New chair and 3 regional chapters for ORHMA

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) has appointed Jesse Hamilton, general manager of Deerhurst Resort located in the town of Huntsville, as its new chairman of the board. The association also has three new chapters in Hamilton, Lambton County and Prince Edward County.

Hamilton addressed the attendees of the ORHMA’s 21st AGM on Sept. 22 by stating: “Being elected as chairman of the ORHMA, makes me proud to serve such a resilient industry. The strength of our industry lies in the support and active participation of our members and the advocacy work that ORHMA has shown in just the past year, proves that. There is strength in numbers and collectively we will continue to persevere and get through this together, even when we are apart.”

At the AGM, members of ORHMA, Board of Directors and staff gathered to discuss industry issues and were joined by The Honourable Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism & Culture Industries. ORHMA expressed its appreciation to Smart Serve Ontario, who participated as this year’s AGM Partner.

ORHMA congratulates the 2020 / 2021 Provincial Board of Directors and is thrilled to welcome the following new faces to the Board:

• Barry Taylor, The Ballroom, Toronto
• Krista LaClair, Kingston Accommodation Partners, Kingston
• Shan Wickremasinghe, Sunray Group, Orillia
• Mike Ziola, Biagio’s Kitchen & Catering, Ottawa
• Peter Higley, Recipe Unlimited, Vaughan
• Greg Holden, Towneplace Suites by Marriott Thunder Bay

ORHMA is also pleased to announce the formation of three regional chapters:

• Hamilton Region, Represented by Colin Watson of Sheraton Hotel Hamilton
• Lambton County Region, Represented by Doug Loucks of Holiday Inn Express Sarnia
• Prince Edward County Region, Represented by Edward Shubert of the Prince Edward County Accommodation Association

“Expanding our regions is an approach that will bring the industry closer, benefitting not only the local climate, but building a stronger voice in Ontario. This is profoundly so important during this pandemic crisis” said Tony Elenis, ORHMA President & CEO. “The development of regional associations provides the local hospitality community with a unified voice and an opportunity to tackle industry issues at the provincial and municipal level.”

Existing ORHMA regional chapters include London Region, Ottawa Region, Simcoe County Region, Toronto Region, Waterloo Region and Windsor Region.