Vancouver – The Board of Directors that will guide the next phase of planning and delivering the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is now in place.

At the Annual General Meeting of the members of the Board of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) today, 19 persons were confirmed as having been appointed as directors for a term that will take them through to the 2010 Annual General Meeting following the 2010 Winter Games. The term that takes the directors through to 2010 was made possible by a recent amendment to the corporation’s (Organizing Committee) bylaws extending the term for directors from three years to four years.

The Vancouver 2010 Board is made up of 20 members appointed by: the Canadian Olympic Committee (seven); the Government of Canada (three); the Province of British Columbia (three); the City of Vancouver (two); the Resort Municipality of Whistler (two); the Canadian Paralympic Committee (one); a joint appointment by the Band Councils of the Lil’wat and Squamish Nations (one); and one member appointed by the other 19 members.

The 19 Board members appointed Jack Poole as the 20th director and re-elected him chairman, a role he has held since the board was established in October 2003.

“I thank the members for their confidence in my leadership,” said Poole. “I am honoured to serve with a team that’s dedicated to the successful staging of Canada’s 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Our goal is to deliver Games that will touch all Canadians and inspire the global Olympic and Paralympic movements.”

Poole welcomed three new federal appointees who attended their first VANOC Board meeting today.  The Government of Canada announced the following appointments on November 2, 2006: Peter Brown, of Vancouver, BC; Jacques Gauthier, of Montréal, Quebec; and Carol Stephenson, of London, Ontario.

“Our new board members bring dynamic experience and new perspectives as we work together to create outstanding Games in 2010,” added Poole. “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all previous Board members for their dedication and guidance that brought us to this stage of the Games planning lifecycle.”

The Board announced the following committees:

AUDIT COMMITTEE:

Richard Pound

Chris Rudge

Carol Stephenson

Richard Turner (Chair)

FINANCE COMMITTEE:

Peter Brown

Ken Dobell (co-Chair, together with Annette Antoniak, President and CEO of the BC Olympic and Paralympic Secretariat)

Jim Godfrey

Gibby Jacob

Patrick Jarvis

Michael Phelps

Judy Rogers

SUSTAINABILITY & HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE:

Jacques Gauthier

Jim Godfrey (Chair)

Gibby Jacob              

Jeff Mooney               

Walter Sieber

Richard Turner

GOVERNANCE & ETHICS COMMITTEE:

Michael Chambers

Charmaine Crooks

Barrett Fisher

Rusty Goepel (Chair)

Patrick Jarvis

SPORT & SPORT LEGACY COMMITTEE:

Patrick Jarvis

Beckie Scott

Walter Sieber (Chair)

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.