FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2018
BADMINTON BC ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Fresh Faces and Returning Directors Appointed at Annual General Meeting,
Continuing its Goals of Growth for the Sport
Vancouver, BC – Badminton BC concluded its Annual General Meeting on September 15th by announcing its 2018-2019 Board of Directors. The meeting was held at the prestige Arbutus Club in Vancouver.
All current and eligible voting members of Badminton BC were invited and encouraged to attend Badminton BC’s annual business meeting.
Registration began at 3:20pm and the business meeting was held at 3:30 pm.
The Best of BC Awards took place prior to the business meeting from 1:00-3:15pm.
Henry Wong (Richmond) brings his experience as President for a non-profit recreational club (Westlu) and experience with a government agency (Transport Canada) to his 2nd term as the President. He will be guiding the development of the next 4-year strategic plan and the on-going efforts for continuous improvement at Badminton BC – including improvement of governance and officials’ standards.
Dennis Brown (Vancouver) will continue to serve the board but in a new role – Vice President. Among other things, he will be assisting Badminton BC with revenue generation strategies and ensuring an accurate budget moving forward. He will be an important participant ensuring a smooth transition for his previous role, Treasurer.
Bonnie Teng (Vancouver) is also staying with the Board to take on the Secretary position. She is a well-known Vancouver practicing lawyer, with expertise in general law. She will be reviewing current policies thoroughly and has much to contribute to ensuring an optimal governing standard.
Helen Mo (Burnaby) is a fresh new face for Badminton BC. Helen is quite familiar with Badminton BC’s HR and Payroll internal system - currently working Sport BC’s administrative team. Helen has been performing payroll for Badminton BC for several years and her financial background will be a significant contributor to her success as Treasurer of the Board.
Matt Holbrook (South Surrey) is a new contractor hired for the role of Operations Manager. He will be in charge of any future events, internal operations, marketing and revenue generating activities. His role also includes helping Badminton BC to obtain government grants and funding (a big part of Badminton BC’s revenue to sustain our operations). His skills in strategic business and marketing plans in the sport, recreation, tourism and hospitality industries will be applied to improve key program and service areas, business development and events.
Lisa Davison (Prince George) will continue as a full-time staff member overseeing communications and members services activities as Member Services and Communication Officer. With her long history at Badminton BC, her broad experience in many Badminton BC roles will help us through this transition and a year of change. She has done a lot of great work and no doubt will continue to improve our communication with the members.
Magdalena Cheng (Richmond) has been hired to be the new Accountant for Badminton BC. Her CPA credentials and knowledge are a key ingredient for moving the organization forward. She is organized and is excellent at what she does and is improving services for our receivables and payables department. She will implement an online QuickBooks system and organize our chaotic general ledger - consolidated into a readable and ease to use reference. We are fortunate to have her on the team.
Toby Ng (Richmond) has also been hired as a contractor for Badminton BC. His role is to design, develop and implement all aspects of its performance programs and services. As a performance lead role, he will provide specialized services in support of late stage T2T and T2C athletes and coaches committed to the Badminton BC performance pathway. Toby can also bring his own unique experiences that he had through his journey to the podium and share them with all our Badminton junior and members.
As the new Executive Director, my focus this year will be making sure the current Badminton BC deficit is improved to a breakeven. We have reduced overhead by closing the south surrey office and combined a few roles to ensure controls on wages expense. At this time, there is not enough budget to engage a full time Executive Director therefore my role is part time one, at least until the financial situation is reviewed again in six months and demonstrates the necessary financial stability. As an organization we are going through many changes - structural and operational. Support and patience from the community and members is needed while we make the necessary changes to fulfill our strategic vision.
We will be creating a members’ benefits program and bringing school groups, community clubs and warehouse clubs under a larger singular Badminton Community. We seek to create a win-win situation. There are over 45,000 badminton players in British Columbia. Badminton BC strives to bring all levels of players to our organization, ensuring they have the proper direction and guidelines for where to play, rules and governance. We are actively developing proper pathways and clinics for coaches, officials and players to help get them to the next level. We are listening and continue to have the desire to improve because of the Badminton Community - “You”.
There were over 44 Awards including the 4 recipients of the Bert & Greta Quartermaine Scholarships handed out to deserving recipients during the Best of BC Awards and Recognition Ceremony also awarded on September 15th. A special award was presented to Toby Ng – International Elite Male Athlete of the year. We are all very proud of the nominees and recipients. We had the largest turn out ever for the awards ceremony and AGM attendance... yes, I mean throughout the history of Badminton BC! On behalf of the organizing team, a heartfelt thank you to all of you that participated and came out to show your support for Badminton BC – your action and engagement really shows that you care. It cannot be overstated how crucial a role was played by Lisa Davison in putting this awards ceremony together. Thank you, Lisa!
Badminton BC would like to thank all the volunteers running our working group committees. Badminton BC would not be able to sustain itself as an organization without the selfless contribution of effort and time from our volunteers. The Badminton BC team looks forward to engaging more new faces in the coming year. Stay abreast of Badminton BC’s progress on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About Badminton BC
Badminton BC is the provincial sport governing body for all coach, athlete, officials, and volunteer development opportunities for the sport of badminton within BC. For more information, please visit badmintonbc.com.
Contact:
Daisy Lee
Executive Director
executivedirector@badmintonbc.com