OMWA’s new board of directors
The Board of Directors of the Ontario Municipal Water Association (OMWA) are pleased to announce that at their Annual General Meeting held May 9, 2017 in Niagara Falls, the following slate of Directors was approved.
Political Directors
- Rosemary K MacLennan Municipality of Trent Hills
- Mark Howson Sault Ste. Marie PUC
- Peter Chilibeck Lakefront Utility Services Inc. (Cobourg)
- Lynn Dollin Town of Innisfil
- Doug Lawrance Town of Sioux Lookout
- Andy Bruziewicz City of Sarnia
- Patrick Merlihan Township of Woolwich
Management Directors
- Andrew Henry Lake Huron and Elgin Area Water
- Nick Benkovich City of Greater Sudbury (retired, 2018)
- Jim Keech Utilities Kingston
- Amy Martin City of Guelph
- John Thompson City of Barrie
- Susan MacFarlane Lambton Area Water Supply System
Also at the Annual General Meeting, Andrew Henry, who has been the OMWA President for the past three years, announced that he would be stepping down and will become our Past President.
Following the 2017 AGM the OMWA Board held a Meeting of the Directors and the following changes to board’s executive were made:
- President Andrew Henry (Manager, Lake Huron & Elgin Area Primary Water Supply Systems, London) stepped down after serving three years, and is now Past President;
- Vice President Rosemary Kelleher-MacLennan (Deputy Mayor, Municipality of Trent Hills) was elected President;
- Vice President Peter Chilibeck (Chair, Lakefront Utilities, Cobourg) is now Chairman of the Board;
- Board members John Thompson (manager of Water, Wastewater and Environmental Operations, City of Barrie) and Doug Lawrance (Mayor, Municipality of Sioux Lookout) were elected Vice-Presidents.
Rosemary Kelleher-MacLennan was elected to the Campbellford Seymour Public Utilities Commission in 1997 and served as Commissioner and Chair (1999-2000) until the dissolution of the P.U.C. in 2000. She has served on the OMWA Board since 1998. She was Chair of the Eastern Ontario Region (EOMWA) in 1998- 2009, and nominated Chair of the OMWA Board in 2005.
In 2003, Rosemary was elected to the amalgamated Municipality of Trent Hills Council where she currently sits as a Councillor. She was appointed to the Trent Conservation Coalition Drinking Water Source Water Protection Committee in 2005, and remains on the committee as a municipal representative.
She received OMWA’s Don Black Award in 2003, recognizing individuals or public water authorities who have demonstrated outstanding service in support of the principles of the Ontario Municipal Water Association. In 2007, she received the OMWA Award of Exceptional Merit, awarded to those individuals who have made a contribution of exceptional merit to the OMWA and the waterworks industry either over an extended period of time or by distinguished service to a special project.
Rosemary obtained her Real Estate license in 1986 and is employed as a real estate broker in her hometown Campbellford.
“It is a humbling honor to have had the opportunity of working for and with the Ontario Municipal Water Association since 1998,” she said. “Working through The Walkerton Inquiry, the Clean Water Act, Drinking Water Source Protection, etc., sometimes seems immense, but the goals of supplying safe public drinking water and maintaining highest of standards are most gratifying.”
Peter Chilibeck Peter Chilibeck has been a qualified lawyer in Ontario, Canada since 1985, beginning his career in Toronto as an associate lawyer at Goodman & Goodman (now Goodmans LLP). After roles as an officer of Falconbridge, Northern Telecom, and IMAX, he founded Llewellin Capital in 1999. He has worked on significant global M&A projects during his career and has significant experience in corporate finance and Board governance. Peter offers legal services to supplement Llewellin Capital’s consulting services.
From 1998 to 2000 Peter was an adjunct professor of Private International Business Law (international joint ventures and project financing) at Queen’s University. Peter co-authored CEO & CFO Certification – Improving Transparency and Accountability, a Canadian Performance Reporting Board Discussion Brief published by The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA).
Peter is a corporate director and governance advisor to several organizations, and joined the Board of the Ontario Municipal Water Association in 2010. He is also a Director of Millrock Resources Inc., the Chair of Lakefront Utility Services Inc., Vice Chair of Town of Cobourg Holdings Inc., a member of the Facilities and Campus Development Committee of Northumberland Hills Hospital, and Vice Chair of Northumberland Medical Arts Inc. Peter is also a nominee for the Board of MEARIE at its March 2018 AGM.
The OMWA diligently works with our municipal and industry partners, and especially with the provincial government, to address issues of policy, programs, and financial sustainability in a collaborative manner as we continue to strive to ensure that Ontario has the safest public water supplies in the world.
