Visit Santa Cruz County Welcomes New Board Members

Press release from VSCC:

July 8, 2021

Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) announces the election of new members to the Board of Directors. Each member begins their duties on July 1, 2021 and will sit on the 25-member Board for two-year terms. New Board members are:

Foster Andersen, President - Shared Adventures

Foster Andersen was raised in Rochester, New York. Following a motorcycle accident that partially severed his spine he began using a wheelchair at age 17. While attending college at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as a manufacturing engineer major, he joined a brand new "sit ski" program for people with spinal cord injuries and embraced the idea of providing extreme adventures for persons with disabilities. Foster moved to Berkeley in 1987 to further expand his outdoor adventures with the Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program (BORP) and Environmental Traveling Companion (ETC). He arrived in Santa Cruz in 1990 to lend support to the community in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta Earthquake and established Shared Adventures in 1992. Since its inception, Shared Adventures has served the disabled population of the Central Coast and Bay Area through life strengthening and confidence building opportunities. Additionally, Foster has been active as a community representative on numerous city, county, state and non-profit committees, commissions and boards, including a 10-year term as a board member for the County of Santa Cruz In Home Support Services Advisory Committee and eight years on the City of Santa Cruz Board of Building and Fire Appeals.

Josh Belcher, General Manager - Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley Hilton

Josh Belcher was born and raised in Waynesville, Missouri and enlisted in the U.S. Navy following high school. He completed two tours of duty overseas on the USS Constellation Aircraft Carrier. Following his time in the Navy, he built a career over the last 24 years in hospitality beginning at the Tan-Tar-A Resort on the banks of the Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. For the past eight years, Josh has been with Remington Hotel Property Management Group, taking leadership roles at properties in New Mexico, Texas, and Indiana. In August 2020 he came to Santa Cruz to take the position of General Manager at the Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley Hilton. He lives with his wife and family in Santa Cruz.

Mike Harris, Vice President - Ledgestone Hospitality/Hampton Inn – Watsonville

Michael Harris grew up in Texas working line level hospitality positions prior to advancing to General Manager at 19 years old. By age 23, he had purchased three hotels in three Midwestern states. Michael then formed a consulting company and for over a decade assisted many of the top hotel management companies in the country with sales efforts. Michael returned to operations in 1997 and was appointed Regional Director for a national hotel brands management division. In this capacity he was able to open and supervise operations for a Hampton by Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott and many AmericInns along with helping create a four-diamond luxury boutique property in Paso Robles, California. He also led the effort to develop an eCRM initiative for a national hotel brand. In 2009 he joined Ledgestone Hospitality where he is currently Vice President and partner overseeing the management of 30 hotels from Wisconsin to California. He has been associated with Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Best Western, Marriott, Wyndham, Choice and several independent hotels. Michael developed the winning site for the Western Management Development Center in Aurora, Colorado, managing and assisting in opening the Dole-Specter Conference Center/hotel and spearheading the creation of the Paso Robles Business Improvement District. Michael lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and four children.

VSCC board members determine policies which govern the agency, review and approve VSCC’s annual work plan and serve on committees that directly support tourism promotion for the County. The board also oversees the Tourism Marketing District budget and program of work. Tourism is Santa Cruz County's largest industry, which impacted the area with $1.1 billion for the local economy in 2019.

This press release was produced by VSCC. The views expressed here are the author's own.