Brandon First has selected Jennifer Watson to be the new permanent Executive Director of the local destination marketing organization. Watson, who has been Interim ED since January, replaces Graham Harvey, who left the organization in December of 2019. Her new position is effective October 25, 2022.
“On behalf of the Brandon First Board of Directors, I am so pleased to welcome Jenn to this permanent role,” said Brandon First Board Chair Chris Heide, “Jenn has proven over the course of this year that she is the right person to lead Brandon First forward into the continued recovery of the event tourism world. We have such a strong team and Board, and the support of an incredible stakeholder community, and together we are ready to bring events back to Brandon in a big way.”
Watson first joined Brandon First in 2015 as Marketing and Communications Assistant, then advanced to Development Coordinator in 2018. During the depths of the pandemic, she played a key role in ensuring the continued vibrancy and relevance of the organization, and was selected as Interim Executive Director in January 2022 as events began to look at resuming. Watson has experience in event recruitment, bid development and destination marketing, and she continues to further her skills and build connections in the event hosting industry. The entire Brandon First Board is excited to welcome her to this permanent position.
“I’m very excited to lead Brandon First’s recruitment team into the next phase of our operations,” Watson said, “We have an incredible board and membership and staff right now. Between that, and Brandon’s strong event hosting history, we have a team that’s going to bring many successful and spectacular new events to Brandon.”
Jenn is a lifelong Brandonite who attended Crocus Plains, Assiniboine Community College, and Brandon University, and is currently working towards her Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation through the Canadian Society of Association Executives.
Established in 2003, Brandon First is a not-for-profit Destination Marketing Organization that consists of a 12-member Board of Directors, a three person staff, and a membership base of 45 local business stakeholders. We are committed to working as a cohesive group to promote Brandon, Manitoba as a host city for events. We proactively source out events by attending conferences, meetings, sporting events and more to find the ones that are the right fit for our city, our venues and our market. We then work to find a local committee or interested party to pursue these potential leads. We also work with local organizations and committees who already have an idea in mind to bring their targeted event to the City of Brandon. It is our goal to drive economic development in the city through multi-day event tourism, and successful event hosting.
If you have an event you’d like to see come to Brandon or would like to become involved with Brandon First, Watson is available to answer any questions and welcome your suggestions. She be reached by phone at 204-441-5628 or by email at jenn@brandonfirst.com.
