About the Society

The Victoria Tall Ships® Society is a non-profit organization established in May 2003 for the purpose of hosting the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) Tall Ships Challenge® Race during its 2005 visit of west coast ports of North America. The Society, after hosting the tall ships again in 2008, is now busy planning for the return of the Tall Ships® in June 2011.

As part of its mandate, the Society wishes to make Victoria a permanent host port for the Tall Ships® during each of their tri-annual visits to the region. It seeks also to enhance the awareness of the rich maritime history of this city and the strong links which British Columbia has with the sea. A key constitutional objective of the society is to provide youth with life affirming experiences while sailing in traditionally rigged vessels.

To manage its day-to-day affairs and to achieve its goals, the Victoria Tall Ships® Society relies almost entirely on volunteers. The current board of directors brings an accumulated 325 years of maritime experience and over 100 years of event organizing, marketing, and fund-raising experience to their responsibilities. The 18 men and women of the working board of directors come from marine, political, business, communications, and military backgrounds.

Board of Directors

Torunn Andersen	Torunn was born and raised in Bergen, located on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the size of Victoria, and has a rich maritime tradition. She first got interested in tall ships when, at an early age, got to volunteer on “Statsraad Lehmkuhl”, a beautiful 230 foot local barque. In 2005, she signed on as trainee on “Picton Castle” out of Lunenburg, NS. Her thirteen months as crew on this traditionally rigged barque while circumnavigating the world was a fantastic learning experience. She now lives and works in Victoria after completing her MBA at the University of Victoria in 2008.
Donna Atkinson	... coming soon
Bob Brown	Bob is Past President of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Victoria Morioka Friendship Society. He taught Accounting and was Dean of Business at Camosun College. A Retired Accountant, Bob is a long-time sailor and boat owner over the years around the Victoria area.
Kevin Carlé	In the Navy since 1976, Kevin held several assignments at sea and ashore, specializing as a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) where he held all positions and served on both coasts as well as at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa. Promoted Captain in 2001, he was appointed Director Canadian Forces Public Affairs Operations. In 2003, he was appointed Canadian Defence Attaché to Poland and was cross-accredited to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In 2007, He was named Director of Peacekeeping Policy at NDHQ, Ottawa. Now retired, Kevin is the VP of Naval Officers’ Association, Vancouver Island Branch. Kevin enjoys tinkering with older cars; he plays golf poorly and frequently misidentifies plants for weeds when gardening.
Anne Daniels	Anne has been a member of the Board of Directors of Tall Ships since 2007. She was Conference Manager of the Banff Television Festival for a decade before moving to Vancouver, and then Victoria, as President of "Anne Daniels Consulting " and "Daniels and Co." She has worked as a consultant in the areas of public and media relations, special events, marketing, strategic planning and human resources, locally and internationally.
Jeannie Fuller	... coming soon
Audra Malawsky	... coming soon
Roger Girouard - Vice President	Roger began his naval service at HMCS CARLTON in Ottawa as a Naval Reserve Ordinary Seaman Bos’n in 1973, before shifting to the permanent force and taking a commission as a Maritime Surface officer. He held a variety of leadership positions including Commanding Officer of HMC Ships CHALEUR, MIRAMICHI and IROQUOIS, Commander Maritime Operations Group Four in Esquimalt BC, and Commander Canadian Fleet Pacific. He deployed on a number of operations including NATO’s Standing Naval Force Atlantic and Canada’s OPERATION FRICTION during the Gulf War of 1990-91. His last appointment was as Commander Joint Task Force Pacific and Maritime Forces Pacific in Victoria, where he was responsible for naval readiness in the Pacific, served as the Search and Rescue Commander for the Region and held responsibilities for security and domestic emergency issues in BC, supporting planning for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and the contingency work for potential flooding of the BC lower mainland in the Spring of ’07. Experienced in offshore operations, joint and interagency missions, disaster management as well as the realm of HR management, he retired from the Canadian Forces in September of ’07. He recently completed the Canadian Coast Guard Inquiry into the tragic sinking of the l’Acadien II, a sealing vessel home ported in the Magdelene Islands and serves as an associate professor at Royal Roads University.
Tim Henderson	... coming soon
Harry Martin	After spending 20 years in the British and Canadian Merchant Navies, Harry joined the Canadian Coast Guard for 22 enjoyable years, afloat as ships navigating officer and ashore in roles varying from Beachmaster for the Dewline resupply; Acting Director, Search and Rescue; and Manager of the local Ship Inspection Branch. Harry then joined B.C. Ferries as the Vice President, Safety and Standards, overseeing the introduction of the company’s new operational safety system. Upon retirement, he ran a consulting company focusing on operational safety and security systems before finally retiring in 2007. Harry is a volunteer with the Maritime Museum of British Columbia, and has, in the past, assisted with fund raising for United Way. He is also very involved in the local folk music scene.
Susan McLoughlin	Susan was, for 21 years, an insurance agent with CAIB designation, agency manager and underwriter followed by 10 years as an advertising consultant on Vancouver Island. Growing up in North Western Ontario granted the opportunity for many and varied sporting activities in both summer and winter. Living in the Victoria area for the last 26 years has given her many happy memories on the ocean, including serving as Commodore of Victoria Cruising Club in 1996. She is now recently retired.
Barringer Newcomb - President	Barry graduated from the University of Arizona and received his Masters’ degree in business administration from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management. Barry has spent over 30 years in senior management concentrating on the sports marketing industries. He has owned a boat yard and been involved in event architecture and management during the last three America's Cup Races. An avid sailor, he is a Flag member of the San Diego Yacht Club and a member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. He has served on the Tall Ships Board of Trustees for the 2005 & 2008 Festivals.
Steven Threadkell	A boat-crazy sailing enthusiast, Steven has a law degree from the University of Wales and his career has included policy and legislative work with two provincial governments, harbour management, and teaching. He learned to sail at 14 on Glenmore reservoir in Calgary, Alberta, and never looked back. Since moving to the coast in 1987, he has volunteered in many capacities as well as with the Swiftsure and Clipper Round the World yacht races and Victoria’s Tall Ships events in 2005 and 2008. His company specializes in 3D laser applications and stability software development for the marine sector and resides in Victoria with his wife and son.
Richard Town	After a 36 ½ year career in the Canadian Navy, Rick retired in 2008 to take up part-time work training young naval officers and doing some consultant contracts in maritime security. Whilst in the Navy, he had commanded two of Canada’s warships and served as the defence (military) attaché in Australia for almost five years. Working with the 2008 Victoria Tall Ships piqued Rick’s interest and thereafter he joined the Board of Directors as co-chair of the Fleet operations committee.
Douglas Watt	Doug is mostly retired after some 40 odd years in telecommunications engineering, construction supervision and project management. He has lived and worked in Northern BC, South East Asia and various areas of the USA. Traveled extensively; crewed on a tall ship in a circumnavigation of New Zealand. Doug is Master and Commander of the sailing vessel Nerissa II which is kept financially afloat by a sometimes job looking after, tinkering with and keeping clean other peoples yachts.
Lorne Whyte	Past President & CEO of Tourism Victoria for nineteen years. Tourism Victoria is a not for profit organization with over 1000 business and tourism members. 30 year business/tourism background owning/operating two successful companies in Victoria and on Vancouver Island. Community Supporter Achievements: Served on successful 2010 Olympic Bid Committee; Founding member SportHost; Co-Chaired 2004 Orcas in the City program raising over $380,000 for BC Lions Society; Presented the Miracle Award by Tourism Victoria in 1987 for outstanding contribution to the tourism Industry; Presented the award for Tourism Industry Leader of the Year by Tourism British Columbia, 2008; Serving on the Board of Directors for the 2008-2011 Tall Ship’s Society as Chair of Marketing.
Eric Wood Zhelka	Eric has over 30 years of high technology experience in industries such as telecommunications, banking, executive search, film production, and government. He thrives on creative problem solving and using his lateral thinking skills to determine how to best leverage technology. He graduated from the University of Toronto as a systems and industrial engineer; he has a Masters in Management of Technology from the University of Waterloo; and he holds a Project Management Professional certification from PMI. Eric has spoken at a number of international conferences on knowledge management and network analysis. His company specializes in web and remote conferencing and webcast production. He has 2 children and loves the majesty of the tall ships.
Deborah Zornes	Deborah is the Manager, Research Development at Royal Roads University. She brings experience in proposal development, project management, financial reporting and Board governance to the Society. An avid sailor, Deborah is also completing a PhD program at the University of Victoria.

Board of Advisors

John Anderson	John served for thirty-five years in the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Armed Forces. His final military appointment was as Chief of Defense Staff, in the rank of Admiral. On completion of his military service, John was appointed Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. John was a founding member of the Victoria Tall Ships Society and the first President of the Board of Directors. He chaired the committee that oversaw the conduct of the 2005 and 2008 Victoria Tall Ships Festivals.
Bob Cross	Bob is a third generation Victorian with over 30 years in business in Downtown Victoria. He served 9 years on the municipal government: 3 as Councilor and 6 as Mayor of Victoria. He has been Past President of: Downtown Victoria Business Association; Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce; Friends of Canadian Forces; and the Victoria Tall Ships Society. Bob currently serves on the Boards of: Victoria-Esquimalt Harbour Society; Salvation Army Advisory Board; Downtown Victoria Community Alliance; Friends of Protecteur; and is a Director of Blackball Transport.