The KORE Team
The Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprise (KORE) Initiative, is a project managed by the Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Society, incorporated in February 2019, and is based in Kimberley, BC.
Matt Mosteller – Board Chair
Powder Highway based influencer, lifelong ski bum and outdoor adventurer, and sought after writer whose work has been published in countless major city newspapers, magazines and outdoor centric websites. When not escaping Grizzly Bear attacks, running wild rivers in Northern BC, or lost in the Arctic in a mid winter expedition, aka Powder Matt, can be found sipping craft coffee in Kimberley, BC and enjoying pow time on the Powder Highway.
Don McCormick – Board Director
With 20+ years committed to start-ups, I have the requisite scars to underscore the experience. Good fortune has smiled often, including a very successful exit. My work with start-ups and early stage companies follows experience in larger corporate environments (Xerox, Oracle), driving sales and building markets. As an associate for a boutique venture capital firm, I evaluated the sales and marketing plans of early stage software companies in search of seed money. Goals and results are the focus of my leadership style. I moved to Kimberley, British Columbia in 2003. It is literally a slice of paradise in south eastern BC that allows a lifestyle most dream about. With an airport and fiber connectivity I am as accessible and mobile as anyone located in the metro areas. I am serving my second term as City of Kimberley Mayor.
P.J. Hunton – Board Director
P.J. Hunton has been riding mountain bikes since 1990. It was the technical aspect of bicycles that spurred him to choose engineering in University, where he graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2001. The trail network of life guided him through various places such as Whistler, Toronto, Bralorne and Maple Ridge where he started working for Norco Bicycles, and still does today as a Senior Design Engineer. He made the decision to relocate to the mountain town of Kimberley in 2017 to make a better life for his family. A passionate cyclist, noboarder, skier, snowmobilier and most things that involve mountains, he spends most of his free time playing in the mountains with friends and family.
Pat Bates – Board Director
Pat Bates was born and raised in Kimberley, BC and has been happily recreating in the Kootenay wilderness for over half a century. Pat enjoyed a successful career as a landscape photographer, and spent many years hangliding and racing bicycles. These days, his life is calmer, while no less adventurous: he spends a generous amount of his time ski touring, climbing and hiking throughout the Purcells and Rockies with his friends and his border collie. When he’s not wandering in the mountains, Pat can be found enjoying good coffee and good beer at his home in Kimberley, where he lives with his wife Jocelyn.
SARAH BREEN – BOARD DIRECTOR
She is the Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development at Selkirk College in Trail and prior to Selkirk College Breen was with the BC Government in the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD).
Breen holds a PhD in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University, a Masters in Geography from Memorial University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Lakehead University. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, with over 10 years of experience in research, policy, and project management. Her research interests include economic development, infrastructure, natural resource management, resilience, governance, and policy – all with a specific focus on rural areas. Sarah lives in Nelson, BC where she enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and trail running with her partner and their dog.
Kevin Pennock – Project Manager
Kevin has worked along side the KORE Board for two years developing the concept of creating an industry cluster of outdoor gear makers in the Kootenays, and was brought on as Project Manager of the KORE Initiative in April 2020. Kevin’s has been immersed in outdoor adventure and the outdoor industry, both as a filmmaker and as a project manager; including creating the Ride Guide TV series and Nordic Sport Manager for the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games.
Alex Ibbotson – Business Advisor
A Kootenay East local, and a proudly Métis female entrepreneur, Alex grew up in Invermere and has been a Kimberley resident for twenty years. Leaving a corporate sales career to choose a path aligned with her love for the mountains is what lead Alex to become a backcountry safety educator and respectful motorized land use advocate. She is currently engaged in action oriented primary research to foster a more inclusive avalanche industry for snowmobile-based practitioners.
Driven by the core values growth, authenticity, connection, liberty and respect Alex is passionate about knowledge sharing and relationship building. She is grateful for the opportunity to join KORE and connect clients with resources to grow our local recreational economy.
