Health News For South West
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
United Way Perth-Huron
United Way Perth-Huron Announces 2014 Campaign Chairs: Chief John Bates and Wayne Smith
United Way Perth-Huron is pleased to announce its Chairs for their upcoming Campaign. Chief John Bates, Police Chief for the Stratford Police Service, will represent Perth County and Mr. Wayne Smith will be returning for a second term as the Huron Chair.
"It's a privilege for me to be serving as a Co-Chair for this year's United Way campaign. I've been a long-time supporter and volunteer for the United Way because it is a leader in addressing, through strategic partnerships and collaboration, some of the factors that negatively affect our various communities' safety and well-being. These include poverty, addiction, mental health, substandard housing, inadequate nutrition and illiteracy just to name a few. On both a personal and professional level I want to see our communities be as livable and vibrant as possible, so I'm delighted to be lending a hand to this year's campaign." shared Chief Bates.
John Bates was appointed as the 16th Chief of the Stratford Police Service in March of 2012. He began his policing career with the Brantford Police Service in 1985 where he served for 21 years prior to being appointed as Stratford's Deputy Chief in 2006. The Chief is a past and present member of several boards, public service organizations, and professional associations. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, St. Johns Ambulance – Stratford Branch and the Huron-Perth Children’s Aid Society. Additionally, he is a 2014 campaign co-chair for the Perth-Huron United Way.
In 2005, Chief Bates was awarded the Police Exemplary Service medal and in 2012 he received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal. In 2014, Governor General David Johnston appointed Chief Bates as a Member of the Order of Merit for the Police Forces.
Mr. Smith is retired and enjoying life on the west coast of Ontario with his partner Kimberley Payne and their golden doodle Jazzabel. Wayne spent 42 years working in various positions in accounting, planning, and marketing for two companies who manufactured heavy equipment for the logging, forestry and mining industries. The last 5 years of his career were spent as an international consultant helping develop an internet based order management system and then leading project teams to install the system globally. This was a very fulfilling period due to the exposure to many very diverse cultures and international travel. The challenge of leading projects to a successful conclusion with teams made up of many different cultures was enjoyable and certainly resulted in an enriched and more tolerant view of the world and its people. Learning how other cultures handle stressful situations was a welcomed opportunity.
Wayne has lived in Goderich since 1997 and been involved in the United Way since 1998. First as a UW Employee Campaign leader at Volvo Graders, and then on the fund allocations committee for the Huron UW followed by serving on the Board. While on the Huron Board he helped the Huron UW merge with Perth UW. After the merger he continued to serve on the UW Perth Huron board up until June of 2013. Wayne represented Huron County as the Campaign Co-Chair in 2013 alongside Ron Shaw, CAO of Stratford.
“What has driven me to be involved in United Way since 1998 is simple. United Way takes an intelligent, informed approach to supporting the community I live in and makes it a better place to live in”, says Mr. Smith.
Last year’s campaign was extremely successful. The goal was $1,115,000 and the announced total was over $1,133,000. This year’s goal will be announced at the Annual Kick-Off Luncheon on Friday, September 19th from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Kiwanis Centre in Stratford. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door and can be purchased at 519-271-7730.
For more information, please contact 1-877-818-8867 or 271-7730 or via email at info@perthhuron.unitedway.ca.
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