Chair
General Manager, Walnut Beach Resort

Vice Chair
LaStella & Le Vieux Pin Wineries

Secretary-Treasurer
General Manager - Holiday Inn Osoyoos

Board Member
Managing Partner, Orca Pacific Management Consultants

Derek Noske is a veteran senior business executive who is contributing his wealth of knowledge to help ensure that tourism and economic developments in Osoyoos bring not just prosperity, but also an enhanced quality of life for everyone in the community.

Noske is a managing partner with Orca Pacific Management Consultants. He continues to provide management and business consulting services to about seven companies across the United States - specializing in what he notes is the "fast-moving arena" of providing in-depth analysis and advice on potential mergers and acquisitions.

Noske was born in Vancouver and was raised there, as well as in Oliver and Prince George. After college studies in business and marketing, he completed an Advanced Marketing Management program at the Banff School of Management and later earned a graduate degree in Business & Marketing from the University of Florida.

From 1962-78, Noske worked for Laurentide Financial Corporation, in Vancouver - starting as a Customer Service Representative and working his way up to Branch Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Manager of Training & Sales Development, Manager of Advertising & Promotion, Assistant Vice-President for Public Relations, and then Vice-President of Marketing & New Business Development. Finally at Laurentide, Noske developed a business plan for Telecheck Canada and was appointed General Manager of this early, leading-edge electronic debit transaction system. He opened Telecheck branches in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

In 1978 Noske moved to Barnett Banks of Florida, where he was appointed President & Chief Executive Officer of Verifications Inc., a newly created Barnett Banks affiliate. He led a staff of 500 employees, covering a seven-state area, in the development of one of North America's first systems of 'automated teller' terminals provided to merchants in order to authorize credit-card and cheque payments. "It was an exciting time to be a part of such a new development," Noske says.

From 1988-90 he designed and implemented a successful all-inclusive Corporate Relocation Program for a major Florida real estate brokerage - a program which provided service for large companies like IBM and Bendix. Moving back to Canada in the early-1990s, Noske created and introduced a consumer and fleet credit card system for the Mohawk Oil Company, and developed a business model for construction as well as a time-share concept for Waterway Houseboats, Ltd. in Sicamous, B.C.

Since 1993 Noske has pursued his work as a managing partner with Orca Pacific Management Consultants - interrupted only by a stint in 1998-2000 when he consulted for National Air Technologies, Ltd., based in Toronto and Vancouver, and for a time helped out by serving as the company's President & Chief Operating Officer while a new President was being recruited.

Noske moved to Osoyoos in 2000 and by 2001 he was involved in Destination Osoyoos - as Vice-Chairman, Chairman, and now a senior member of the board. He says that throughout his career he has tried to become involved in each community he has lived in - "to find a way to give back to the community, and Destination Osoyoos fitted perfectly for me." He has been able to offer his business expertise to help the local tourism marketing and economic development organization promote growth and community improvements. He says communities can't stop change, but they can help to guide what kind of change occurs, so that it works "for the good of the community". He thinks Destination Osoyoos initiatives in recent years - such as the town's Resort Municipality status and the planned new Airport industrial development - lay the foundation for helping to ensure that young people will be able to build careers and futures in Osoyoos and that the tax burden for seniors and other citizens will be kept down. Noske is active in the effort to overcome the local doctor shortage, and he believes the next big challenge for the community is the need for affordable housing.

Noske married his schoolhood sweetheart Eileen and the couple has three sons - Stacy (in Florida), Mark (in North Vancouver) and Rory (in Texas) - as well as two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He is a director of the South Okanagan Liberal Association and a layman at the Catholic church in Osoyoos. When not consulting for businesses or lending a hand to Osoyoos initiatives, Noske loves fly-fishing and skiing.

Board Member
Hotel Manager - Watermark Beach Resort

Board Member
Osoyoos Museum Society Curator/Director

Board Member
Owner, Mckinney Creek Adventures

Director
Owner, Wakepilot Osoyoos

Director
General Manager, Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa

Director
Partner, Osoyoos Duty Free Shop

Councillor, Town of Osoyoos

Director, Electoral Area "A", Regional District Okanagan Similkameen