ALLISTON, ONTARIO - The Supervisor of Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Mark Rochon, announced today the appointment of 12 new Directors to the SMH Board.

The new Board members are Scott Anderson, Justice Jon-Jo Douglas, Alan Dresser, Hart Holmstrom, Debbie Hudson, Marilyn Lawrence, Gilles Madore, Catherine Morden, Pat Morrison, John Swinden, Ted Vandevis and John Ytsma.

"I am very pleased to announce the appointment of these talented individuals to Stevenson Memorial's Board of Directors," said Rochon. "Collectively, they reflect the diverse and complementary mix of skills and experience required to govern a complex health care facility. In addition to strong leadership qualities, they bring a deep sense of caring about SMH and commitment to excellence in community health care."

"I would like to thank the Advisory Committee members - Elizabeth Kirley, Dana Stehr, Larry Keogh and Peter Gordon - for their wisdom and thoughtfulness throughout the recruitment process," said Rochon. "They were tireless in their commitment to ensure that the best possible candidates for the job were selected."

"We were impressed by the many expressions of interest from the community and the caliber of individuals who came forward," said Rochon. "It's inspiring to know that so many residents care passionately about Stevenson Memorial."

The Board governs the affairs of the hospital and provides strategic leadership and oversight of operations subject to the Public Hospitals Act, hospital by-laws and other requirements. Oversight of SMH operations will be transitioned from the Hospital Supervisor to the Board in the New Year. Board members will first participate in an orientation program, beginning in January 2008.

More information about the Board Directors follows:

Scott Anderson
Scott has extensive business experience as a partner/owner of several successful privately owned businesses, primarily focused on corporate and consumer services. As a chartered account, Scott has executive level business experience, including finance, operations, marketing, sales and human resources.

He has a variety of Board experiences over a 20-year period. Currently, he is a member of the Sleep Country Canada Board (Chair of the Audit Committee) and of ListenUP Canada, the Ontario market leader in hearing health care. Scott lives with his family outside of Tottenham.

Justice Jon-Jo Douglas
Prior to his appointment in 1998 as a Judge of the Ontario Court of Justice, Justice Douglas was an Assistant Crown Attorney in London and Toronto, counsel with the Ontario Securities Commission and the Ontario Pension Commission, and Executive Vice-President with the Ontario Pension Board.

Justice Douglas was previously the volunteer President of the York Region Division of the Canadian Cancer Society. Justice Douglas moved to Simcoe County with his family in 1992 to enjoy rural life.

Alan Dresser
Alan and his wife, Aileen, have owned and operated the Tottenham Pharmacy since 1992 and the Tottenham Medical Pharmacy since 1995. He is experienced in offering health related clinics in the community and has worked as a Teaching Assistant with the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. He has also been a member of the Finance Committee for the Ontario Pharmacists' Association.

Alan is a recent graduate of the Schulich School of Business at York University, specializing in Organizational Behaviour and Health Industries Management. Alan and his family relocated to the Tottenham area in March of 1996

Hart Holmstrom
Hart Holmstrom is the owner of Temp Air Control, a mid-size company in the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration) industry for more than 30 years. Prior to entering business, he was in the Canadian Armed Forces for 15 years, four of which were with the NATO Forces serving as a peacekeeper in Europe.

Hart serves on several local Boards in Alliston; notably as the Executive Director of NT Temps and as a Director for the Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation, the Veterans' and Seniors' Villa of Alliston, and the South Simcoe Concert Band. He is Past President of the Alliston Lions Club. Hart is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion and St. John's United Church.

Debbie Hudson
Debbie Hudson is a Certified Financial Planner and Branch Manager with Investment Planning Counsel in Alliston. Debbie is founder and organizer of Women at Their Best, an annual charity event held locally for the past 12 years. She has served as a Board member and Chair of People In Transition, My Sister's Place, Treasurer of Shelburne Minor Hockey and was on the Board of Stevenson Memorial Hospital. She currently sits on the Board of The Gibson Centre.

Marilyn Lawrence
Marilyn Lawrence has been a resident and worked in the area for the past 27 years. She and her husband currently reside in Essa Township. Marilyn is a Certified Human Resources Professional with a registered nursing background. She has worked in a hospital environment and provided industrial health nursing in a manufacturing facility. Marilyn is currently the Manager of Human Resources for a company in the transportation sector.

Gilles Madore
Gilles Madore has been living in the Alliston area with his wife and four children since 1988 and working in Alliston since 1986. Since that time, Gilles has been employed by Honda of Canada Mfg. in various management roles. Currently as Vice-President at Honda, he is a project leader for the new engine plant. Prior to this assignment, Gilles was Plant Manager for the light truck plant and the Civic plant. He also worked for seven years as General Manager of Quality.

Catherine Morden
Catherine is a resident of Alliston whose career experiences include 32 years as an educator for the Metropolitan Separate School Board of Toronto. She has extensive community leadership experience, including eight years as a member of the Board of the Markham Stouffville Hospital, Chairperson of the Markham Theatre for Performing Arts, and Chairperson of Unionville Festival. She has also served as a committee member for the Markham Achievement and Civic Recognition Awards and the Frederick Varley Art Gallery, as well as Phase President of Briar Hill Community and Director of the Gibson Cultural Centre.

Pat Morrison
Pat Morrison was born and raised in Thornton and has lived and farmed in the community with her husband, John, since 1973. Pat currently works for Shannon-Moore Financial Services in Alliston. Over the years, Pat has volunteered in many organizations, including Kinettes, St. John's Church, minor hockey and baseball, and the Alliston Hornets Jr. C.

John Swinden
John has been a resident of Adjala for 36 years, full time since 1999. He is a retired partner of Ernst & Young Canada, where he served for 39 years. His last assignment with the firm was worldwide Director of Risk Management for Ernst & Young International, in London, UK. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and Life Member. He also holds a Certified Fraud Examiner credential, and briefly practiced forensic accounting. His professional work has involved being in charge of an independent audit at a large Toronto hospital.

Recently, his experience includes being a Director and Audit Committee Chair of an Ontario automobile parts manufacturing company with a number of factories in three countries.

Ted Vandevis
Ted Vandevis is President & Chief Executive Officer of Electrical & Utilities Safety Association of Ontario in Mississauga. He is a member and chair of numerous Boards and committees, all related to the prevention of illness and injuries. In 1996, he graduated from the University of Western Ontario, Ivey School of Business with a Masters in Business Administration and is presently a PhD candidate in Capella University's Organization and Management program. Married for 31 years, Ted lives in New Tecumseth with his wife, Janet.

John Ytsma
John Ytsma and his family have lived and worked in Alliston for 15 years and currently own the Alliston Home Building Centre. John served on the Board of Directors of Stevenson Memorial Hospital for the past seven years sitting on various sub committees of the Board. He also held the position of Vice-Chair of the Board for two years

Stevenson Memorial Hospital is a fully accredited facility located in the community of Alliston, Ontario, within the Town of New Tecumseth. The Hospital offers a wide scope of medical and surgical services to a catchment area including Adjala-Tosorontio, Canadian Forces Base Borden, Essa, Innisfil and New Tecumseth.