Guest Speakers for 2024-25
Presenter: Brandon Dobson, Program Supervisor for the Town of Hanover
Topic: Hanover Age Friendly Committee
Brandon Dobson has 9 years of municipal experience, including 3 years with the Town of Hanover as the Program Supervisor in the Parks, Recreation & Culture department.
Brandon grew up loving sports & recreation, having played hockey, football, baseball and track & field, among others. He is extremely passionate about this community, and the role he plays within this department. He looks forward to continuing to foster relationships, and building connections in the area.
Brandon and his wife, Nicole (an RPN at Hanover Hospital), moved to Durham in 2022 and shortly after welcomed a baby girl. They are looking forward to the anticipated arrival of a baby boy this July.
Presenter: Willy Waterton & Audrey Armstrong
Topic: Hiking the Bruce Trail
Willy Waterton
A creek still bears the family name where Willy’s ancestors settled in northern Grey County during the 1840’s. A self-taught photographer, Willy Waterton spent 35 years as a fulltime photojournalist at the Owen Sound Sun Times. During his tenure as chief photographer, he oversaw the transition from black and white to colour then finally to digital. His newspaper photographs won over 100 provincial and national awards. In 1990, Willy was named Ontario News Photographers’ Association Photographer of the Year. His photographs have appeared in national and international magazines, newspapers and books including the Globe and Mail, New York Times and National Geographic. In the past, Willy was a contract photographer for both Ontario Parks and Parks Canada. His work is in public and private collections. Willy’s lifelong love for Bruce & Grey Counties has led to a commitment through his photography to interpret these special parts of the world for you to enjoy and help to protect. He is active in many community volunteer organizations including the Owen Sound Field Naturalists and Huron Fringe Birding Festival. He is also the OSFN representative for the Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park advisory committee.
Audrey Armstrong
Audrey graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in experimental art and textiles and for ten years she ran Watercress Weavery,her own weaving business. After graduating from University of Guelph and the University of Toronto, Audrey taught elementary school with the Bluewater District School Board for 25 years, receiving the Teacher of Excellence award. A presenter with the Monarch Teacher Network, Audrey has led in-depth workshops on monarch butterflies, habitat development and Voices from the Land workshops, developing visual and literary interpretations of nature in Canada and the USA. She continues her love of teaching by leading workshops for Ontario Parks and Parks Canada staff. She is active in many community volunteer organizations including the Owen Sound Field Naturalists and Huron Fringe Birding Festival. Audrey shares her passion and interest in habitat creation with the public. She is also the Ontario Nature representative for OSFN.
Presenter: R.J. Taylor
Topic: Cedar Crest Trout Farms - Springhills Fish
Springhill was given the Business Innovator Environmental Award for the humane harvesting of fish.
They started over 35 years ago when Jim and Lynette Taylor bought an old fly-fishing club. They had a big dream of building their own fish farm in Grey County. Although it took eight years of permits, they opened Cedar Crest Trout Farm in 1995 in Allan Park (just outside Hanover).
In the 2010s, the Taylors added three more land-based fish farms to meet the growing demands for sustainable fish. At the time, the business was focused on hatching young rainbow trout for sale to floating farms in northern Ontario to grow-out.
One of these newly acquired farms had a small processing plant and smokehouse, and it was called Springhills. It gave the Taylors all the ingredients they needed to expand into filleting and offering more fish.
By 2018, Springhills became the first land-based farms in central Canada to get certified by the Best Aquaculture Practices program. This held their team to the highest international standard for environmental impact, fish welfare, and social responsibility. Shortly after they were recommended by Ocean Wise too.
The Springhills family was hit hard by cancelled orders during the first weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic. So their entire team started filleting fish and asking people on Facebook if they’d want a box.
Soon so many requests came flooding in and they quickly outgrew our plant and built another much bigger one. They branched out with more types of fish, and even found other farmers and fishers for more variety.
In less than a year, they were delivering local fish to more than 1,500 homes every month nearly across the province. They launched into most grocery retailers big and small. And expanded with smoked fish and other fishy products.
Presenter: Dan Herrick, ED for Grey Bruce Makers
Topic: All About Grey Bruce Makers
Dan serves as the Executive Director at Grey Bruce Makers, a nonprofit makerspace in Owen Sound, where he combines his passions for art, design, business, and fostering community connections.
Challenged to grow Grey Bruce Makers into a self-sustaining community workspace, Dan leverages his leadership skills, creative problem-solving, and technical expertise to empower individuals of all ages to explore and develop their skills in art, design, and technology.
Dan is a versatile artist and community builder with a rich background in scenic and production design for theatre and film. Dan’s career spans over a decade and his creative work has been recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, where he received a nomination for Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design.
Through his work at Grey Bruce Makers, Dan is committed to fostering innovation, collaboration, and a sense of belonging, ensuring that the makerspace continues to thrive as a hub for creativity and community engagement.
Presenter: Toni Kaastra, Hanover Public Library
Topic: Adult Programmer and Outreach Coordinator
Our January speaker is Toni Kaastra, who was born and raised on a farm in Huron County. She will be joined by Alexander Taylor, Branch Manager. He holds a Master's degree in Information and Library Sciences from the University of Western Ontario and has been a part of the Hanover Library team for the past year.
Toni’s current role at the Hanover Library is Adult Programmer and Community Outreach Coordinator. For her, this role isn't just a job - it's a calling. Her mission is to connect people, build bridges, and to create spaces where everyone feels welcome. What she loves most about her position is being able to further connect a community. “Being raised in a small town instilled in me that community is very important.”
Toni moved to in Hanover in 2014 and she is a busy mom of 3 teenagers. She really enjoys being a part of her community and currently sits on the JDSS parent council and the Chamber of Commerce executive team. She is very passionate about what she does – she says it's about creating connections, understanding diverse perspectives, and ensuring that no one feels forgotten.
Presenter: Marilyn Dickson
Topic: Canadian women pilots
Marilyn’s presentation will describe how a few Canadian born women were able to make a significant contribution to the war effort, as pilots during the second world war.
Marilyn learned to fly in 1988 and subsequently used a flying metaphor in her doctoral dissertation. She became a Flight Instructor in 1999 and flew Ontario Environment Ministry investigators to identify pollution sites and as copilot for Bruceland Air’s charter operation.
In 2006 Marilyn was awarded the Ninety-Nines Amelia Earhart Research Scholarship to research the work of early Canadian pilot Vi Milstead, whom she successfully nominated for an Order of Canada and induction into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.
During her work with Vi, Marilyn identified and researched 9 Canadian born women who joined the Air Transport Auxiliary in Britain and flew during the Second World War. This was a civilian organization which delivered 309,011 military aircraft (from small training planes, fast fighters, to multi-engine bombers) to military bases throughout the British Isles and later to continental Europe.