City appoints President, Vice-President for the 2025 BC 55+ Games

Games will be held in Nanaimo

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed March 28, 2024 2:15 PM

Summary

The City of Nanaimo is pleased to announce the appointment of two key positions for the 2025 British Columbia 55+ Games. Diana Johnstone has accepted the position of President and Mary Smith has accepted the position of Vice-President. Together, they will oversee the establishment of a Nomination Committee who will then assemble a board of 11 directors and their respective committee chairs. This team will then ultimately lead the planning and implementation of the Nanaimo Games. Both the President and Vice-President positions are volunteer roles and were appointed by City Council earlier this spring.

Diana Johnstone has been involved with several large provincial sporting events hosted in Nanaimo, including the BC Summer Games held in 1985, 2002 and 2014, the Disability Games in 1987 and 2005 and the BC Senior Games held in 2007. Diana has been honoured as the recipient of The Economic Development Group award in 2007, the Nanaimo’s Sport Administrator of the Year, the British Columbia Community Achievement Award in 2008 and the Freeman of the City of Nanaimo in 2014. Diana was also a two-term Nanaimo City Councillor.

Mary Smith was involved with the last two Nanaimo BC Summer Games in the role of City staff liaison in 2002 and as a key volunteer in 2014. Mary retired from the City of Nanaimo after a 34-year career with Parks, Recreation & Culture where she worked extensively with community organizations and managed multiple recreation facilities.

The event will encompass 32 sport competitions as well as cultural and social opportunities, and could see up to 4,000 participants plus coaches and spectators attend the Nanaimo event.

To support the Games, the building at 2450 Northfield Rd., formerly home to Tourism Nanaimo, will be repurposed as the Nanaimo 55+ Organizing Committee headquarters. Signage went up at the new location earlier this week.

Link to Strategic Plan: C4.8: Community Events, Festivals, Tournaments & Gatherings.

Key Points

Nanaimo will host the British Columbia 55+ Games from Sept. 9-13, 2025 at venues across the City. The 55+ Games are the largest annual multi-sport event in BC.
A volunteer President and Vice President lead the Board of Directors and Committee Chairs who will work together to deliver the Games.
Diana Johnstone has accepted the position of 55+ Games President and Mary Smith will serve as Vice-President.
The building at 2450 Northfield Rd (located at Northfield Road and the Parkway, formerly home to Tourism Nanaimo) will be repurposed as Nanaimo's 55+ Games headquarters.

Quotes

"We are thrilled to have the passion and experience both Diana and Mary bring to the table as they lead the community in the delivery of the British Columbia 55+ Games in 2025 in Nanaimo. These games will showcase our exceptional sport hosting facilities and the welcoming nature of Nanaimo. I am confident in their leadership as we develop an unforgettable experience for athletes, officials and spectators alike. Let the planning begin!"

Leonard Krog

Mayor

City of Nanaimo

-30-

Contact:

Communications

Media Requests

City of Nanaimo

250-755-4460 ext. 4547

MediaRequests@nanaimo.ca

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