Neil Vant Past-Chair, Appointed by the District of Wells Neil Vant is proud to represent the District of Wells Municipality on the Barkerville Heritage Trust Board. He brings a wealth of intimate knowledge of Barkerville to the Board dating back to the 1950s. From 1966 to 1974 he was the last Resident Anglican Vicar of Barkerville and was the Master of The Cariboo Masonic Lodge No. 4 in Barkerville in 1998. He served also as MLA for all of the Cariboo from 1986 to 1991. During that period he served as Minister of Transportation and Highways and Minister Responsible for B.C. Rail and B.C. Ferries. He is currently on the Senior Management Team of the Jackpine Group of Companies which is the largest value added Wood Products producer in Western Canada. He is also President of Vant Explorations which has had Gold Mining interests in the Cariboo, Atlin and Yukon.
Ms. Eileen Lao is a seasoned communications and government relations professional with 20 years of experience in Canada and overseas, including 8 years with the Canadian federal government in the fields of public diplomacy and international business development, and 5 years with media relations in the private and non-profit sectors.
Prior to her current position at S.U.C.C.E.S.S., one of the biggest social service providers in Canada, as Public Affairs Manager, Ms Lao worked as Public Affairs Officer and Trade Commissioner for the Canadian Consulate General in Guangzhou, China, where her main responsibilities include media relations and raising Canada’s profile in China. She also served in a managerial capacity at Asian Motor Sports Television Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong-based international company specializing in marketing sports programs, including Formula One World Championship and Grand Prix World Motorcycle Championship, to broadcasters in Asia. Ms. Lao is the Director of BC-Guangdong Business Council and Vancouver-Guangzhou Friendship Association. She is also the Advisor of Canada-China Society of Science and Technology. Ms. Lao is a member of Canadian Public Relations Society.
Barkerville has had a special place in Rhonda's heart for many years. Her earliest memories of Barkerville are from a child’s perspective (many long years ago). She remembers Barkerville as a place of enchantment – history come to life in a very special way. Later, Williams Lake was home for five years and brought new opportunities to enjoy Barkerville. More recently, Rhonda continued her career in the BC public service and was delighted to renew her connection with Barkerville in a more formal way as Director, BC Heritage Branch. During this time, she had the opportunity to work with many people throughout the Cariboo to help bring together the first Board of Directors for the Barkerville Heritage Trust. She now has a business consulting practice and is pleased to return to Barkerville as a member of the Board. Rhonda has a Bachelor’s Degree and Diploma in Public Administration and a professional Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation.
Making B.C.’s history come alive has been a constant passion in Sue’s life. She has both worked and volunteered for more than 30 years in all different aspects of the history keeping field. A member of the first board of the Barkerville Heritage Trust, Sue brings diverse experience to discussions including that gained during her 17 year term as the heritage planner for the Township of Langley as well as the director of the Langley Centennial Museum and National Exhibition Centre in historic Fort Langley. She has received numerous awards for her leadership in heritage preservation and museum work including the American Association for State and Local History. Her work in communities all around this Province was recognized in 2004 with the prestigious Minister’s Heritage Award. She has been an active member on many Boards including Tourism BC, the Land Conservancy of BC, and, currently, the Oliver and District Heritage Society. She is a volunteer historic re-enactor and, in the past, served as president of the BC Museums Association and vice-chair of the BC Heritage Trust.
Best of all, she and her two grandkids love spending time together reliving the 1850’s fur brigade and gold rush time period- and turning other people on to BC’s exciting history.
Rob Rummel Director-at-Large, Merchants of Barkerville Rob Rummel has been a merchant in Barkerville for over twenty years. Though he lives half the year in Quesnel and half the year in Wells, his heart belongs to Barkerville. Drop by Mason and Daly General Store to say hello or share a story.
Wylie Bystedt
Director-at-Large; Appointed by the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association
Wylie has been the Chair of the CCCTA since 2008. Wylie and family moved to Quesnel in 2001 and ever since they have been actively engaged in the community. But even before moving to the Cariboo her family was a regular visitor to Barkerville – enjoying coming in all the seasons! Wylie has two daughters – the younger of whom is quadriplegic and deafblind – thus sparking what will be a lifelong interest in disabilities. She is the past president of the BC Chapter and National Canadian Deafblind Association (1994 – 2008). She is an international speaker on disability issues and co-founder of the Quesnel Accessibility committee (2005).
Wylie was involved with the Quesnel Communities in Bloom as the Heritage Chair (2006 – 2008) and is a past director of the Quesnel & District Chamber of Commerce (2006 – 2008) and past vice-president of the Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia (2004 – 2008). She is currently involved with a number of local agriculture and agritourism organizations, such as the Cariboo Central Interior Poultry Producers Association and FARMED.
Wylie has been a successful entrepreneur for over 22 years. Coyote Acres Management Services provides consulting services in a range of areas by focusing on community based solutions. She also operates Coyote Acres Ranch which specializes in the production of natural beef, pork, chicken, lamb and llama and agritourism experiences. Wylie has a degree in Applied Communications.
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