John Perrot (L) and Torrie Silverthorn (R) (photo credit: City of Vernon)

By Kevin Rothwell

Changes at city hall

New leaders for Vernon’s economic development and tourism

May 20, 2021 | 10:38 AM

The City of Vernon has hired one person from another Okanagan municipality and promoted another person from within to lead its economic development and tourism department.

As of May 31, John Perrott will be joining the city as its new manager of Economic Development and Tourism. The position was previously held by Kevin Poole, who will be taking on the role of director of Community Safety, Lands, and Administration at the end of the month.

Perrot was the Economic Development and Tourism manager for the City of West Kelowna since 2010. He graduated from Okanagan College with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2003, and in 2019, he completed the Masters of Management program at the University of British Columbia.

He was also the marketing director and executive director of the Downtown Kelowna Association, and he served as a director and vice-president of the Business Improvement Area Association of BC from 2006 to 2010. He has been an active member of the BC Economic Development Association’s Board of Directors since 2016.

Torrie Silverthorn has been named the city’s new tourism manager, effective immediately.

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Silverthorn has been the city’s tourism coordinator since 2018. She previously worked in the marketing department for Predator Ridge Resort & Turtle Mountain communities, as well as running her own marketing company, Tor Media. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from the University of Saskatchewan and has extensive secondary education in the field of marketing.

“I would like to congratulate Mr. Perrott and Ms. Silverthorn on their new roles,” Will Pearce, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Vernon, said. “Both of these portfolios provide vital services to help market, celebrate and grow our local and regional economy, and I am confident they will serve our community well. I, along with the rest of our senior management team, look forward to seeing the impact these two will have and the positive leadership they will bring to their teams.”