Realstar’s David Blades is ORHMA chair

David Blades

TORONTO—Canada’s largest provincial hospitality association has a new chair, David Blades, who is responsible for Days Inns at Realstar Hospitality.  Blades made his debut as chair at the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association (ORHMA) 10th annual AGM held  June 3 at Hockley Valley Resort in Orangeville.

Blades has held various positions in the association over the past six years.
At the AGM, Blades referred to today’s uncharted economic times, adding that “the way businesses operate in this environment has been a bit of a wand waving exercise. The champions in this environment will be the ones who are focused, diligent and at best creative hand jugglers. Hopefully we will see the light at the end of the tunnel in the coming year as many economists forecast.”

He congratulated president Tony Elenis on the great strides made during the first year of his presidency, including formation of the new ORHMA Simcoe County branch. “As we keep expanding we will soon celebrate the formation of ORHMA chapters in the cities of Guelph and Sault Ste Marie, with more to come,” he added.

The ORHMA has set five strategic goals, Blades said.

o    Value of membership is top of mind. The organization will soon being announcing new programs that positively impact the bottom line.

o    ORHMA will continue to show leadership in various sectors. Recent activities in environment, education, accessibility and promotion of Ontario Home Grown Food will be enhanced further to provide ease of understanding, break barriers, and support the success of Ontario. 
 
o    Training is an important component of the industry. ORHMA is now taking it to the next level by partnering with OTEC and together the two brands will be a “class act” for the hospitality industry.  “Providing resources and engagement of our members will be a priority,” Blades said.

o    The ORHMA will reach out through a travelling speaker series, a road show or webinars on topics that are relevant and that matter to operators such as Liquor Licence Education, Food Safety and Menu Engineering. “[We will also] will reach out through our upcoming upgraded web presence which will incorporate a state-of-the-art hospitality resource centre to aid in communication and in building one’s knowledge,” Blades added.

o    Government relations is ORHMA’s focus and our strength, Blades said. “We will continue to work with the various stakeholders and with government for the good of the industry.

“Consumer confidence is at a low, and we have seen and have experienced record breaking tourism declines with razor thin profit margins. It is a must that the industry and government work together towards achieving a healthy climate. ORHMA’s leadership will be required and ORHMA will be there every step of the way.”

New faces at the ORHMA

ORHMA has also added two new full time people to its government relations team.
Michelle Saunders, who has served as a political advisor to several key provincial cabinet ministers, is the manager of government relations. And Marco Monaco, who has several years of experience in issues management and strategic communications in the public, media and government domains, is government relations advisor.
 
Ontario has 22,000 foodservice and 3,000 accommodation establishments, providing 400,000 jobs in the province.  It’s a $22 billion business that pays $7 billion in taxes.
 
The ORHMA was formed 10 years ago in a merger of the Ontario Restaurant Association and the Ontario Hotel & Motel Association.  With more than 11,000 member establishments across the province, ORHMA represents the industry’s interests at both the provincial and municipal levels of government.