Wine and Grape Conference Louise Corbeil makes it all happen
Wine grape council’s administrator has taken a bottom-line approach tomake annual gathering a success.
By Susan McIver L
ouise Corbeil, administrative officer for the B.C.Wine Grape Council, organizes the council’s
annual conference and provides valuable services to its other activities. The 14th annual Enology &
Viticulture Conference and Trade Show was held during July in Penticton, attracting close to 300 delegates and about 219 trades people associated with the 108 exhibits. The vast
majority of delegates were fromthe Okanagan with a few fromOntario, the rest of B.C. and the United States. “We’d probably havemore American
delegates except for their annual enology and viticulturemeeting being held in late June,” Corbeil said. About two-thirds of the exhibitors
were Canadian and the remainder American. Until Corbeil’s arrival the early
conferences had trouble breaking even financially. “I suggested we have a trade show to
help with the bottomline,” she said. The first was held at Penticton’s
LakesideHotel in 1999 with approximately 100 delegates and 10 exhibitors. Corbeil has also initiated the
sponsorship programwhich helps to bring in funds while providing substantial advertising exposure for the sponsoring businesses. This year there were 12 sponsors. “My goal is to cover the cost of the
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conference. Any excess funds are used to bring in out-of-country speakers for the next year,” she said. This year’s guest was Patrick Vuchot
of France. Planning for conferences begins in
January when the conference committeemeets. “They consider suggestions
submitted by delegates fromthe previous year’smeeting and hold general brainstorming sessions.” Once the committee has established the programit goes to Corbeil to “make it happen”. This year there were 23 plenary
speakers and 20 workshops for her to organize as well as see to all details for the poster presentations, trade show, sponsors, delegates and two social events. Her biggest
challenge is finding the optimum balance between delegates and exhibitors. “Much of the
SUSAN MCIVER Louise Corbeil
time during the conference the delegates are attending the talks and
workshops, which means the
exhibitors are twiddling their thumbs,” she explained. To facilitate interaction, lunch and
coffee are served in the exhibitors’ hall. Corbeil enjoys being able to work
fromher home whichmakes balancing work and family obligations easier. When not working on the annual
conference, she keeps the council books and takesminutes of all board, committee and subcommittee meetings. She also coordinates workshops
sponsored by the BCWGC’s health and safety committee. The topics range fromergonomics of
pruning and tractor training to safe operation of air blast sprayers and what to do about bears, cougars and deer. Corbeil also helps coordinates the
Triggs International PremiumVinifera Lecture Series in late August.
British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2013 “I take satisfaction in providing good
service to an exciting industry.” Born in Ottawa and raised in
Quebec, Corbeil worked as a secretary in hospitals until she and her husband, DavidMatthew,moved to the Okanagan. In their spare time, David, a retired
teacher, and Louise operate whiskey tasting tours of Scotland.
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