J Raymond Soucy, Executive Director and his wife have lived in Centre Wellington for over 20 years and raised their two children here. He’s spent over 25 years working in the computer industry, many of them at senior executive levels. He now gets to focus on his passion of community and apply the skills he’s learned to help local people and solve local issues at our Community Foundation.
Raymond has been involved with Elora Cataract Trailway Associationfor 15 years and is the current chair of the association. He’s been involved with Hike Ontario on the Board of Directors, as part of the Executive Committee and chaired several committees since 2008. In 2018 Raymond joined the Board of The Rural Ontario Institute.
For years he’s advocated the physical and mental health benefits of trails. and the positive economic impact of a trail network on a community. Trails create a sense of belonging to a community and they can be used for active transportation.
He spent most of his working life commuting to work by plane and automobile. In one of those wonderful twists in life, he now commutes to work on the Elora Cataract Trailway!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Members of the Board of Directors of CWCF live in and care about Centre Wellington. Working with donors, they are passionate about building a stronger and more resilient community. As an organization run entirely by volunteer effort, the vision and dedication of our Directors, Advisors and Committee members present, and past, has directly benefited our local Community
Kathie Butcher, Asset Development Committee Chair & Project Grants Chair, was a former resident in Elora for 5 years before moving to Harriston in 2018. She has been an advisor for the past 15 years and takes great pride in helping clients realize their dreams and goals. She kept her office in Elora for her Sun Life Financial business but created a bigger footprint in Centre & North Wellington. With her career, she has more flexibility to offer her time and knowledge to help improve her surroundings. That is why she joined the board. She lives with her husband Mark, and they spend a lot of time with family & friends.
Don Fisher is a retired lawyer with 33-year career in-house with City of Kitchener, Region of Waterloo and the City of Hamilton. Don Specialized in land-use planning and development law. He served as a Centre Wellington Township Councillor from 2014-2018. Currently he is Chair of the Centre Wellington Healthy Growth Advisory Committee. A long-time resident of Elora, Don have lived on West Mill St. In Elora since 2001.
Heather Glenister has over the last 20 years, dedicated herself to working in the field of health care philanthropy. Heather began her journey as the Development Officer for Hospice Wellington, which eventually lead her to become the Executive Director of the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Foundation in Goderich. In 2016, Heather changed her career focus and moved into the area of mental health and suicide. Currently, she is the Coordinator for the Suicide Awareness Council of Wellington Dufferin. She holds a B.A in Canadian Studies and an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of Guelph. Her extensive travels have enriched her understanding of what it means to be a ‘connected world.’ Heather is passionate about community capacity building that fosters health and wellness, belonging and a shared sense of purpose.
Harvey Thomson and his wife, Linne, moved to Fergus in 2005 after a career in management consulting. They found in Centre Wellington a vibrant community with a strong sense of civic pride and were eager to lend their support.
Harvey recently stepped down from the National and Ontario Branch boards of the Kidney Foundation of Canada and Chair of its National Governance Committee as well as from the Cancer Care Ontario Board of Directors.
In 2011, Harvey launched the Food Cycle Ride, an annual fund raising cycling event that raises funds for the Centre Wellington Food Bank. He sees the Centre Wellington Community Foundation and its emphasis on capacity building and philanthropy as the ideal means to contribute more.
Harvey received his Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and was an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at McGill University in Montreal, Canada prior to joining Schaffer Consulting, an international consulting firm dedicated to organization development.
Toni Ellis, a graduate of Mount Allison University, is a long-time community activist who has worked in the environmental field for more than 30 years. Since moving to Elora in 1990, she helped start the Elora Environment Centre (EEC) and the Elora Centre for the Arts. In 2009, she was recognized as Centre Wellington’s Citizen of the Year. Currently, she coordinates NeighbourWoods on the Grand, working the strengthen Centre Wellington’s urban forest. Toni is on the board of the EEC and is president of the Ontario Urban Forest Council based in Toronto.
Randall Howard, Board Chair is the founding partner of VERDEXUS which provides management and investment to global technology companies. Previously, he was CEO of Coreworx and, in 1984, he founded MKS, one of Canada’s leading enterprise software vendors and, as CEO, grew it into a leading public company. Randall is a seasoned board member/advisor long committed to the environment, the arts and building of community. He is a Board member with Roseneath Theatre Company,Flush Ink Productions, and Elora Environment Centre. Randall is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, a Board member at Golden Triangle AngelNet, and was a founder of Communitech Technology Association. He holds an Honours B.Math from University of Waterloo and was the 2005 Communitech Impact Award recipient and the 1997 High Technology Entrepreneur of the Year.
Richard Hulley has been a human resources professional since 1990, with the last seven as the first full time HR Manager at our municipality. Rick, and his wife Yvonne, have been residents of Centre Wellington since 2010. They loved the community, and its ‘vibe’, so much that they built a house in Elora. Rick is a past director on Boards at the provincial level in municipal human resources and with the start-up Canadian Economic Development Assistance to Southern Sudan organization, as well as other community volunteerism. Rick is a graduate of University of Waterloo and Fanshawe College.
Kris Lewis has resided in both rural Perth and Wellington Counties. She holds a Bachelor of Physical Education (Hons) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McMaster University. Kris has worked as a Public Health Nurse for almost 30 years. Social determinants of health have always guided her Practice, understandingthat socio-economic, cultural, and environmental conditions of our lives impact our overall health. Kris has worked with infants, children, young families, adolescents, seniors and new immigrants. Kris and her husband Peter have five children and live in Fergus with their dog Frankie.
Alayna Longstaffe is a lawyer at Wolfe, Smith & Forsterin Fergus, practising in the areas of real estate, wills and estates, and corporate commercial law. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University. Since moving to Fergus in 2014 with her husband, James, and three children, Oliver, Eleanor and Ivy, Alayna has enjoyed living and working in the Township of Centre Wellington and looks forward to contributing to the community through CWCF.
Eric Oakley, a graduate of Concordia University (BA) and the University of Toronto (MA) is a retired English teacher and former head of English at C. W. Jefferys Collegiate in Toronto. He also taught at Haliburton Secondary School and at Doncaster College in Doncaster England. As one of the founders and later president of the Ontario Student Debating Federation he helped bring competitive debate to most secondary schools in the province. For 10 years he served on the executive of the Classic Jazz Society of Toronto.His interest in the Centre Wellington Foundation began in 2013 when he and his partner, Susan Thorning, moved to Elora. With a desire to leave a legacy to the community they established the Micklebring Fund.As avid equestrians, Eric and Susan own Paso Fino horses and are members of the Central Canada Paso Fino Association, the Wellington-Grand Trail Riders , and the Wellington-Waterloo Hunt Club.
Jean Prichard,Treasurer, is a Chartered Accountant and Certified Financial Planner and a Partner at BDO Guelph. Jean has extensive experience in the not for profit sector. She is a Board member at United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin.
Jason Thompson,Marketing Committee Co-Chair is a resident of Fergus since 2003, is Faculty of Science Liaison for Teaching Excellence at University of Waterloo in which he supports faculty with teaching & learning and the effective use of technology. He holds a B.Ed in Experiential Education from Queen’s University and a B.Sc – Environmental Biology from University of Guelph. Jason was drawn to CWCF as a local organization that gives back to his community. He has a personal affinity for fundraising and is often organizing fundraising events focused on unique food & drink events from which proceeds are typically donated to CWCF. When not in meetings or fundraising, he can often be found on outings in the community with his son Jakob.
Brian Vink moved to Fergus from Kitchener about 10 years ago and loves the sense of community of a smaller town. He has two daughters that attended Centre Wellington District High School and were very involved in local sports and activities. To support their love of ringette, Brian was an active board member of the Elora Fergus Ringette Associationfor several years and held the position of president for three terms. Brian is also an active participant of local curling, pool and ball hockey leagues.
Brian is a senior executive in the software industry where he has worked for over 20 years. He loves the software industry for being so dynamic and always forcing you to look at new ways of doing things. This is exemplified in his experience of being part of a company with only four employees that became part of a company that employs over 80,000.
Brian holds both a Bachelor of Mathematics degree in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and a Masters in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Advisors: Cindy Lindsay, Community Foundations of Canada Doug Jack, Legal Advisor
Asset Development Committee: Kathie Butcher, Chair John Morris Jean Prichard Alan Ralston Jason Thompson
Investment Committee: Randall Howar, Chair Jean Prichard, Treasurer Kathie Butcher Ian McArthur Don Vallery
Vital Signs Committee: J Raymond Soucy Carolyn Skimson, Co-Chair Susan Thorning, Co-Chair
The Centre Wellington Community Foundation (CWCF) is a public, charitable foundation created by the people of Centre Wellington. Our mission is to strengthen the Centre Wellington community by helping donors to achieve their giving goals, and by helping local non-profits find resources to support their important work.
