* James H. (Trey) Smith is the new president and ceo of Rogers Cable, effective Nov. 2. A 20-year u.s. cable veteran, Smith was most recently senior vp, western region for MediaOne/ Continental Cablevision in California. The position has been vacant since the departure of Joe Wintermans last May.

* tvontario has named Pat Ellingson the new creative head of children’s and daytime programming. Having joined tvo in 1994 as director of production services, Ellingson has been acting head for the last seven months and had replaced acting head John Gill, who is now tvo’s director of network scheduling.

Gill had replaced Adrian Mills, now the cbc’s creative head of children’s, youth and daytime programming.

* The Canadian Film Centre has announced new members to its board of directors: Nancy H.O. Lockhart is the board’s chair; Kevin Shea, president of Global Television Networks, is past chair; Michael MacMillan, ceo of Alliance Atlantis Communications, is vice-chair; and Robert Munroe, president of C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures is treasurer.

New officers to the board include William Buxton, chief scientist at Alias|Wavefront; W. Paterson Ferns, president and ceo of the Banff Television Festival; Hon. Douglas C. Frith, president of the Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Foundation; Keith Kocho, president and ceo at Digital Renaissance; Loren Mawhinney, vp, Canadian production, Global; Bill Mustos, ctv’s vp dramatic programming; and Kevin Sullivan, president of Griffiths McBurney Partners.

* Beverley Shenken has joined Discovery Channel as manager, program sales, for Exploration Production, the exclusive production arm of Discovery Channel Canada.

Shenken was previously manager international sales at Toronto’s Kaleidoscope Entertainment.

* ChumCity International has appointed Victoria Valius in the newly created position of sales manager. In her new post, Valius will oversee the management and expansion of program sales for cci’s licensing business and also be involved in cci’s format licensing activities for Citytv and MuchMusic.

* Discovery Channel founder and president Trina McQueen is the new chair of the Banff Television Foundation. Past chair Arthur Weinthal will chair the festival’s internationally based board of governors and has been re-elected to the foundation’s board.

* Two broadcasters have been named to Toronto’s 2008 Olympic Bid Corporation board of directors. Kevin Shea, coo of Global and radio owner Allan Slaight of Slaight Broadcasting will join other Olympic Bid notables.

* Craig Broadcast Systems ceo Stuart Craig has received the Prairie Region Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Entertainment and Communications category.

*Erin Paul is a new on-air reporter for cbc’s The Health Show. Most recently a senior researcher for Market Place and a reporter for cfpl-tv London, Paul is replaces Linda McEwan, who is pursuing a freelance career, including contributing occasional items to The Health Show.

* Former Fairchild Television news anchor/reporter Kenneth Lap Pun Li is the new anchor of cfmt’s Chinese Newsline. His first broadcast will be Sunday, Nov. 8.

* Linda Thorson (Sweet Liberty, Walls of Glass) and John Neville (X-Files) have joined the cast of cbc’s Emily of New Moon. Thorson is playing the role of cousin Isabel Murray, the daughter of Uncle Malcom, played by Neville. They make their Emily debut on Oct. 25.