Our non-profit Board of Directors includes the following volunteers.
Mark Adams – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
Mark Adams is the head of the technology department at an area secondary school, a former coach, and a third-generation volunteer with Wooler Scouting. Mark’s grandfather Vaughan, attended the Wooler School, was a founding member of 1st Wooler Scouts in 1955, and helped transfer the school to the Scouting community in 1968. Mark’s father Doug, who also attended Wooler School is a former scout, Group Committee member and helped with the maintenance of the Wooler School. His mother Brenda also served on the 1st Wooler Group Committee for over 10 years. Mark is a former Scout, Venturer and Rover with 1st Wooler, and earned his Chief Scout Award and Bar to the Medal of Merit for service to Scouting. He has 30 years of service to 1st Wooler as a leader, Group Committee member and volunteer for many fundraisers to help youth in the community and maintain the Wooler School.
Michelle Christmann – Board Member, Board Secretary, and member of the Communication and Community Outreach Committee.
Michelle Christmann has lived in the Quinte Region for more than 30 years and spent 14 of those years living in Wooler. Michelle has worked in the co-operative sector for more than 10 years, and currently serves as the Education manager for the Ontario Co-operative Association. Before that Michelle worked as Coordinator at the Gay Lea Dairy Museum and Co-operative Education Centre in Aylmer, Ontario and managed all aspects of the site as well as operation of the museum. Michelle also has 6 years of experience working for a regional credit union in Belleville, Ontario in various capacities including Member Service Representative, Data Clearing Officer, and Community Relations Officer.
Dr. Susan Dorland, BSc (Agr), DVM – Board member, and member of the Business Planning Committee.
Dr. Dorland grew up in the village of Wooler and has fond memories of the community and of the Wooler School. Her father, Arthur Dorland, was a School Board Trustee for the school. Sue attended the University of Guelph where she completed degrees at the Ontario Agricultural College and at the Ontario Veterinary College. She is a leader in the Ontario veterinary community, having spent several years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA), and is a Past President. Sue is the former owner of the Oshawa Animal Hospital and currently on the Board of Directors for the Farley Foundation, the charitable foundation of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association.
Meesh Grandchamp – Board Member
Newest to the Wooler area, Meesh grew up in the Ottawa region and studied Public Relations at Collège La Cité. Their family built a house in Milford during their college years, and quickly discovered PEC and Quinte West through an internship as a Communications and Social Media Assistant with Quinte Conservation. Upon completing their internship in May of 2019, Meesh immediately hopped on a plane to live and work in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Ontario called for them, though, and they were back working with Quinte Conservation by October 2020. Since then, they have lived in Belleville, and love working with nonprofits, discovering the region with their partner, and finding new ways to support their community.
Bob Lawson, Ph.D – Board Chair
Bob grew up in Wooler and was a member of 1st Wooler Scouts for over a decade. Bob served 12 years in the Canadian Army, followed by 26 years with Global Affairs Canada, where he specialized in international negotiations, including acting as the Senior Policy Advisor for Canada’s 1997 initiative to Ban Landmines. Bob was the 2000-01 International Humanitarian Law Scholar in Residence at the Canadian Red Cross and later led Canada’s efforts to address the illegal trade in conflict ‘blood’ diamonds. He also led the 2005-07 Global Affair’s initiative to develop a Corporate Social Responsibility framework for Canadian extractive industries working internationally. Over the last decade Bob served as a senior executive at Global Affairs Canada, providing leadership in corporate business planning and performance management. He was the Corporate Risk Officer for Global Affairs Canada from 2010-2016. He retired in 2021, after leading the team supporting the renovation of the historic Lester B. Pearson building, the Global Affairs Canada Headquarters in Ottawa.
Laird Nelson – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
Laird Nelson was born on a farm west of Wooler to parents who attended the Wooler Continuation School. He is 77 years old and is a retired Woodlands Manager for Domtar Forest Resources and a member of the Professional Forester’s Association. He also recently retired as a partner of the Northumberland Tree Planters, who supported Ontario’s Fifty-Million Tree program. Laird attended Scouts in the Wooler School starting in 1958 and after completing college worked for ten years in Montreal and Vancouver for the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada. Laird returned to Wooler in 1975 and started the Wooler and District Recreational Association to create recreational opportunities for youth in Wooler. He joined the 1st Wooler Group Committee in the early 1980s and was Group Commissioner for 20 years overseeing Scouting programs and fundraising to support Scouting and the Wooler Scout Hall. Laird has devoted 40 years of volunteer service to Scouting.
Jeanne Powell – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
Jeanne Powell has raised a family and lived in the Wooler area for 43 years. She was warmly welcomed and inspired by the wonderful network of Wooler women who volunteered so much time to support the community and its many activities. Jeanne was a Cub Leader, Scout Leader and served on the 1st Wooler Group Committee. She has a keen interest in preserving Wooler history and architecture and ensuring there are recreational programs in place to support the development of area youth.
Chris Rose – Board Member, and member of the Hall Renovation Committee
A lifelong member of the Wooler community, Chris is an electrician by trade and a member of the First Wooler Scout Group as a child. Chris is Site Foreman with Diamond Electric in Trenton, Ontario.
Advisors to the Board
Luigi Ferrara, OAA, MRAIC, Hon. ACID O
Luigi Ferrara is an architect, designer, educator and storyteller. He is the Dean of the Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada and Director of the internationally acclaimed Institute without Boundaries. He has served as President and Senator of ICSID (now called the World Design Organization [WDO]) and lectures around the world on topics as diverse as design and sustainability, design management, urban planning, information technology, digital media, telecommunications and the Wisdom Economy. In addition to running the Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology, Luigi also advises the College’s Senior Management Team on Academic Space Planning.
Dean Milligan
Dean is a resident of Wooler and owns his own construction company, Milligan Construction in Trenton, Ontario
Michael (Mike) Smith
Mike Smith grew up and raised his family in Wooler. He joined the 1st Wooler Cubs in the 1960’s and continued with Scouts and Rovers. He was a Scout Leader in Wooler for 30 years, a Venturer Advisor, and was also the Secretary for the 1st Wooler Group Committee for several years. received an award for 50 years of service to Scouting in 2021. Before retirement, Mike was a certified Network Engineer, obtained a Certificate in Adult Education from Loyalist College, and trained technical staff across Ontario. He spent many years coaching area youth in T-ball, soccer, and hockey.