District VTT to Australia March 2016
Posted
on Feb 24, 2016
Meet the Vocational Training Team members that our district is sending to Australia this spring...
Team Leader, John Cooper (far left) of Yakima, Washington leads a team of four to visit District 9500 – Australia, starting in mid-March. The team is set to share its knowledge of the agriculture, wine and tourism industries when visiting Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, Alice Springs and other parts of Southern Australia. Joining the team (left to right) are Jim Blonde of Yakima, Lynn Bremmer of Oliver and Reto Gebert of Kelowna.
John’s career has focused on destination management and marketing. He has been the President & CEO of Yakima Valley Tourism since June 2007. He has served on a number of industry boards including the Western Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus and the Washington Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau. He currently is on the board of the Washington Tourism Alliance. In his current position he has developed brand strategies and marketing programs to position the Yakima Valley as a wine, craft beverage and agri-tourism destination. John is a member of the Yakima Rotary Club.
Jim Blonde owns a U-Pick orchard and intends to deliver training in growing blueberries, apples, raspberries, plums and pretty much all stone fruit, as well as vegetables and hops. He is keen to learn about water conservation using drip irrigation, crop placement, and tourism promotion using social media and web-based advertising.
Lynn Bremmer has been involved in the B.C. Wine industry since 1973. She was a technician and assistant winemaker at Andres Wines for 7 years and winemaker at Brights Wines for 12 years. Lynn is the chair of the B.C. Wine Grape Council. She presently owns and operates a 2 hectare vineyard in Oliver and is a partner with John Bremmer in Mount Kobau Wine Services supplying field sampling, analysis and winemaking/viticulture services to the B.C. Wine industry. Lynn is interested in presenting on the history of the B.C. wine industry and the movement from hybrid grapes to a non-grape/wine industry to a complete re-vamping of the industry to a premium grape/wine industry, as well as grape research at Summerland Research Centre and University of British Columbia.
Reto Gebert is a viticulturist from Kelowna. In 2009 after graduating from high school he traveled to Ontario to study the Winery and Viticulture Technician Program at Niagara College. Working part-time at different vineyards, volunteering at winery events and taking part in the Royal Visit at the college, Reto was able to gain a more hands-on approach to the wine industry and how another region grows grapes. Reto received his diploma in 2011. From there he drove across Canada back to Kelowna to work a harvest on his family’s winery. Over the past few years, Reto has been hopping around to work in different wine regions from in northern Switzerland to the South Island of New Zealand and back again on the family vineyard to establish new plantings. Reto is currently working as the assistant vineyard manager on the family winery and is the vice president of the Kelowna Rotaract Club.
The Australian Team is set to visit our District May 10th to June 10th, starting in Yakima and ending in Kelowna. If you are interested in getting involved in this visit, please contact Kathy Butler at kbutler@okanagan.bc.ca.