April Jeffs appointed new Niagara Parks Commission chair

Former Wainfleet Mayor April Jeffs has been named new chair of the Niagara Parks Fee by the province, heading right into a 12 months by which it’s hoped Niagara’s battered and bruised tourism trade can start to get well from the mayhem attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She assumes the position left vacant with the dying of former board chair Sandie Bellows final October.

Jeffs, who served as vice-chair of the Parks Fee since early 2019, now takes the helm of a Crown company with a 137-year historical past of being steward of a few of the most treasured and environmentally delicate land within the nation.

She was appointed chair by the provincial Conservative authorities’s heritage, sport, tourism and tradition minister, Lisa MacLeod, the Parks introduced on Friday.

Jeffs stated the Parks, working along side companions equivalent to Niagara Metropolis Cruises, WildPlay Niagara and Indigenous companions at Panorama of Nations 360, might play a key position in getting tourism again on its ft after two years of lockdowns, restrictions and border closures.

“Niagara Parks has at all times been a key demand generator for tourism in Niagara, from our sights, golf programs, heritage websites, pure websites and trails, and eating places,” she stated.

“I imagine that a central position that I've as the brand new chair of Niagara Parks is to make sure that we place Niagara Parks to play a key position in tourism restoration for Niagara and for Ontario.”

Jeffs stated it received’t be an in a single day restoration by any means.

“We're nonetheless within the early levels of what's going to be a multi-year restoration course of,” she stated. “We've got handled a lot uncertainty by the course of the pandemic however we have now realized a lot as effectively.”

The very fact the Parks was capable of efficiently open a significant new attraction final 12 months in the midst of a pandemic—the transformation of a decommissioned energy station into the Niagara Parks Energy Station—is a testomony to the resiliency of the group, stated Jeffs.

In July, the Parks will launch part two of that undertaking with the opening of the tunnel expertise by which guests will have the ability to take glass elevators down eight storeys beneath floor to the tailrace tunnel to an accessible concrete walkway the place they’ll have a surprising view of the American Falls.

The Parks can also be inviting proposals, by a three-stage course of, from the non-public sector to create new Niagara Parks sights at two different decommissioned energy stations, stated Jeffs.

“We perceive our position as a key financial driver for the area and the tourism trade in Ontario,” she stated. “We've got many initiatives underway to help tourism restoration.”

The Parks stated in a information launch on Friday that Jeffs “has an acute consciousness of the work that goes in to delivering Niagara Parks’ mandate of supporting tourism and enterprise in addition to environmental and cultural stewardship,” having studied tourism at Niagara School and dealing within the tourism and hospitality trade for a number of years earlier than elevating her household.

Jeffs can also be an entrepreneur, founding her marriage ceremony images enterprise 20 years in the past.

As former mayor of Wainfleet, Jeffs additionally spent a number of years on regional council, the place she co-chaired the area’s public well being and social providers committee and served as vice-chair of the area’s funds committee.

Jeffs, a former Conservative candidate in provincial and federal elections in Niagara Centre driving, didn't run for re-election as Wainfleet mayor within the final municipal election.

As a part of its mandate, the Parks Fee should preserve monetary self-sufficiency whereas reporting to the province. It has a multimillion-dollar funds.

MacLeod stated Jeffs’ background in public service and tourism and her expertise as fee vice-chair through the challenges posed by the pandemic will show “invaluable because the historic company continues to maneuver ahead and improve the tourism expertise for considered one of this nation’s best customer locations.”