Blue Mountain Village Voices

Joe Halos is a candidate for Mayor in the upcoming Town of The Blue Mountains municipal election. Joe has served as Councillor in the past for 8 years, is a local business operator and has lived and worked locally for more than 44 years. Joe shares perspectives on the growth of our community and its future.  

Learn more about Joe: 

https://bluemountainvillage.ca/bluemountain/media/Member_Documents/BM...

June Porter and her husband Terry have been increasingly involved in The Blue Mountain community since 2010. Together, they enjoy a wide range of four-seasons activities. In addition to her various volunteer commitments, she has worked part- time at the Blue Mountain Resort. This experience has provided her with greater insight into our labour force, and the need for attainable, affordable housing,...

Shawn McKinlay is a 5th generation Town of The Blue Mountains Local with a history steeped in agriculture, our local service economy and volunteerism. Some of Shawn’s volunteer work includes our local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion as well as serving as director on the Clarksburg Village Association. Shawn is also blazing a trail as the Blue Mountains FIRST millennial candidate running for Council – a s...

Andrea Matrosovs is one of four candidates running for Mayor in the Town of The Blue Mountains Municipal Election.  Andrea is a rural resident and a local business owner of Wild Willow Studio in Clarksburg. For the last four years she has served on The Blue Mountains Council, and on various committees.

Andrea has a long record of service to the community volunteering in South Georgian Bay for 22 years including in...

Joining us today is Tony Poole, one of four candidates running for Mayor in the upcoming Town of the Blue Mountains Municipal Election. Tony has more than 40 years of experience in leadership positions, including the roles of President and CEO, in many different sectors including; financial services, insurance, technology, business development, general management and retail marketing.

Tony and his wife Josie have been ...

Paula Hope joins us to discuss her background and connection to the community, her experience as Councillor during this current term of Town of The Blue Mountains Council, priority issues impacting the community as well as her vision for the future.  

Paula is a business owner, certified executive coach and trainer, traditionally published author and active member of the Town of Blue Mountains business community f...

What makes a community special? And how can communities grow and change while maintaining their identity and their values? These are questions that a lot of us have been asking lately. As ontarians recover from a disruptive pandemic and face an uncertain economic landscape. Municipal elections are set to take place this fall across Ontario. We will get to choose the leaders who will help us navigate these rough waters and ...

We are joined by Town of The Blue Mountains Mayor Alar Soever to discuss the past, present and future of our community. We cover a lot of ground including: how the Town has changed over the years, current pressing issues, achievements of the current Council, lessons learned and advice for anyone considering volunteering to serve their community. 

Other things discussed:

-       &n...

Helen Du Toit is a film festival veteran, who's probably been a part of every major film festival you've ever heard of: She was the Artistic Director for the Palm Springs International Film Festival for over a decade, as well as working with TIFF, the Vancouver Film Festival, and many others. She also happens to be the Executive and Creative Director of the upcoming Blue Mountain Film Festival.

In this episode, Andrew speak...

In this bonus episode, you'll get to know some of the Village merchants as they discuss their insights on the style, fashion and trends of the season and the year. As one of the only shopping centres in the region, Blue Mountain Village is one of the ideal places to shop this holiday season with 20+ shops and boutiques that offer a long list of exciting items for everyone on your holiday list. On top of it all, you can enj...

We are patiently waiting for the 2021/22 ski season to begin and who better to discuss that with than Stacy Manning, Blue Mountain Resort's VP of Sales and Marketing. In this episode, you'll hear about the upcoming season and what it will look like along with information about passes and tickets. Andrew and Stacy also discuss what they would have done differently for Blue Mountain and the region if they could go back in ti...

Melissa Herod and her husband, John, own and operate AXED; the newest business in the Blue Mountain Village. AXED Blue Mountain is an exciting axe throwing experience that encourages empowerment, team building and most importantly, fun. Melissa discusses her journey as a businesswoman in South Georgian Bay and provides all her nuggets of wisdom in regards to running a successful business beginning with recruitment, leaders...

John Miller is well known in the region, not only as a family-favourite dentist but also; as an advocate for the Town of Collingwood. His volunteer work for the BIA and co-creation of the Rainbow Club can't and don't go unnoticed. On top of it all, John and his business partner are in the works of creating an events space for the area in the Historic Trott Building, now called the Trott Block; all this to say, John is a gr...

Patti Kendall has been at the forefront of marketing the Blue Mountain Village since its inception through Intrawest. As the Director of Events and Marketing for the Blue Mountain Village Association, her experience in destination marketing is unmatched. Andrew digs into the fundamentals of tourism, marketing and event production as they discuss the events and experiences that the Village has produced over the last 20 year...

Rosalyn Morrison is on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Southern Georgian Bay. The not-for-profit organization is comprised of local people working together to promote social and economic prosperity in SGB. Rosalyn discusses how our community and businesses can be economically, environmentally and socially responsible and improve the future of our region for upcoming generations. 

Visit their website to sign...

Bill Abbotts is a fifth-generation local, a cycling aficionado and recently the recipient of the 2021 Province of Ontario Senior of the Year Award for the Town of The Blue Mountains. South Georgian Bay is well known for its cycling trails and tours but the municipalities can be doing better for the cycling community by creating a more inviting environment. Bill teaches us about the importance of being a community leader an...

Andrew and Sydney interview a good friend of the Village, Marcia Alderson. Marcia is the lead singer of Motown and Marley, an extremely popular band who frequents the Village stages. She is an advocate for change in the black community in Collingwood and a member of the Unity Collective and a real estate agent with years of experience in the South Georgian Bay market. This week's conversation encompasses music, positivity,...

Turner Hospitality Group owns and operates four very well-known and successful restaurants in South Georgian Bay - Twist Cocktail + Kitchen, Magnone's Italian Kitchen, Winifred's English Pub and Mother Tongue. This week, we spoke to their VP of Hospitality, Neal Lewis, who tells us about the past, the present, and the future of the industry in the area. As we all know, food and beverage have been hit hard since the beginni...

Andrew joined John Eaton (95.1 The Peak FM) on their talk of the town segment to discuss pride in South Georgian Bay. This year marks the first-ever Collingwood Pride Festival hosted by Collingwood Pride and Blue Mountain has hopped on board to celebrate in partnership with them for this monumental event. Andrew and John also discuss the history of the LGBTQS+ community and how we can improve in the future. Thank you to Jo...