Nick Banks, President
Bernie Talbot, Vice-President
Leslie Welsh, Secretary
Ryan Burles, Treasurer
VEHS has two seats on the Board of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority. VEHS representatives to the GVHA Board are elected by the VEHS members and must be members in good standing of VEHS.
Bruce Hale (FAS Seafood Producers Ltd.)
Mark Mawhinney (Odlum Brown)
President and Membership Committee Co-Chair, Official Community Planning
Member Category: Marinas, Floathomes, Liveaboards
Profession: Partner, Hidden Harbour Marina; Small Boat Fleet Manager, Prince of Whales Whale-Watching
Nick has been enjoying our local waters for more than fifty years. When not working on and around the harbour he can be found out fishing or racing high velocity sailboats in events such as Swiftsure and the Van Isle 360, a point-to-point race around Vancouver Island. Nick has also accumulated many offshore miles racing and delivering yachts up and down both coasts of North America.
Born and raised in Victoria, Nick went from building boats in the summers while attending the University of Calgary, to embarking on a successful business career in the oil and gas pipeline construction industry, returning back to Victoria in 1988. After becoming a partner in Hidden Harbour Marine Centre, a purpose-built marina in West Bay Esquimalt where Nick ran the marine retail department for six years, he went on to acquire his real-estate license that he still maintains at Century 21 Queenswood, a local boutique office in Cadboro Bay.
Nick has served three years as one of two Victoria Esquimalt Harbour Society (VEHS) representatives on the board of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA), six years on the board of the Maritime Museum and six years as an executive member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. For the past thirty years he has been the Harbourmaster for the annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival. Nick is currently the small boat fleet manager at Prince of Whales whale watching, a position he has held for the past five years.
Vice-President
Member Category: Unaffiliated
Profession: Retired Stevedore
Bernie has had a long career as a stevedore working 40 years at Ogden Point on and with the commercial vessels and with the Victoria berthed Cruise Ships.. He served as Vice President of the local Stevedore union that worked in Victoria Harbour and has previously served on the VEHS Board for many years.
Bernie was instrumental in shaping and forming the Victoria Harbour Authority, and in examining and independently watching over its harbour activities and the implications thereof.
He was also the President of the local Oakland Community Center involved in their strong interest in their connections to the harbour.
Bernie wishes to continue the work to make VEHS a large and functional peace of the complex Harbour puzzle.
Secretary and Privacy Officer, Chair of the Committee for Greater Victoria as an Ocean City
Member Category: Environment
Profession: Principal, Environment & Energy Consultancy
Leslie completed degrees in physics and atmospheric physics, serving 33 years with Environment Canada as a forecasting and research meteorologist in locations across Canada, then later as an environmental regulator of the energy industry. He developed the first green power procurement program, in which he initiated the first federally-certified greenhouse gas emissions reductions trade in Canada. He moved to Victoria in 2014, retiring to a consultancy. He joined VEHS in 2015 as a result of a love of harbours arising from his upbringing in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and having become a recreational sailor (mainly in the Greek Islands). He monitors Victoria’s endlessly fascinating harbour from his home over the inner harbour.
Treasurer
Member Category: Marine Transportation
Profession: President & COO, Black Ball Ferry Line
Ryan started working for Black Ball Ferry Line in 1981, working the docks as a part-time Traffic Director while completing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education. After graduating from University of Victoria he joined the Company’s Victoria Management team.
Director-at-Large
Member Category: Industry/Commercial
Profession: CEO of FAS Seafood Producers Ltd
Bruce has been CEO of FAS Seafood Producers Ltd / Finest at Sea Ocean Products since 2018. He was previously general manager at the company.
FAS Seafood Producers Ltd / Finest at Sea Ocean Products is a leading provider of quality seafood on the West Coast. Finest At Sea has 10 large offshore fishing vessels. It uses sustainable fishing practices to offer the likes of Halibut, Sablefish, Salmon, Spot Prawns, Albacore Tuna, Lingcod, Rockfish, Dungeness Crab, and shellfish. Bruce has also worked in the plastic manufacturing industry with positions at Macro Plastics, ORBIS corporation, and Linpac Materials Handling)
Director representing Destination Greater Victoria
Member Category: Marine Tourism
Profession: CEO Destination Greater Victoria
Paul Nursey is a highly accomplished tourism marketing, strategy, and branding expert who is widely regarded as one of Canada’s top tourism policy minds. Since joining Destination Greater Victoria (DGV) in 2014, Paul has led DGV to numerous significant accomplishments, including:
Paul’s 28 years of tourism management and leadership experience includes holding leadership positions with the Canadian Tourism Commission, Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours, Mount Seymour Resorts and Tourism Vancouver. He serves on the board of the Destinations International Foundation and previously served on the board of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada as the Advocacy Committee Chair.