Geoff Paynton appointed to PG Canada Winter Games Board

From the City of Williams Lake:

The Director of Community Services, Geoff Paynton, has been named as a founding member of the 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society, to be held in Prince George, and selected as the board secretary.

The Host Society will organize and conduct the Games in Prince George in early 2015. Paynton has been in involved in PacificSport North since its first day of existence as the Regional Multisport Network Centre in 1995, and was a staff member for the first 3½ years. He has since served as a board member at the
regional and provincial level since then, and has been involved with both provincial and national level Games.

He was involved 10 years ago in the early stages of the Prince George bid for the Games.

“The bid was built on years and years of hard work by many great people in that community that was started with a big dream by a handful of us 10 years earlier,” Paynton says. “At the time it seemed like an impossible goal but we dreamed big.”

While the exact roles of the board members have yet to be defined, Paynton anticipates his involvement will centre around sport issues such as fields of play and venues. Being from Williams Lake, he offers regional representation to the board. “One of the key aspects of the bid that made Prince George successful was
the goal to ensure that these Games were for, and involved, all of Northern B.C.,” he says. “I believe I am intended to be the voice of the regions on this board and to be able to bring that unique perspective to the table when key decisions are being made.”

Mayor Kerry Cook congratulated Paynton on his appointment. “From his years of involvement in organizations that develop athletes and coaches to eventually represent Canada, as well as his level of commitment and pride in northern B.C., I know Geoff will be a great asset to the Host Society,” Cook says. “I am proud we have such a dedicated and experienced person to represent the northern region of the province. His passion for sport and for communities will be clear to anyone involved in the 2015 Games.”
“„I‟m extremely humbled and very honoured to be chosen to be a part of this Host Society,” Paynton says. “This is a true once in a lifetime opportunity. I‟ve worked in sport for many, many years and I know that this opportunity is extremely rare.”
“I am in absolute awe of the level of talent and expertise that has been assembled on this Board and I know we will accomplish our goal to bring a best ever Canada Games to Prince George, Northern B.C., B.C., and Canada. It‟s also very gratifying to know that you are, in a sense, being recognized as a person who can help represent all of us on the biggest national stage we have. ”

As part of the preparation for the Prince George Games, Paynton will observe parts of the latter half of the 2011 Games later this month in Halifax.