New GM for NPC
From Niagara This Week:
After a short game of musical chairs at the Niagara Parks Commission, Fay Booker has begun her duties as the general manager.
While holding the position of chair of the NPC, Booker put her name forward for the staff position after the departure of former GM John Kernahan. For her, it was a chance to see the NPC’s vision, that she worked so hard to develop, become a reality.
“Over the course of the past year, I really got attached to the vision and wanted to see it come through to fruition,” she said. “I’ve really grown to love the Niagara Parks Commission.”
Booker, who operates a consultanting firm in Burlington, Ont. said she’s in the process of closing up shop there as she takes on full-time duties at the NPC.
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Falls Parks: Canada Thrives, U.S. Struggles
From WNED-AM 970 NEWS:
On one side of Niagara Falls, state parks need $85 million in repairs while on the Ontario side millions of dollars are going into renovation of Old Fort Erie and the Laura Secord House.
WNED’s Mike Desmond talked with the Chairwoman of the Niagara Parks Commission, Fay Booker, about the difference.
This year, the commission will spend around $100 million (Canadian) on its capital and operating budgets, serving millions of visitors from Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The Ontario agency is set up to pay for itself by raising money and keeping it.
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Booker chosen as new NPC general manager
From the Niagara Falls Review:
After more than a year as chairwoman of the Niagara Parks Commission, Fay Booker has a new job.
The Burlington accountant and management consultant has been selected by the commission’s search committee as Niagara Parks’ new general manager.
The announcement was made official Thursday.
She fills the vacancy left by long-serving GM John Kernahan, who retired at the end of last year. A search was launched in April to find his replacement.
Janice Thomson, former vice-chairwoman of the Niagara Parks board, has assumed the role of interim chairwoman.
Booker said she is honoured and proud to be the new GM of a “fabulous” and “tremendous” organization.
“I want to have a positive impact. I want to be more involved from an operational level,” she told The Niagara Falls Review Thursday afternoon.
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Ontario tourism minister didn’t force people-mover deal on Parks Commission: Niagara Falls MPP
From Bullet News Niagara:
A pending deal between the City of Niagara Falls and the Niagara Parks Commission to create a new people-mover bus system to service the millions of visitors to the Honeymoon Capital each year was no shotgun wedding.
While Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor acknowledges he and Ontario Tourism Minister Michael Chan were asked to help resolve an impasse in negotiations between the parties in recent weeks, the minister did not force a deal on the provincial agency, whose chairwoman Fay Booker continues to raise concerns about the impact the new system could have on Niagara Parks’ revenue stream.
“No – I don’t think that’s true,” said Craitor, when asked if the ministry put pressure on Booker and the commission to get the deal done.
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Go RVing Canada kicked off the RV vacation season with a splash
From the RV D@ily Report:
Go RVing Canada kicked off the RV vacation season at an exclusive press conference event hosted at The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), in Niagara Falls, an all-time favorite RV camping destination for Canadians.
Go RVing Canada highlighted the increase in summer bookings in Ontario campgrounds, indicating that RV owners will be enjoying more vacation time within Canada this year. Go RVing Canada also emphasized the success of the Canadian RV industry, with RV shows & sales seeing impressive increases in attendance and sales figures across the board…
“Ontario Niagara Parks is about preserving a rich heritage, conserving natural wonders and inspiring people worldwide!” stated NPC Chair Fay Booker. “A great way to explore all that Ontario and Niagara Parks has to offer is by travelling in an RV. I want to thank Go RVing Canada for launching the season here in Niagara Parks, with the spectacular natural wonder of the Falls as our backdrop. I also want to thank them for their continued support in promoting tourism throughout Canada,” added Booker. “I invite everyone to come and be inspired by Niagara Parks this summer.”
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Booker takes NPC to heart: Niagara Parks chairwoman marks first year on the job
From the Niagara Falls Review:
On a sunny Saturday in March, Fay Booker surrounded herself with the next generation of plant experts – graduating students from the Niagara Parks Commission’s horticultural school. Their graduation ceremony recognized eight students in a specialized program whose labour keeps the Botanical Gardens attraction in shape.
“The Niagara Parks has an ability to get into your heart very quickly,” she told the budding horticulturists. Her speech was peppered with “we” and “our” as she talked about her vision of employees and commissioners working together as stewards of the natural parklands and historic sites the provincial agency is responsible for.
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NPC to remove ‘unfriendly’ fence
From the Niagara Falls Review:
It’s not exactly tearing down the Berlin Wall, but the Niagara Parks Commission plans to remove the iron fence that funnelled visitors to the Table Rock complex into its gift shop before they could even get a closeup view of the Horseshoe Falls.
“This was a very unfriendly action, this fence,” chairwoman Fay Booker said in an interview Saturday, adding the commission’s own employees pointed out it was “not people-friendly.”
“Their sense was it’s how they’re fencing off the public.”
Removing big sections of it is part of a focus on the “re-beautification” of its park areas that will take place this spring, leading up to a “grand opening” on the April 30 weekend, Booker said.
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Boat tour evaluations being done in secret
From the Niagara Falls Review:
The Niagara Parks Commission is giving ‘top secret’ status to the proposals submitted for one of the most important business deals the agency will make. Bids to run boat tours on the Niagara River are under lock and key and being evaluated at a secret location by a team whose identities aren’t being released, said chairwoman Fay Booker.
“They are moving along as anticipated. They are on schedule. They have not encountered any specific problems,” Booker told The Niagara Falls Review.
Picking a company to run boat tours on the Niagara River — a move that could lead to a replacement for the famous Maid of the Mist — has been one of the most scrutinized decisions the government agency has ever faced.
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Bids received for boat tours below Falls
From the Buffalo News:
A deadline to submit proposals to operate boat tours from the Canadian shore below Niagara Falls passed Monday, but the number of bidders and the names of companies that submitted proposals will remain secret for now.
Niagara Parks Commission Chairwoman Fay Booker said the commission does not plan to release details about the proposals at least until after the commission has made its recommendation for what company should operate the tours.
“Once we finish the evaluation process, we’ll probably be able to do a bit of a summary report in terms of how many bids came in and who the recommended proponent is,” Booker said.
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New manager by June, predicts NPC chairwoman
From the Niagara Falls Review:
It could be summer before the Niagara Parks Commission gets a new manager at the helm as the government agency begins the process to fill the shoes of its retired boss John Kernahan.
“I’m going to suggest the search process is going to take three or four months,” chairwoman Fay Booker said in an interview. “It can be into June before we have our person on site. That would be a guess of mine.”
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