Contact Us

Calgary Dragon Boat Society

Attention: Shane Martin
510 – 606 – 4th Street SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 1T1

Fax: 403-668-1663

Current Board of Directors

Danny Ng has long been involved in the Calgary Chinese community, has been an active volunteer on previous Dragon Boat festivals and brings extensive experience organizing groups. He also volunteers and participates on various associations in the Chinese Community. Danny works in business development on an international scale.

Kelvin Koay is very active in the Calgary dragon boating scene, he has participated in Calgary Dragon Boat Festival since 1998, during which time he volunteered in helping organize dragon boat practices. Currently, the head coach for Calgary Dragon Boat Club. Kelvin has also served on its executive committee. Kelvin has worked for more than 10 years in business development in Calgary.

Shane Martin has been a long time dragon boater and member of the Calgary Canoe Club. He paddled at the 2008 World Club Crew Championships in Malaysia and he is currently serving as a volunteer manager of Dragnum, one of Calgary’s Dragon Boat clubs. Shane currently works in civil litigation, mediation and negotiation.

Ed Tam is long time community volunteer in Calgary where he has served as a board member and advisor. He has contributed to fundraising to an initiative to purchase healthcare equipment for a senior citizen care center and is currently a member of the Calgary Chinatown Centennial Celebration Committee. He is employed as a senior engineer with an oil & gas producing company.

Derek Zhao brings in-depth experience in financial analysis, event planning and fund development. At work he is a Commercial Banking Associate with a regional financial institution. Prior to this, he was with a Canadian chartered bank and the Calgary Economic Development where he worked on the financial services sector and China initiative. Derek is also a board member of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association.

Joe Connelly is the former Alderman of Ward 6 (2007 -2010) and is recognized as a results-oriented community leader, passionate and proud about his city and his province. Joe attended the University of Calgary where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce, and has over 25 years of senior business experience in the not-for-profit, blue-chip corporate and entrepreneurial business sectors.

Mike Fitzpatrick is a newly appointed member of the Board. He is an avid paddler with one of Calgary’s Dragon Boat teams, has volunteered with the United Way in the past, and is currently a member of Calgary’s Search and Rescue Team. Mike is a retiree from CP Rail, where we worked for 30 years in various functions from Capital Project evaluations to Operations Planning.

Keri Rak has been part of Calgary’s dragon boat community since 2002 as a paddler, manager and as head coach for the Red Eyes Paddling Club. A born & raised Calgarian, she is proud of the sportsmanship and camaraderie shown throughout the dragon boat community in this city, and enjoys learning new things about coaching every season. She is also a member of the Calgary Canoe Club and volunteers her time on the executive of the Mount Royal University Squash Club and on the radio as a DJ at CJSW. Keri has worked as an analyst at Mount Royal University for the past 13 years.

Past Board of Directors

Donn Lovett has been very active in his community since 1983; with the Cliff Bungalow Mission Community Association. He served in various positions including President. Donn has managed several political campaigns in Calgary; winning 6 MLA campaigns. He was appointed by the Mayor to the Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee at the City of Calgary. He volunteered as the Dragon Boat announcer for the 2011 event. Donn is the President of his own company in media and public relations.

Sandy Swanton has strong experience in events management and communications drawn from experience in Canada and Australia, including the Sydney Olympics. She has most recently been a senior advisor with the Australian government, extensively involved in facilitating multi-stakeholder initiatives. Sandy first became involved in Dragon Boating in Victoria where she represented the VBIA as a key sponsor of the event. Sandy currently works in public relations.

Shael Gelfand has been an active volunteer on the Boards on a number community organizations, including the Unicef Alberta Leadership Council. He has participated extensively as a volunteer with a number of dragon boat festivals including being an announcer and a part of race and results committees. Shael currently works in public and media relations.

Steering Committee & Advisors

Alexandria (Alex) Sham is the President of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association. She recognizes that many of her association members participate in the dragon boat community around the world and brings forward a voice of the cultural component. She works with RBC Insurance as an Advisor and is active in many community organizations.

Danny Ng is Business Development Manager with the Canada Export Centre and Publisher at ChinatownCalgary.com. Long involved in the Calgary community, Danny has been an active volunteer on previous Dragon Boat festivals and brings extensive experience organizing groups. He also volunteers and participates on various associations in the Chinese Community.

Lynda Roberts is the Manager of the Calgary Canoe Club. She is highly knowledgeable of event-day planning and operations for dragon boats, has years of paddling experience and has practical knowledge of utilizing the Glenmore Reservoir for recreation and sport purposes. She has participated as a paddler in dragon boating herself.

Stuart Walker is the General Manager of HR and Corporate Services with UTS Energy. He brings his experience as a corporate sponsor of dragon boats as well as a background in corporate governance.

Kevin Forster sits as a non-voting member with the committee representing The City of Calgary. Kevin has had a long time professional involvement in supporting appropriate water sports and recreational activities on the reservoir. Kevin is presently The City of Calgary Liaison for the Glenmore Canoe and Rowing Clubhouse Foundation and the Dragon Boats on the Glenmore Reservoir.

The work of the Steering Committee is supported by Frank Johnston, who is with CentrePoint Non-Profit Management.