* Pat Ferns will fill the newly created full-time position of executive vp of the Banff Television Foundation. Ferns has been associated with Banff since 1981 and spent five years as chairman of the board.

As exec vp, Ferns will be responsible for developing and executing the conference component of the international tv festival, involved in marketing, media relations and production of some fest events.

Leaving the indie production sector after 23 years, Ferns will wrap his producer gig on The Fifties, a doc series for The Disney Channel and the CTV Television Network.

In other Banff news, after six years with the festival, Katie Daniel resigned her post as marketing and media manager this month to pursue new interests.

* Shari Scharfer has been promoted to director of development at the Global Television Network. Scharfer joined Global in July 1994 as production development executive, previously holding positions on a number of Canadian and u.s. programs including a stint as story editor on abc’s Full House.

* Janice Reith is the new bbs program manager, effective immediately. Reith has been program manager at cfto-tv since 1992.

* Merilyn Read has joined Lacewood Productions as director of development. All independent projects developed by Read will be made available to Lacewood for coproduction under a pre-existing agreement.

* Toronto-based Northbridge Programming, the programming company responsible for the trio network presently available on DirecTV, has promoted Patrick Vien to programming director and gm. Vien was formerly deputy programming director for the Northbridge/ trio operation.

* Dean Oros has been appointed director of international sales and development at The Multimedia Group of Canada.

* Francine Pelletier, presently at CBC Prime Time News, will join cbc’s the fifth estate this fall as a new host.

* Raymond Guay has been appointed to the position of director general, communications, French networks for cbc/Radio-Canada.

* After 11 years at Citytv, Brona Brown is leaving to form her own company, Brona Brown Productions.

* Late last month the Quebec chapter of Canadian Women in Communications was founded in Montreal, and at its first annual assembly the new chapter elected its board. Linda Ahern, vp public affairs for CF Cable tv is president, Marie-Christine Dufour of Astral Communications is exec vp, Marielle Denis of cfcf-12 Television is secretary/treasurer.