What We Do

Chair

Before retiring in 2018, Kevin spent his work career managing large teams in the areas of technology and operations at TD and RBC banks and other financial institutions. This has provided him with great experiences that he brings to EFL and has been assisting in the implementation of risk, governance, and policies to a growing organization. His financial background also has been a key contribution to the overall financial management and sustainability of EFL. Kevin also ran the Disability program at TD in their Diversity Leadership Council with a mandate to embed diversity into business plans and drive enterprise wide initiatives which allows that background to help drive these changes in our community. Kevin also has spent over 20 years on not for profit boards where he had many roles including chairing 2 large boards. This experience is also incredibly helpful to EFL as we follow down a similar path starting as a very small organization to one that is growing significantly and the experiences that Kevin brings provides us with a strong base.

Kevin is originally from Montreal and then spent over 25 years living in Oakville. He was a weekender at Lora Bay in Thornbury for many years and now he and his wife and son Kyle have lived there full time since 2020. He is an active supporter in his community with several charitable organizations. Kevin’s participation in the not-for-profit community has been inspired by his son Kyle, who has Down syndrome, which led to his committed involvement in the support of individuals with disabilities. He served as board member & President of the HDSA (Halton Down Syndrome Association) in Oakville for 10 years and served for 10 years as a Board member & Chair of the Board of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS) before joining the Events For Life Board in 2017. He believes EFL is a unique and critical organization in our community as we not only support individuals in the community with our programs but also creates strong community awareness and supports our families with housing, employment, and many other key areas.

Past Chair

Cathy Butler and her family have lived in the Town of Blue Mountains for 14 years. Her son Thomas has been a part of Events for Life since its inception in 2013 with Shelley Higginson.  After completing high school in Meaford, the ” bus stopped coming to pick Thomas up for his day” and ” we knew we needed to do something about that”
As the Board Chair, she has helped grow the organization through her many community connections of life long friends in the Thornbury area.
Cathy also volunteers as the Community Coordinator for Special Olympics in the Meaford/ Thornbury region.  She coaches golf and skiing within the organization.

Secretary

Katie has extensive sales and administrative experience with over 30 years in the hospitality and travel industry and most recently with Independent Schools, where she served as Director of Administration for one of Toronto’s top Independent schools for boys, aged 4 to 14. Her diverse areas of focus include: leadership, community growth, sales, organization and customer service. Her Board experience includes being the Secretary to the Board for 12 years in Toronto, as well as being a board member of the Georgian Peaks Club and Founding Board member of the Georgian Peaks Foundation.  Katie has also volunteered for many organizations, including chairing her boys’ public school Parent Council.

Katie has been coming to the Collingwood area all her life and recently moved to Clarksburg with her husband to become a valued member of the Town of Blue Mountains and to enjoy all that the area has to offer. Her love of helping others and making a difference is what drove her to join Events For Life in 2020.

Treasurer

Gary and his wife purchased a home in Thornbury (Lora Bay) approximately 8 years ago. While they still maintain a home in the Leaside area of Toronto, they are hoping to relocate fulltime to Thornbury in the next few years.

Gary’s professional career was spent in the financial services sector working in a variety of roles in different organizations. The latter part of his career was spent largely in risk and governance positions. He retired from full time work in 2017 and currently works as a consultant on a very limited basis.

Gary joined the EFL Board approximately 3 years ago to give back and get closer to the community.  The experience has been very fulfilling, and he looks forward to many years of involvement as their mandate grows. In Toronto (pre-covid) he volunteered as a driver with the Cancer Society’s “Wheels For Hope” program and also participated as a Crew Member with ‘Habitat For Humanity’.

Gary and his wife have two adult children – a daughter, a son, and a beautiful 1 year-old granddaughter.

His passions are music (playing poorly and listening) and sports (playing poorly and watching). Travel was also a passion pre-covid.

Director

Melanie Johns retired from Georgian Bay Community School, Meaford in 2018. She taught secondary students the subject of Mathematics. She was a staff advisor for Students’ Council, Music Council and Link Crew. She coached various teams over her 30-year teaching career. Melanie also worked for the Ministry of Education creating on-line interactive educational tools for teachers and students. She enjoyed using technology in her classroom as much as possible including the use of a SmartBoard and posted her lessons to a website (even before COVID!). Melanie also had a variety of leadership roles within the school board including coaching other mathematics teachers.  

Melanie started volunteering with Events for Life (EFL) by assisting in an administrative position. She was a founding member of the Board of EFL and assisted in writing documents to attain charitable status for EFL. Interacting with EFL participants is her favourite activity. Melanie’s “Event for Life” is riding her bike across Canada, raising awareness of the need for programs such as EFL across the country and raising money for EFL. You can see the bike ride by following “Bike Canada Event 4 Life” on Facebook, Instagram or Strava.  

Director

Kelly Williams is a wife and mother and spent 32 years in education as a classroom teacher and elementary school administrator. She has had many experiences working to support students and their families with diversity.

Kelly recognizes the need for opportunities after high school for adults with special abilities to feel included. She is passionate about wellness and development of the whole person.

Kelly recently retired and moved full time to her home in The Blue Mountains.  She is invested in supporting equity and inclusion opportunities to help ensure all residents can feel like valued community members.

Kelly is excited to be a part of the Events For Life team and work to support the participants to assist them in reaching their full potential.

Director

Christine Lasky is a retired resident of Thornbury and has been coming up to The Blue Mountains for over 40 years.  She graduated from Schulich School of Business with her MBA and was the Gold Medal winner in marketing. She worked at Procter and Gamble out of University, then Nabisco and Weston’s. She moved into Financial Services with National Trust and SunLife Financial at Spectrum Investments. The last 13 years of her career were spent at The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation as the Chief Brand Officer and VP of Strategic Initiatives launching The Ride to Conquer Cancer, building their lottery program and other significant fundraising initiatives. She volunteers in the day program at EFL and joined the Board late in 2022. She also is on the board of the Blue Mountains Bruce Trail Club.  She is passionate about using her skills to make a contribution to the community she lives in.

Director

Anna and her family have lived in Thornbury for 10 years, where her partner is a local entrepreneur and their 2 children attend Beaver Valley Community School. They love taking advantage of the nature the Blue Mountains has to offer, as Anna is an avid hiker and her children are ski racers and mountain bikers.

Currently, Anna is a People Consultants Director for People & Culture at the University Health Network and teaches part-time in the Human Resources Management program at Seneca College. With over a decade of experience in HR at large organizations and in private career coaching, Anna helps companies identify strategic human resources challenges and implement real improvements from the employee to the organizational level. Anna is a Certified Human Resources Leader in Ontario and holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Relations/Human Resources from University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Saint Mary’s University.

Anna is also committed to sustainable development in our region, and was the president of the Harbour West Residents Group for 4 years.