November 28, 2023

The National Board of the Travel Media Association is delighted to announce that Christine Painter has joined TMAC as our new CAO. Christine will assume her role starting Monday, December 4.

TMAC President Paul Knowles says, “We are thrilled to welcome Christine to TMAC.
She is clearly a shining star in our industry."

“We also want to offer a huge thank-you to Donna Hatt, who completes her duties as TMAC CAO on November 30. Donna has been an invaluable part of the team, and even after starting her new position as Economic Development Officer for Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in October, she has continued to give hours of support to TMAC every week, during the transition process. I know that every TMAC member will join me in thanking Donna for all she has done, and in wishing her every success in the future.”

Christine Painter comes to TMAC with an impressive history of involvement in the travel and tourism industry. She is currently a volunteer director and vice president of the Peterborough-Hastings Trans Canada Trail Association Inc.

Her career has included lengthy stints as marketing manager at Elmhirst’s Resort in Keene, Ontario (a TMAC member); as Regional Project Manager with the Regional Tourism Organization 8 (Peterborough and district); and as Tourism Coordinator for the City of Quinte West, where she continues to live. Christine holds a Master’s Degree in Tourism Management.

Knowles, who also chaired the Search Committee, added, “I want to stress the amount of time and dedication TMAC’s Search Committee put into the search for our new CAO. Our members owe a big debt of thanks to Jerry Grymek, Katie Conklin, Tracy Ford, Mark Stevens and Pierre Santoni for their work in efficiently and effectively narrowing the search from the 141 initial applications to an excellent short list, eventually leading to the hiring of Christine.”

He added, “We have promised that we will be patient with Christine as she dives into this complicated new job… as long as she agrees to be equally patient with us.”

For more information about TMAC, visit travelmedia.ca.