By Cecilia Nasmith
Among the broad range of generous volunteers from whom Northumberland Hills Hospital benefits are the Community Members of its board of directors.
NHH currently has four Community Members actively involved on board committees, bringing their own skill sets to their work.
Sharon Anderson of Grafton currently serves on the Governance Committee. A retired Human Resources professional with experience across a variety of sectors (from social services to retail, consumer-packaged goods and packaging), Sharon also brings not-for-profit experience in governance, management and direct volunteerism. A life-long volunteer, she has been active with Community Care Northumberland (Hospice Volunteer, 2014 onward), the Alnwick/Haldimand-Grafton Community Centre (Board Member, 2015-2019), as well as Northumberland Players (Board Member and costume/prop volunteer).
John Saunders of Port Hope sits on the Governance and Quality and Safety Committees. He brings more than a quarter century's experience in the field of emergency management and crisis communication. Now President/Owner of Saunders Enterprises & Emergency Management Services, John has been personally involved in the response to 9/11, SARS and multiple severe-weather events in the US. Here in Canada, he has worked closely with many First Nation Communities, including Attawapiskat. His international work has included a deployment to Haiti, where he assisted with earthquake response and setting up a mobile field hospital to address a cholera outbreak. Prior to forming SEEMS, he served for seven years with the Canadian Red Cross as Provincial Director – Disaster Management and International Response. John has worked with and on multiple boards, including the International Association of Emergency Managers – Canada, which he served as Chair. He was also a member of that Association’s global board. John is currently a Technical Advisor for two Public Safety Canada Committees.
Kendra Simmons of Cobourg is a long-time hospice palliative care volunteer and mentor, whose involvement in the local community has also included membership on the Board of Directors for Community Care Northumberland and chairmanship of that organization’s Hospice Advisory Committee. She currently serves on the NHH Board as a Community Member on the Quality and Safety Committee. Kendra has owned and managed Antiques on Queen in Port Hope for more than 40 years, in which capacity she provided training and mentorship to dozens of the antique agency’s employees. A skilled community fundraiser, she spearheaded a fundraising gala that brought in more than $16,000 to offset the medical expenses of a Port Hope resident in 2016, and supported the Double Exposure fundraiser for Toronto-based Houselink that reached its 10-year goal of $1-million in eight years. Currently a member of the Board of Directors for Legion Village, Kendra was honoured with the Capitol Theatre’s Volunteer of the Year Award in 2017 and the June Callwood Award in 2017.
Ross Stevenson of Roseneath serves on the NHH Board’s Quality and Safety Committee as well as the Facilities and Campus Development Committee. Now retired from a distinguished career in academia, Ross (who holds a doctorate in Agricultural Meteorology) was a long-serving Professor of Environmental Science with Durham College’s School of Science and Engineering Technology. He served on the College’s Management Team in early 2000, directly supporting the creation of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (now Ontario Tech University), before being temporarily seconded to that institution’s Executive Council. Prior to his work in academia, Ross was the MP for the Riding of Durham (1988-1993) and, before that, Durham-York MPP (1981-1987). He has a life-long interest in farming and animal genetics, and has shown his prize-winning purebred Limousin beef cattle at the Royal Winter Fair and local fall fairs.
Recruited through an open call for interest issued regularly by the Nominating Committee of the Board, Community Members are drawn from each of the three wards or districts within the hospital's catchment area. Each brings a unique mix of skills and experiences identified by the Nominating Committee as essential to fulfilling the board’s obligations.
Board chair Pam Went is grateful for the vast reservoir of skills represented by the four new additions.
“In addition to broadening our board’s skill mix, the Community Committee model has proven to be an effective channel for NHH’s community engagement and succession planning as well,” Went noted.
Another call for interest for Community Committee members is anticipated, she added, inviting interested members of the public to watch for information on social-media feeds, the hospital website and in In Touch, their print and online newsletter.
“If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about Board opportunities, our Nominating Committee will look forward to having a discussion,” she said.
