Board Of Directors
Hanceville, BC | Kim TaylorThe Board of Directors of Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism is a group of volunteer individuals elected by the regional tourism industry that acts as an advisory group to the CEO. Their role is to appoint, monitor, and counsel the CEO; approve policies and procedures such as budgets and compensations; communicate issues of concern at the political level; represent the regional tourism industry and safeguard the Associations’ resources.
CCCT Board of Directors
Andre Kuerbis
Board Chair
As the principal of AFK Business Consulting and Services, Andre Kuerbis leads consulting, coaching, and bookkeeping for tourism operators. Based in Gold Bridge, he is passionate about small businesses and entrepreneurship and has a strong background in hospitality. His clients appreciate his focus on details and his support for them.
Andre worked in the banking sector for 15 years before moving to the tourism sector. That move came a few years after he travelled to BC for the first time in 2000. He fell in love with the province and after many annual returns and moved to British Columbia in 2007 where he ended up working for a Guest Ranch and Guide Outfitter in the Bridge River Valley.
After being approached by different tourism operators, Andre started AFK Consulting in 2011. In addition to his designation as a Certified Professional Business Coach with PBCA Canada, he is an accredited Guild of Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Accountants member and a Certified Professional Bookkeeper with CPB Canada. He has served on a variety of boards, including the Tourism Industry Association of BC, Wilderness Tourism Association, and BC Fishing Resort and Outfitter Association.
- You should know:
- His European roots have an impact on his work and the way he is. For example, his German heritage makes him hate to be late.
- Favourite thing to do in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast:
- There’s not enough space to list everything but being out in the backcountry is one of the highlights.
- Dream Destination:
- It’s a dream trip – driving from the West Coast to the East Coast to explore Canada.
Marshall Fremlin
Vice Chair
As an owner and GM at Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort, Marshall Fremlin of 70 Mile House is passionate about experiential travel and hospitality. He brings grass-roots knowledge and a wealth of operational experience from his 15 years in the tourism sector, where he has worked almost every role available in a wilderness resort setting. He comes from a family with a long history of guest ranching and has stayed in the tourism sector because of all the opportunities to find meaning in the work.
Marshall takes a holistic and authentic approach. He likes being in the tourism business to deliver experiences that are the highlight of the year – and maybe a lifetime – for a family. This has helped Siwash Lake Wilderness Resort grow into a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World and a recent two-time award-winner with Condé Nast Johansens’ luxury hotel and resort brand.
His boots-on-the-ground expertise is complemented by an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for leading teams, honed through a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UBC Sauder School of Business, where he graduated with honours. Having grown up on the land, he is deeply passionate about sustainability, stewardship, and protecting the natural resources that Canada’s tourism industry relies on.
- You should know:
- Having lived in the wilds for most of his life, Marshall is a skilled woodsman. He finds sharing the pastimes and experiences of his youth to be immensely rewarding, and as such he can often be found guiding others in his favorite activities.
- Favourite thing to do in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast:
- Fishing – he’s an avid angler.
- Dream Destination:
- No one favorite comes to mind. Just as long as it’s wild in some way.
- Heroes:
- Mom, partner Shan, and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z.
Mike Retasket
Secretary/Treasurer
Mike Retasket of Cmetēm has made significant contributions to many areas of Indigenous tourism, First Nations issues of Title and Rights, culture, education, and leadership. His impact has been felt across his community and the region.
Chief of the Bonaparte Indian Band for a decade, he helped negotiate important government agreements, acting as a signatory on the Transformative Change Accord, Public Safety Accord and the Leadership Accord. He has served on a wide variety of boards and bodies, including the First Nations Leadership Council to, the Thompson Basin Fisheries Council, Fraser Basin Council, First Nation Emergency Services, Forest Stewardship Council, Shuswap Nation Tribal Council Executive, First Nations Forestry Council, Mountain Pine Beetle Working Group, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, the New Pathways to Gold Society, and the Tourism Industry Association of BC.
The youngest of 11 children, at an early age, he was recognized as a talented drummer and singer. This integration into traditional Indigenous customs opened the door to a lifetime of championing traditional knowledge and cultural and heritage values. He’s a storyteller, Traditional Pipe Carrier, Dancer, Drummer, and Singer. Mike’s commitment to sharing history and culture is on display every day as he walks the boardwalks of Barkerville, educating tourists about the region’s rich Indigenous history.
- You should know:
- He was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of the Fraser Valley.
Shannon Landsdowne
Director
Ever since she was young, hunting and fishing have been part of Shannon Lansdowne’s life both personally and professionally. A proud mother, wife, daughter, and leader, she’s based in Hagensborg.
Born and raised on the Central Coast, she’s the daughter of outfitter Leonard Ellis who owned one of the largest outfitting territories in B.C., Bella Coola Outfitting Company. She worked for her dad, then as a deckhand on board the MV Pacific Grizzly and moved to guiding big-game hunters from around the world in the spring and fall and trolling for Spring salmon with angling guests in the summer.
Shannon won the 2016 Extreme Huntress title on the Texas-based skills and hunting competition show of the same name. Since then, she has worked with Remington Country TV as a cohost and Safari Club International as a spokesperson.
She went on to complete a Tourism Marketing Management Program and held a variety of office roles in the Lower Mainland of B.C. But the wild called her back. In 2022, with her husband Clark (who also grew up working alongside his father on the Coast), they returned to own and operate Bella Coola Mountain Lodge & Bella Coola Grizzly Tours & Adventure Resort.
- You should know:
- She is co-founder of She Hunts Skills Camp aimed at helping female hunters develop skills and confidence.
Gerald Kirby
Director
The Chilcotin has been home for Gerald Kirby for nearly 20 years since he and his wife purchased a motel in Tatla Lake in 2004.
Whether it’s as the owner of the Tatla Lake Manor Motel, or as a member of the CCCTA board, he relishes working in tourism because of the opportunities to meet new people. It’s his mission to get new people excited about the Chilcotin in the coming year.
When he’s not working at his motel or the CCCTA board, he has plenty to keep him busy. He has been President of both the West Chilcotin Search and Rescue and the Tatla Lake Area Community Association, a director of the West Chilcotin Tourism Association, and an active member of the West Chilcotin Health Care Society, Tatla Lake Fire Cache, Tatla Lake Resource Association, Tatlayoko Community Association, and the West Chilcotin Museum and Historical Society.
- You should know:
- He was previously elected to the Cariboo Regional District to represent the West Chilcotin.
- Favourite thing to do in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast:
- Sightseeing on a four-wheeler.
- Dream Destination:
- Travelling the waterways of England by boat.
- Heroes:
- His wife Johanna.
Jayme Kennedy
Director
Originally from Vancouver, Jayme Kennedy has had plenty of tourism experiences. She’s ridden the rails on a luxury tourism train and led back-packer camping tours in the Australian Outback. And in 2009, she experienced the Central Coast because of her love of the outdoors and new experiences.
She and her husband, Pete Kovanda, packed up their lives in 2016 and moved to their forever home in Hagensborg and took over what was their favourite place to stay. Though no longer an owner of the Bella Coola Mountain Lodge, Jayme’s still working to ensure tourism is sustainable, responsible, community-minded and culturally sensitive through her work with Bella Coola Valley Tourism and the CCCTA.
Even though she’s retired, she’s still busy – she’s the elected representative for Area C of the Central
Coast Regional District and serves as the chair of that local government.