Slate of Nominees for the CAPS 2017 Board of Director Elections

The Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers - Ontario Chapter
2017 Annual General Meeting. 

As per CAPS By-Laws, the following is the slate of nominees for the 2017 CAPS Board of Directors that will be presented to the CAPS membership at the CAPS Annual General Meeting and their credentials. There are 4 positions available for the Board. Only 2017 ‘members in good standing’ holding the Sommelier membership category (certified Sommelier and non-certified and working professionally in the role of sommelier in the food and beverage alcohol industry), may vote. The list of nominees and brief summaries of credentials, derived from the nomination forms submitted and their CV’s are provided below to assist members in making an informed decision.

According to by-laws Board members can be appointed to the board between elections but these appointments must be ratified at the next election. We ask your support to ratify Kim Gertler, Director of Media. Michelle Paris, Vice President has served on the board for 3 years and her re-appointment must also be ratified. (Current Board Members)

2017 Members unable to attend the AGM: Those members eligible to vote and who cannot attend the meeting due to work obligations or travel restrictions will be asked to contact vicepresident.on@sommelierscanada.com and they will be sent a link to the online voting. Online voting closes at 3:00 on Tuesday April 11, 2017.

Please be advised that we will be using the same electronic voting system at the AGM so bring your phones, tablets, computers. There will be computers there for people who are without.

Thank you for your support of CAPS.

Michelle Paris
Chair CAPS Nominations
CAPS Board of Directors

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Nominees are listed in alphabetical order: Steven Campbell, Andrew Redelmeier, Krystina Roman, Anjana Viswanatha

 

Steven Campbell

Owned my own restaurant for 17 years. Won 8 Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence for an Outstanding Wine list. I have owned Lifford since 1994 the largest supplier of premium wine to the hospitality industry in Ontario.

For the last four decades, I have scoured the planet for exceptional wines made by exceptional people in exceptional places to bring them home to my community.

Through Lifford I have been involved in countless activities to support our community. Lifford has a long history of supporting CAPS but our good work is not limited just to our community. The volunteer organization that supports the Toronto Symphony official made me an “Angel” for my support of the TSO. Tree Canada awarded Lifford their highest honour for our environmental leadership. The Ontario Hostelry Institute awarded us the Gold Award for Supplier of the year. The LCBO has given us numerous Elsies for our contribution to their success. Lifford is the only carbon neutral wine agency in Canada as we measure our annual carbon footprint and buy Carbon offset. I could go on.

I am standing for election as I hope to contribute to the ongoing success of the organization and I believe I meet the requirements to be nominated.

I am not standing for election with some fixed idea of the solutions that are required to make our organization better. I think it would be much more constructive for a new comer to listen, to understand and to work with the existing leadership to build upon the success of the past.

That being said where do I see the future of the organization?

We have come very close to claiming the top prize on the planet for the best sommelier in the world.

How can we seize that crown?

Furthermore, how can we continue to develop our young sommeliers in a positive fashion that will enhance the status of our organization in the hospitality community and thus in the great world?

I look forward to working on the board for the benefit of all the hard working somms out there.

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Andrew Redelmeier

Professional/Work Experience
Principal: Southbrook Vineyards
Sommelier: George Restuarant
Bartender/Sommelier: York Club

Why do you wish to have your name stand for election to the CAPS Board of Directors?
I strongly believe I can be an effective contributor to CAPS having a stake in both the certified sommelier and wine production camps (thru being a Principal of Southbrook Vineyards). Thus, I will be able to be empathetic to the needs of multiple tiers of the overall wine industry in Ontario, bridging gaps and making connections that may not come as easily to other candidates. My advanced network in both tiers will prove useful. This I includes my positioning as a millennial, with ties to many of the important up and coming influencers in many areas of our local industry.

Can you meet the requirements listed in the Requirements of Candidates (above)? Yes.

Identify three key areas the Board of Directors and the Association should focus on for this coming year?

1. Engagement with hospitality industry professionals considering a boost in their education (with sommelier training)
2. More engagement with existing alumni, in the form of exclusive tastings, master classes, networking meetings, etc.
3. A continued canvassing of potential educators to ensure the highest quality of professor possible

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Krystina Roman

Professional/Work Experience
I worked for over 5 years as Sales & Marketing Manager at Rosewood Estates Winery.

In 2015 I started The City Wino which is a wine consulting business that does wine education, private wine classes and events, wine list development and event management. Clients include: Anomaly, LCBO, Flutes + Forks, DOMA. Since 2016 I have worked with Antler Kitchen & Bar as their Wine Buyer. In 2016 I started bartending at The Henley Room and supporting the F&B Director with their Beverage Program.

Volunteer Experience: (please list CAPS volunteer experience first)
• Current – writing for CAPS website
• Current – Community & Digital Marketing Manager – Terroir Symposium
• Summer 2016 – Tree Captain, Supreme Gleaner – Not Far From The Tree
• 2016 – Day of Volunteer / Wine Team Volunteer – Terroir Symposium
• 2016 – Day of Volunteer OCTA Symposium
• 2014 – Wine Volunteer – i4C
• 2012 – 2015 Social Media Committee – Wine Country of Ontario
• 2012 – 2015 Tourism Committee – Wine Country of Ontario
• 2010 – 2015 Twenty Valley Community Member

Why do you wish to have your name stand for election to the CAPS Board of Directors?
I am a community driven and focused individual who wishes to help our local wine community here in Ontario and Canada. Over a year ago I created The Ontario Wine Trade Group to help unite the various facets and members of our industry, the goal is to bring the community together to learn and support one another better.

I believe that together we can achieve more and giving back to the community is very important. I bring an interesting set of skills from my corporate experience, managing a winery while doing Sales & Marketing. My digital marketing background and wine skills gained from UC Davis, time spent at Rosewood, volunteering for Wine Country Ontario & Twenty Valley have helped me learn and grow in ways that I’d like to help others with. Identify what or where you can contribute, and why you feel you would be an effective member of the Board.

I am currently writing for the CAPS website of which I’d like to continue to contribute. I am passionate about learning and educating and I’d like to create a series of classes for CAPS alumni and new members to grow their “other” skills – for example Excel, Social Media, How To Run Your Own Business, Invoicing 101, SEO etc. Wine tasting classes are great but helping our community build skills to run their businesses better is a gap that needs to be addressed.

As an addition to the blog posts that I am currently writing I would like to enhance the resources part of the CAPS website to provide more value to CAPS members. This I hope will attract new CAPS members.

I have skills in wordpress, social media, community management, event management and I am eager to share my skills.

Can you meet the requirements listed in the Requirements of Candidates (above)? Yes.

Identify three key areas the Board of Directors and the Association should focus on for this coming year?
I believe that CAPS should focus on increasing value to their members via resources (news, articles, information, training tools for their staff) etc.

I also believe that CAPS could be doing more masterclasses and skill training for Sommeliers. Skill training includes tasting classes, service classes but also the business of wine, how to run your own business, excel tips, social media, how to build a website, SEO and other digital marketing skills.

Building deeper relationships within the industry and with industry members is another key area that should be focused on.

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Anjana Viswanatha

Professional/Work Experience includes:

• Principal and Sommelier, Wednesday Night Wine
• Personal and corporate wine tastings, team building and employee recognition events.
• Customized wine education events.
• Wine cellar creation and management.
• Restaurant wine list creation and staff training.
• Clients include: Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Kiin Restaurant, Goodmans LLP
• Opening Sommelier, Alo Restaurant, April 2015 – December 2015
• Assistant Sommelier and Manager, Canoe Restaurant, October 2014 – April 2015
• Host and Guest Sommelier, Luma Restaurant, April 2014 – October 2014
• Stage, Oliver & Bonacini, November 2013 – April 2014
• Server, Ascari Enoteca, July 2013 – February 2014
• Principal, Caboodle Ink., 2006 – 2013
• Project Lead, Toronto City Summit Alliance (TCSA), 2005 – 2006
• Development of Luminato Festival of Arts, Culture and Creativity, YMCA-Toronto Alliance Youth Forums and the Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults.
• Corporate Fundraising, Canadian Stage Company, 2004 – 2005
• Manager, Corporate Communications, Bank of Montreal, 2001 – 2004
• National Events Manager, Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers, 1999 – 2001

CAPS Volunteer Experience and other includes:

• 2016-2017 Vineyard and cellar work at 16 Mile Cellar
• 2014-2015 Pouring and hosting at wine shows for Wines of California, The Living Vine and other individual sommeliers and event planners
• 2012-2013 Communications strategy and fundraising support for Toronto-based dance company ProArteDanza
• 2006-2007 Board of Directors, St. Christopher House
• 2005-2007 Board committee, Access and Equity Committee, Family Service Toronto
• 2004-2006 Board of Directors, ProArteDanza

Contribution to the Board:

I would like to join the CAPS Board to give back to the sommelier community and to the organization from which I benefitted through a great education and subsequent work experiences. I feel CAPS is the best education for a sommelier in Canada and I would like to play a part in supporting and enhancing the organization for future generations of students.

I have had valuable industry experience, having been a sommelier at two top Toronto restaurants, and opening one of them, before venturing out on my own to begin a consulting career which combines my prior career in communications and event planning with my training as a sommelier.

I bring to the board a wealth of experience in corporate and non-profit sectors from my former career, as well as my connections in the restaurant industry in Toronto and a deepening relationship with local wineries through my work with my current client, Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake. I have also recently been involved in teaching an event planning course at Humber College, an experience that has renewed an ever-present desire to be in the education community and to help young people find their passions and succeed in their careers.

I think the breadth of my work and volunteer experience along with my diverse skills will be an asset to an organization that works diligently to enhance student development and create community connections.

Areas of CAPS Board focus moving forward should be:
1. Enhancing our relationship and building even stronger connections with the restaurant industry and hospitality professionals to ensure CAPS students receive truly valuable experiences with their stages and a realistic and comprehensive understanding of the expectations of that job world when graduating from the CAPS program. Also creating more avenues for the mentorship of young sommeliers by more seasoned professionals and expanding connections with wineries in Ontario to build even more comprehensive training opportunities for sommeliers.
2. Expanding our reach and building connections with sommeliers and wine industry professionals beyond the GTA to make CAPS a more relevant organization for sommeliers working in other areas of Ontario. In addition, increasing the general public’s knowledge of CAPS and the work we do through non-industry events.
3. Evaluating systems within CAPS education to ensure that contingencies exist to accommodate individuals who might need consideration for sitting exams late (or different types of exams) because of unforeseen issues that arise. Overall, ensuring the program and testing are fair and flexible for students to succeed.

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Vote at the AGM – April 11th