Fitzpatrick Named to Can-Am Police-Fire Games Federation Board

Lake of the Ozarks, MO – Lagina Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Lake of the Ozarks Tri-County Lodging Association (TCLA), has been appointed to the international Can-Am Police-Fire Games Federation Board.

The Can-Am (Canadian-American) Police-Fire Games is an Olympic-style sporting event featuring nearly 50 different individual and team-based competitive categories including CrossFit, golf, swimming, track and field, trap shooting, archery, cycling, fishing, shooting, sporting clays, swimming, “Toughest Competitor Alive” and many more. The Can-Am Games started in 1977 to promote physical fitness and camaraderie among law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical services (EMS), protective services personnel and related agencies. The Games take place every other year and are hosted by different communities in the United States or Canada.

“I am honored to serve on the Can-Am Police-Fire Games Federation Board,” Fitzpatrick says. “When I first learned about the Games at a sports tourism conference in 2012, and how it brings together those that protect and serve from all around the world, I thought it was such a unique and cool event and something that I wanted to be part of.”

In her role of coordinating sports tourism marketing for Tri-County Lodging, Fitzpatrick spearheaded the Lake of the Ozarks Can-Am Games Planning Committee. In this role, Fitzpatrick played an integral part in the Lake of the Ozarks being named the host of the 2018 and 2020 Can-Am Games, which was the first time in the Can-Am Games history that a destination was awarded back-to-back Games.

“Being able to host the Can-Am Games was such a wonderful experience for the community and for me, personally,” says Fitzpatrick. “The Lake hosted athletes from seven different countries and 29 U.S. states. It was incredible to be part of that and I look forward to my future involvement with the federation.”

According to the Can-Am Federation CEO and President William Merrylees, Fitzpatrick will bring a fresh and valuable perspective to the Federation Board.

“We are very excited to have Lagina join our Board of Directors,” Merrylees says. “She is the first tourism industry professional to join our board in our 45-year history. Lagina’s experience of hosting the Games and her viewpoint from a tourism lens is a perfect fit for our board. We enjoyed working with Lagina for the 2018 and 2020 games and that is when we learned that not only does she have a tireless work ethic, she genuinely cares about people and her community,” Merrylee concludes.

Fitzpatrick has more than 36 years of experience working in the Lake of the Ozarks tourism and hospitality industry and has been routinely recognized by her peers for her dedication, passion and professionalism.

For more information on the Can-Am Police-Fire Games, visit www.CanAmPoliceFireGames.org.

Additional details on the Lake of the Ozarks, including year-round events, activities, attractions, dining and lodging, can be found at www.FunLake.com.

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