OCTA

Tony Elenis, The Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association

The Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association is the largest provincial hospitality association in Canada representing approximately 4,000 members and 11,000 establishments in the hospitality sector. As an Ontario hospitality leader with 33 years of industry experience and a proven track record of positive contributions to hospitality and management, Tony Elenis is dedicated to supporting the hospitality and tourism industry of Ontario. Tony is a past Chairman of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) and also sits on the Board of Directors for the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC). Tony’s other passion lies within the world of food and wine, its lore and its history.   His expertise and creativity in food and beverage operations is well recognized within the industry. He has been involved in many food and beverage advisory and steering committees driving successful initiatives.   He currently sits on the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA)as the ORHMA representative, and is part of the 2012 Executive Committee of the OCTA Board of Directors.

Eugene Zakreski, Stratford Tourism Alliance

As the Executive Director of the Stratford Tourism Alliance, Eugene leads the product development and marketing for Stratford’s tourism and entertainment stakeholders. The goal is establish Stratford as Canada’s premiere art town by developing, packaging and promoting its character, culture and cuisine. Eugene has had extensive experience in building travel, hospitality and tourism businesses in North America, Europe and Asia for Air Canada, Mercer Management Consulting, the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC) and The Breeze, the high speed ferry across Lake Ontario. He believes the future of tourism is in developing and packaging experiences based on socio-demographic targeting and the primacy of digital media as the means to competitively build tourism businesses. In 2009, Stratford initiated a three-year culinary tourism product development strategy in conjunction with local area food producers, restaurants, culinary and hospitality businesses. Eugene is the Chair of the 2012 OCTA Board of Directors.

Hillary Dawson, Wine Country Ontario

Hillary Dawson brings many years of public policy and political organization experience to Wine Country Ontario.  As the president of the WCO, her skills and intimate knowledge of the political and policy needs of government give a clear advantage to her 80 members. She has also served as Executive Assistant to the Hon. David Caplan from 1997-2003, who is now the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal.  Prior to working with Mr. Caplan, Hillary worked with Gerard Kennedy MPP. Hillary is a well-known and well-respected Liberal Party activist. She served for 6 years in senior staff roles in the Ontario Liberal Party and is considered one of the best political organizers in Ontario. Hillary was a key member of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s successful 2003 provincial election campaign team, managing the Party’s nominations process as the Chief Returning Officer and participating in the development of the candidate training program. She has served on both the federal and provincial Liberal Party arbitration committees and sits as a member of the provincial constitution review group. Hillary holds an Honours degree in Economics and Political Studies from Queen’s University. Hillary is a member of the Executive Committee for the 2012 OCTA Board of Directors.

Heather Hossie, Savour Ottawa/Just Food

Heather Hossie has been involved with Savour Ottawa since its inception in late 2006, and is currently coordinating the initiative. In a nutshell her job is to ensure that farmers and buyers (chefs and retailers) are all connected, resulting in additional local food being highlighted in Ottawa’s restaurants and retail outlets. This is done through successful events such as the Farmer-Chef Meet & Greet (aka Speed-Dating-for-farmers), the open-sourced Savour Ottawa Online Inventory, and more. Promotional materials then let consumers know where they can find the scrumptious local fare. Heather has worked in various non-profit organizations over the past 10 years, ranging from international cooperation to health related work. She was introduced to (and got hooked on) sustainable local agriculture while overseas. During her Community Economic Development studies Heather kept an eye to agriculture, food systems and local economic development. Heather loves to eat, so working with local farmers, chefs, retailers and all eaters and food-lovers in between is a natural fit!

Dr. Sonya Graci, Assistant Professor at Ryerson University

Dr. Sonya Graci is an assistant professor at the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University. An adventurer and environmentalist, Sonya’s expertise is sustainable tourism development with a focus on islands, polar regions, indigenous communities and urban spaces. Having travelled to six continents and worked in four, she has always been a lover of good food and wine. Her passion is community development and this has translated into promoting linkages between chefs and farmers in Ontario, promoting local food and developing culinary tourism experiences in the communities she works in. Sonya is a promoter of local food and sees the link between a healthy agricultural system and a healthy environment. Dr. Graci is also the Director of Accommodating Green, an environmental consulting agency that works with organizations to integrate sustainability in their business operations. She is also the co-founder of the Icarus Foundation, a not for profit that focuses on developing Canada as a climate friendly tourism destination. Dr. Graci has a Ph.D. from the University of Waterlooin Geography and has authored two books, several industry reports and academic articles. Her current book focuses on sustainable tourism development in island destinations.

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