The Cruise Ship Business, and a Seminar

SABDA is hosting two events on the evening of June 1st.

Who should attend?  |  When and where  |  Sign up  |  The presenters

First, come and meet Bernadette MacNeil, Manager of Marketing and Development at Port of Sydney. She will share her insights into what cruiseship lines are looking for, and what cruising passengers really want. Armed with a little background, we can create attractive, unique experiences that can only be had in Cape Breton.

Next up, join Tips for Productive Meetings, a seminar and Q&A designed for boards and presented by Dr Alastair MacLeod, who chaired the Citizens' Liaison Committee for the Sydney Tar Ponds cleanup.

Our conversation with Bernadette will take up our first half hour, and the seminar will run about 1.5 hours.

You are free to join us for the entire evening, or for either piece. If you decide not to take advantage of both portions of the evening, please slip in and out as quietly as mice!

Who Should Attend?

If you would like to enter—or re-enter—the cruiseship business, the best way to start is by talking to the person who talks to the cruiseship lines. Don't confine your imagination to the old lunch stop or "tea" break busloads; come and find out what passengers really want, and let's see if we can inspire them—and each other.

If you participate in a business or non-profit board, a church group, or any organisation where meetings are a feature, you can only gain by attending our seminar. You don't have to chair your meetings or be President of your group; everyone who wants to do things better is welcome.

When and Where

The Presenters

Bernadette MacNeil

Bernadette is Manager of Marketing and Development for the Port of Sydney Development Corporation. She has been an active player in the tourism sector for the past seventeen years, and sits on the board of the Atlantic Canada Cruise Association as an active director and treasurer for this leading marketing body.

Bernadette has recently been asked to join the board of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS). She understands the value and demands of business in general, and the cruise industry in particular. She is a past member of the board of the Cape Breton Partnership, and brings local, regional, national, and international experience to many platforms.

Dr Alastair MacLeod

Alastair has extensive experience in chairing effective meetings. For eight and a half years, he was volunteer chair of the Citizens' Liaison Committee of the Sydney Tar Ponds cleanup. The committee comprised 15 organisations and government representatives faced with many challenges throughout the cleanup project.

He has also served in a volunteer capacity as a director of the Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce, a director of Nova Scotia Business Inc., and President of the Nova Scotia Chambers of Commerce, and was inducted into the Cape Breton Business Hall of Fame in 2007. He was particularly fond of his term as President of the Clan MacLeod Society of Cape Breton, from 2006 to 2011.

In his career as a dentist, Dr. MacLeod worked with, taught, and was a member of health and dental organisations in Scotland, the United States, and Canada, and is the founder of the Mayflower Dental Clinic in Sydney.

Joyce MacDougall

Joyce has been with Business Cape Breton, formerly the Small Business Development Centre, since April of 2009. She is responsible for working with the business community to identify training needs, and to coordinate programmes and activities to promote entrepreneurship and skills development throughout Cape Breton.

As a community volunteer, Joyce has served as President of the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce, President of the Children's Aid Society, and Chair of the United Way campaign, and been a member of the boards of other organisations in the local area. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Cove Guest Home in Sydney.

Joyce is a graduate of Cape Breton University, and a member of the Association of Workplace Educators of Nova Scotia.

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