OUR TEAM
We are governed by a Board of Directors. The Board is assisted by three staff members Tiffany, January and Shann.
STAFF
January Fraser
Program Coordinator
I am proud to be the Program Coordinator for the ODLC. As a single mother to an incredible young man, I have learned to juggle my work and personal life with ease. In my free time, I enjoy playing bingo, crafts, spending time with my family, friends and my two cats Daphne and Kiki.
Seeking new employment opportunities, I initially came to the council to enhance my soft skills and upgrade my computer knowledge, leading me to become a volunteer facilitator. I was asked to tutor an amazing woman whom I taught for nearly 5 years! Ultimately, I was offered my current position as Coordinator, which was to be short term only, but luckily for me I have been here for seven years now and still loving my role.
Shann Hales
Bookkeeper/Admin.
I enjoy my part time work here at the Council and use my marketing and bookkeeping skills to contribute to the team. I love to make a difference in my community through my career and volunteering/giving. I am a local Realtor with a passion for helping and an Orillia resident since 2007. My teenaged son and I enjoy all that Orillia and surrounding has to offer, especially the gorgeous lakefronts and water activities.
BOARD
Lois Wyndham
President
Lois is a retired librarian; she spent most of her career managing small specialized libraries in such diverse areas as fisheries research, rubber and plastics, steel and most recently health care. She participated actively in the Special Libraries Association, the Medical Libraries Association and is a former President and Life Member of the Canadian Health Libraries Association. Lois has always been fascinated by textiles, particularly their history and contributions to cultural development. She is a Master Weaver, a spinner, knitter, sewer and quilter. With her husband Lois especially enjoys sailing Georgian Bay, cottaging, travelling to interesting parts of the world and trying to keep their herb and perennial gardens growing.
Marg Patterson
Secretary
Marg has been a snowmobiler since she retired from Bell Canada. Every year, as a member of the Bass Lake Snowmobile Club, she has taken part in the Snowmobile Ride for Literacy. She was always impressed with the hard work that the ODLC did for this event and thought that maybe she could help too. Marg is also a member of the Alzheimer’s Society and the Women’s Institute, whose main functions are helping in the community, so why not help in this much needed community volunteer organization.
Tim Carrigan
Director
Tim's interest in ODLC stems from his 27 years in the educational field as a teacher, counsellor and support worker. Although semi-retired, he still has the desire to use his skills, abilities and background to help others. Presently, Tim volunteers and tutors at the ODLC. Offering his services to a worthwhile organization allows Tim to keep growing and learning as well as continuing to use his skill sets in whatever areas he can. Tim's education took him around the world teaching ESL in other countries and he gained valuable knowledge of other cultures and their process for learning. The one thing that stood out for him in this experience was that all students, young or old, are pretty much the same no matter where you are in the world. They all have an innate desire to learn and improve themselves. As a father of 2 teenagers, Tim continues to offer support to their learning where needed, especially during the pandemic. Tim' fitness minded family takes advantage of the walking & biking trails in Orillia. They feel that physical activity and learning go hand in hand as the mind and body have a way of balancing out each other. One of Tim's pleasurable duties as a father was reading bedtime stories to his kids. A process he hopes they pass down to their kids some day and instill in them and others the desire they grew up having for reading and learning.
Don Ross
Director
J. Donaldson Ross is a graduate of McMaster and MA of Environmental Studies from York University. He was public policy and strategic planner in the Ministry of Natural Resources until moving from Toronto to Orillia where he started a successful independent bookstore. While in Orillia, Don has been the founder in 1992 and three times chair of the Orillia Museum of Art and History, chair of the Orillia Heritage Committee, and the Orillia Hall of Fame; board member of the Mayor’s University Task Force to bring the satellite campus of Lakehead University to Orillia, and the Orillia Cultural Arts Centre. Don relishes a good novel, especially Canadian, Irish and Spanish, but mostly reads history of Champlain, the French Regime, Upper Canada and Scotland. He is also an antiquarian book collector, avid gardener and relentless genealogist. He is married to Evelyn Ross and lives in an 1885 Second Empire home, with two sons- engineer Cameron in Montreal, and artist John in Calgary, and one grandson.
