Former Chamber of Commerce manager, municipal councillor and hotelier Wendy Magee is going to put her business and political contacts to help cure Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Magee has been appointed executive director of the ALS Society of B.C.
She officially starts her new position on May 1, but is already doing a "transitional crossover" with her current work as general manager of the Mountain Retreat Hotel & Suites. She will be moving to Vancouver from Squamish to take the position.
The mission of the ALS Society of BC is to find the cause of and a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The organization provides support to ALS patients, their families, and caregivers.
The position has some personal significance for Magee; her friend Ron Barr, a former municipal councillor, died of ALS in 1998 and her own son also suffered from a neurological disease.
"It provides me with an opportunity to do something to make a difference - in this case, working towards a cure for ALS," she said. "It just felt right."
Part of her work with ALS BC will be lobbying government officials to ensure research funding for the disease - in fact, her first official duty will involve flying to Ottawa at the end of this month to meet with MPs and government officials.
Magee was manager of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce from 1988 to 1998 and served as president of the B.C. Chamber Executives and director of the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada during her tenure.
She left the Chamber in 1998 to become the founding general manager of the Super 8 Motel Squamish and oversaw its transition to the Mountain Retreat Hotel & Suites. She served on Squamish council from 1999 to 2002 and has worked as vice-chair of the Vancouver Coast and Mountains Tourism Association, chair of the Save the Royal Hudson Committee and with the Squamish General Hospital Foundation.
Magee hopes to use her contacts established through her work at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in her new position.
"I'm a very lucky person," she said. "I've had two incredible jobs in this community where I've learned a lot and made a lot of friends. I'm hoping to use my contacts in the business community to further our cause.
"As long as there's research, there's hope."
