DAVID MENDEL (President)
David Mendel studied at York University in Toronto, and at the University of Paris, before moving to Quebec City in 1976. After completing a master’s thesis in art history and undertaking doctoral studies at Laval University, he became co-founder of Baillairgé Cultural Tours (now called Mendel Tours) in 1984. Today he is president of this company, which organizes cultural journeys across Canada for museum groups and alumni organizations. He is often called upon to give talks about the history of Quebec for international conferences and has given numerous tours of the city for visiting dignitaries.
 
A resident of Quebec’s historic district since 1976, David is very involved in preservation issues. He is President of the Foundation of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity -the first Anglican Cathedral to have been built outside the British Isles - and a member of the Consulting Committee for Religious Architecture of the City of Quebec. His new book, Quebec: World Heritage City, recently published by Les Éditions Sylvain Harvey and the National Capital Commission of Québec, is the first in a series of four volumes devoted to Quebec City and its surrounding region.
 
 
BARRY LANE (Vice-President)
Barry Lane was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and studied history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He later served as a Captain in the United Nations Emergency Force, Sinai, at its headquarters on the Suez Canal in Egypt.
 
After working in historical interpretation with Parks Canada, Barry became co-founder of Baillairgé Cultural Tours (now Mendel Tours) in 1983. Barry’s special interests are British colonial and maritime history, the development of tourism, from the 1870’s to the early 20th century; the era often described as the “Golden Age of Travel.” He has lectured extensively to cruise ship passengers sailing along the St. Lawrence River, in the Canadian Maritimes, along the American Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean. Barry is a renowned lecturer, and over the years has prepared and presented over 100 different PowerPoint lectures on aspects of Canadian, American, and Caribbean history, as well as the history of travel and tourism.
 
In Paris, in 1991, he was awarded the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry prize for his book, Ce jour-là en Nouvelle-France. This award is given to the author of the best children’s book published in the French language, outside of France.
 
Barry is presently working on a second book dealing with rail travel during the “Golden Age of Travel.”
 
 
Guides and Naturalists
Over many years we have built up a highly qualified team of guides and naturalists. Many are retired professionals who are experts in their fields.