committee because it’s not functioning under the terms of reference. Gilroy says operational changes were necessary so the group was more streamlined and able to address issues in a timely fashion. “When we deal with the Vancouver Olympic Committee, they want it done by the end of the week,” said Gilroy, adding that it was challenging to bring committee members together at a moment’s notice. “With the original committee, we couldn’t get it done.” The city’s tourism manager will provide council with a report recommending amendments to the terms of reference that will allow it to continue with activities.
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