Anna Marie Harris

Georgian Bay Country

Anna Marie Harris graduated from the Travel and Tourism program at Seneca College in 1984 and then began her career, learning the ropes of the travel and tourism industry, in the central reservation department of a hotel chain. After an internal move to sales and catering, it was not long before coordinating large-scale events was another task that she was well adept in. In 1989, after several years with the hotel chain, Anna Marie made the decision leave Toronto to join her husband Perry (who is the current president of the Parry Sound Area Chamber of Commerce) in his hometown of Parry Sound where they have since planted their roots and are now raising their two children; Josh, 17, and Sarah, 14.

Once in Parry Sound, Anna Marie joined CAA Travel and added a further eight years of travel and tourism experience to her credit. She left the organization to assist in the operations of Perry’s business, which at that time was a corporate fuel station and store. They have since sold that business and opened the Petro-Canada which is co-located with Georgian Bay Country’s newly established visitor centre a few minutes South of Parry Sound.

In February of 2008, Anna Marie joined the Georgian Bay Country team and was responsible for running the visitor centre. She is now the manager of the Georgian Bay Country Visitor Centre and has added the intricate task of marketing the Parry Sound Area to her job description. She stays on top of the many tourism related conferences, forums and events that take place in the region and throughout Ontario and is always identifying new opportunities, partnerships and relationships, and approaches to marketing and promoting the area.

Anna Marie is very engaged in the Parry Sound Area community, actively participating in many committees related to marketing, events, and economic development including the Communications sub-committee of the Regional Economic Development Advisory Committee, the Stockey Centre Advisory Committee, the West Parry Sound Health Centre Foundation, and the Georgian Bay Coastal Route to name a few. She also volunteers for Community Living Parry Sound and the Victim Crisis Assistance Referral Service (VCARS).