Annual General Meeting - Board Elections

There are five director positions up for election at this year’s Annual General Meeting. Three candidates will be elected for three-year terms and two candidates will be elected for one-year terms.

Eight members have come forward as candidates. (*Candidates are listed in the order in which their applications were received.)

Grant Howard

My name is Grant Howard and I have been a member of the credit union family for over forty years. My involvement commenced as a member of the Sudbury Civic Employees Credit Union in 1976, a few years later I was elected to their Board of Directors.

As time passed, the Sudbury Civic Employees Credit Union merged with the Creighton Mine Credit Union, later known as Community Savings Credit Union which subsequently merged with Sudbury Credit Union. As a result, I have had the pleasure of representing these various credit unions and their membership as a director for close to forty years.

As a director, I have gained an enormous amount of knowledge over the years as it relates to credit unions. I have successfully completed the requisite courses as prescribed by DICO and am confident in my abilities to continue representing the membership as a director.

I am married and have two children, both members of the credit union as well as two grandchildren. I retired from a 35 year career as a police officer in this community and now enjoy retirement.

I truly believe in the philosophy of credit unions and the cooperative movement.

Floyd Laughren

Floyd Laughren has been a retailer, teacher, politician, economic regulator and a volunteer. Following a 27 year career in Ontario politics he was appointed Chair of the Ontario Energy Board in 1998, a position from which he retired in 2003. Prior to entering politics he taught Economics at Cambrian College in Sudbury. As a part of the Rae government he served as Deputy Premier, Ministry of Finance, and Chair of the Policy and Priorities Board of Cabinet.

Mr. Laughren is a graduate of Ryerson and York Universities and has an Honourary Doctorate from Laurentian University in Sudbury. He has been an active volunteer since his retirement and currently is the Past Chair of the Board of Governors of Laurentian University, Past Chair of the Sudbury Credit Union, and Past Chair of the Sudbury United Way/Centraide campaign. In 2006 he chaired the Sudbury Community Solutions Team. Currently, Mr. Laughren is also a member of the Samsung Ontario Advisory Counsel and is Vice Chair of Health Sciences North. In 2018, Floyd received the province's highest honour - the Order of Ontario. This award is reserved for Ontarians who have shown outstanding qualities of individual excellence and achievement in any field.

Jamie Conroy

I have been a member of the Sudbury Credit Union Board of Directors for 16 years. While on the SCU Board, I served as Chair of the Audit Committee for 9 years. I have successfully completed all modules under the Credit Union Director Achievement Program and am strong in all nine core competencies required by DICO.

I am a graduate of the University of Western Ontario, with a major in Economics. I have been employed with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) for over 22 years.

I have been a member of Sudbury Credit Union for over 50 years. I am married to Cindy Conroy and we have three children, one son and two daughters, and are currently residing in Copper Cliff.

David Carnes

I have been a member of Sudbury Credit Union for 40 years. Graduating from Cambrian College in Computer Systems in 1971. I am still employed in that field.  I have additional education from Queens University in Strategic Management and various computer courses.

I welcome the opportunity to run for a board position and give back to a community organization that has helped so many people. My years of management and board experience have provided me with skills that I like to share.

Some of these experiences are:

• Board Sudbury Curling Club over 13 years, President and treasurer;
• Board ACT/UCT service club 16 years, Past President and currently treasurer; CU member;
• Chairperson of 300+ volunteers co-ordinating two TSN televised Grand Slam Curling events;
• Board member of 3 separate private corporations, two are currently active and one a CU member;
• 3 years Cambrian College Computer Programming Instructor;
• 3 years Canadian Regular Army, RCEME, Instrument technician.

On a personal note, my wife of 10 years and I have 5 children and 8 grandchildren.  We enjoy our church organization, Bagpipe groups, Scotch festivals, and traveling across Canada, Mexico, Florida, Scotland, and Panama.

Again, thank you for this opportunity to serve.

Kate Barber

After a short break to pursue other activities, Kate Barber is pleased to be running again for a seat on the Sudbury Credit Union Board of Directors. Kate previously was an active board member for three terms, was a chair of the Governance Committee and achieved a level of ‘strong’ in all of the required competencies.

Kate moved to Sudbury from Southern Ontario in 1999 and began working for the City of Greater Sudbury in the Children’s Services Section. In her roles as a Community/Policy Developer and Children’s Services Planner she has helped to build and strengthen the system of child care and children’s services in the City.

Kate graduated from Trent University in 2000 with a Master’s Degree in Canadian Studies and has completed courses in the Certificate in Public Administration program at Laurentian University. She is a very active community volunteer with St. Andrew’s United Church and the Lansdowne and Sudbury Secondary School Councils, among others. Kate and her busy family are proud residents of Downtown Sudbury. They love to travel all over the world, but are equally happy to be at home enjoying all that the City of Greater Sudbury and Northern Ontario have to offer.

Gerry Labelle

Gerry Labelle was born in Mattawa and raised in Sudbury. He currently lives in Azilda with his wife Mercedez and two pet pigs. He is a businessperson and community activist in Sudbury, where he operates a consulting firm. He is an independent consultant specializing in the design, delivery and management of programs or projects in numerous areas including governance, strategic planning, feasibility studies, construction and project management, health, education, First Nations issues, social services management and senior services affairs.

Labelle is a founding member of Music and Film in Motion and The Citizens Climate Lobby. He has served boards of numerous for-profit and non-profit organizations both as a Board Member and as a trainer. He is also a great supporter of the arts.

He served as a Board Member of the local Credit Union Movement for over 20 years and has decided to return as he is now semi-retired.

Gerry was active in the Make Poverty History and Idle No More movements as a supporter and guest speaker and facilitator. He is a supporter of the arts and is a strong supporter of acting to reduce carbon emissions throughout the world.

Ronald Elve

My name is Ronald Elve and I am a single parent of special needs child. We moved to Sudbury in 2008 because of the opportunities available for us.

I have been involved with credit unions since the 60s and my parents were active in the formation of DUCA credit union. They were involved with the Board of Directors and Supervisory committees.

I studied Economics and Russian at York University and I worked in several fields, such as Security, Real Estate, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Printing, Construction and the Transportation industry. I have been employed and self-employed throughout my career. Most recently, I returned to school to complete my CPA designation.

I have been involved with councils and boards, and I have had roles such as vice-president, treasurer and general councilor. I was also involved with a policy committee with the Federal Government.

Thank you for your consideration.

Alex Fex

I have served as a Credit Union Director for 25 years and am a Past President of Community Savings Credit Union. At Sudbury Credit Union, I was a member of the Audit Committee and have completed all of the required training, receiving a level of ‘strong’ in each of the nine core competencies. My attendance at board meeting while I was a Board Member was always excellent.

I have a B.A. from Laurentian University and studied Business Administration at Ryerson University for one year. I went on to work for INCO for 30 years, mainly in the Accounting Department. After retiring from INCO, I worked as a Realtor for 20 years.

My additional experience includes serving as a Board Member of the Sudbury Housing Board for 25 years, including the position of Chair for 20 years. I served as a Regional Councilor of the Town of Walden for 6 years, and was Mayor for 1 year.

I am a proud volunteer for several local organizations, including Safe Ride Home (previously Operation Red Nose) for 20 years, Walden Oldtimers Hockey group for 43 years and a life member of the Knights of Columbus.

I look forward to the opportunity to serve another three years with my colleagues on the Sudbury Credit Union Board of Directors.