Connect, Learn & Celebrate
Each spring, RTO3 – Hamilton Halton Brant and RTO1 – Ontario’s Southwest, work together to produce the Southern Ontario Tourism Conference (SOTC). The conference aims to increase operator networking beyond borders and inspire innovation within the tourism sector. Connect and collaborate with business operators to grow your business by registering to attend the next conference.
Our next Southern Ontario Tourism Conference will be held at the Lamplighter Inn & Conference Centre in London, ON, March 3rd and 4th, 2026.
We are happy to introduce our two Keynote speakers who aim to provide both inspirational and practical knowledge during their sessions: Brent Colmer, the Boy who Blogs and Entrepreneur, and Peter Katz, Juno-Nominated Singer-Songwriter and Transformational TEDx speaker.
Brent Colmer
The Boy Who Blogs, Social Media Influencer, and CEO of Creator Services
As a seasoned marketing professional with extensive experience, Brent Colmer specializes in social and influencer marketing and excels at developing digital strategies that surpass their goals. He offers consulting, coaching, and marketing services through his company, creator services.
Utilizing a blend of owned (website, email, social media), earned (digital PR, content marketing, influencer), and paid (programmatic display, video, native advertising, search) media, he leverages insights and analytical data to showcase the impact of a well crafted marketing strategy.
Through his experience as an Account Director, Brent has consistently cultivated and maintained meaningful client relationships, earning a reputation for exceeding expectations and delivering impressive results. His background also includes significant experience in the music industry, specifically in festival and event management, as well as in e-commerce where he served as a brand manager for a large, pop culture, themed subscription box service.
Brent’s journey as a content creator began in his preteen years, evolving into a successful career as a blogger and social media influencer. Through his brand, Boy Who Blogs, he has collaborated with companies such as Ontario’s Southwest, Marriott, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Flair Airlines, Sport Chek, Home Hardware, Ford Canada, Foodland Ontario, and several tourism organizations and operators.
Peter Katz
Juno-Nominated Singer-Songwriter, Keynote Speaker, and Facilitator
Peter Katz, a Juno Award- and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter, has been hailed as “a thunderbolt for the soul” by many of his fans and speaking clients. Fluently bilingual in English and French, he is a master at creating experiential environments that inspire connection and foster a shared vision where one may have not existed before. His “conversational choreographies” are designed with the purpose of encouraging employees to harness a renewed energy to the importance of their work that ties more deeply to their own values. He frames much of his keynotes around his devotion to service, using it as a springboard to convey an underlying message that trusting in process will lead to amazing outcomes.
Katz has cultivated a unique perspective on what it means to be truly connected to your work and clients over his 15-year career touring and speaking globally. He has crafted stories and strategies that are rising above the noise and truly helping leaders and employees at every level create new opportunities for connection and elevation.
A four-time TEDx fellow, Katz has delivered highly customized “keynote concerts” to numerous companies and organizations across various industries, including Bell, Johnson & Johnson, Xerox, Royal Lepage, American Express, Sick Kids Hospital, Sun Life, Mars, Trillium Health, and Royal Bank. His in-person events have been praised as “transformational,” and he is recognized as a pioneer in creating highly engaging virtual experiences. Katz has performed for over 150,000 people virtually from his state-of-the-art broadcast studio, including being invited to address the House of Commons of Canada.
As an acclaimed musician, Katz is beloved in his home country of Canada and has inspired many with his songs. CBC radio host Tom Power has praised his music as “one of the most heartfelt, beautiful, and vulnerable records of the year, an astonishing record.” Katz’s music has been streamed over 30 million times, and his music videos have over 26 million views on YouTube, with his cover of Beyonce’s “Halo” garnering over 20 million views alone. His music is regularly featured in films and on television, including CBC Television’s 2016 Rio Olympics/Paralympics coverage.
Get Involved
Visit the Southern Ontario Tourism Conference website to learn more about next year’s programming, or contact Angelica Seraj, Manager, Workforce Development & Training to get engaged or learn of the available sponsorship opportunities for our next conference.