OHFA - AFPO

  We are pleased to announce that our Ontario Fairs program has been officially incorporated as an Ontario Corporation through affiliation with the Ontario Historical Society. Our incorporation as a non-profit organization will enable us to apply for funding from Provincial and Federal government and Private and Community Foundation sources. There is a temporary Board in place for the purpose of incorporation. This temporary Board will represent us until our Fall meeting when you will elect a Board and Executive to represent your program for the 2007-2008 year. We would like to thank the individuals who have graciously joined the Ontario Team to create the current Board of the Ontario Historica Heritage Fairs Association.  

 John Fielding
John founded the first Fair in Ontario. In 1993, he was part of the team that piloted the Fair’s program in Winnipeg and in 1994 was Chair of the Kingston Regional Fair. John is well-known not only in Ontario but across the country for his work at Historica. He was part of the writing team that created the very popular We are Canadians and Canada in the Global Community kits. He was the key organizer of the first Teachers’ Institute for Historica and took part in the first of several National Historica Fairs as a Workshop Leader. John is honoured to act as the Founding President of the Ontario Historica Heritage Fairs Association.

 Zandra Zubac
Zandra now works for the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training but she has maintained her interest in the Ontario Fairs’ Program. For many years, Zandra worked with Shirley O’Neil in Sudbury to create an extremely successful, multi-board Fair for the Sudbury region. Zandra is pleased to help Ontario move forward in this new phase of our Fairs program. Zandra will act as the Founding Vice-President of the Association.

 Denise McCulloch
Denise represents another aspect of the Fairs’ programs – our relationship with our communities. Denise has worked with the Historica Fairs Program since the beginning through her work positions at Elections Canada and then Library and Archives Canada. She has attended many National, Provincial and Regional fairs in all parts of Canada but is partial to her home province of Ontario. A champion of educational programming and French language preservation, Denise is an excellent addition to our Founding Board.

Maurice Switzer
Maurice Switzer is a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation in southern Ontario who is also proud of his Mohawk and Jewish heritage. He has been a professional communicator for over 40 years, and currently serves as director of communications for the Union of Ontario Indians in North Bay, a political organization representing 42 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation across Ontario. He was previously communications director for the Assembly of First Nations in Ottawa and a faculty member at First Nations Technical Institute after a career as a reporter, editor, and publisher at daily newspapers in Belleville, Oshawa, Timmins, Sudbury, and Winnipeg.

REGIONAL FAIR REPRESENTATIVES

Lona Joly
- Near North & North Region -
Lona Joly has been an educator for more than 30 years. She has been an instructional leader in Rainbow District School Board for more than 10 years and is currently President of the Rainbow District School Board's Principals’ Council. Over the years, Lona Joly has made an immense contribution to public education. She has chaired numerous system-wide committees and continues to participate in important Board initiatives, including the use of data to improve student success, the Sudbury Regional Historica Heritage Fair, professional learning sessions, and the development of curriculum resources in partnership with the Aboriginal community. She served as District Councillor for the Ontario Principals' Council from 2001 until her recent election as its Vice-President. 

Margaret Marion
- South and West Region -
Margaret Marion has been an educator for 27 years. She first became involved in the Historica Fairs program in 2003 as a Program Consultant for the Niagara Catholic District School Board. She has served as the co-chair of the Niagara Catholic District School Board Historica Fairs program for four years.  Margaret has been a counselor at the Provincial as well as National Historica Fair level and was on the organizing committee for the 2006 Provincial Fair in the Niagara Region. She is currently a Vice Principal in the elementary panel and looks forward to sitting on the Ontario team as a board member.
 
Diane Istead
- East Region -
 Diane Istead has been an educator for 11 years. She has worked as a Teacher Librarian for seven years and has been involved with Historica Fairs for the last four. She is an enthusiastic supporter of Historica Fairs for many reasons. Most importantly, history Fairs provide students with the opportunity to be engaged in meaningful cross-curricular learning when researching their Canadian heritage. It also provides teachers the chance to work collaboratively to meet the needs of their students. Historica Fairs provides growth opportunities for everyone. Diane Istead is currently an Instructional Leadership Consultant with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board who is looking forward to her own professional growth as a new board member of the Ontario Heritage Historica Fairs Association.

Caroline McBrine
- Central Region - 
Caroline McBrine became involved with the York Region Historica Fair in 2000.  When she began working for the Durham District School Board in 2003, she saw the need for a fair in Durham and, along with several other like-minded individuals, created the Durham Regional Historica Fair.  Caroline is proud to be involved in many levels of the Historica Fairs Program; she has participated as a classroom teacher, a school coordinator, a regional committee member, a counsellor at many Provincial and National Fairs, the head of delegation in 2006, and now as a board member.