Board of Directors
Jennifer Bazar, Board Secretary
Laurence Dutil-Ricard
James Geneau, Chair, Marketing Committee
Mr. Geneau brings over 20 years of sales and marketing expertise to the board at the Etobicoke Historical Society. He is an experienced marketing, technology, and process improvement specialist with extensive experience in customer relationship management (CRM), strategic marketing, branding, communications, Web marketing, social media, and product development. Prior to joining the Etobicoke Historical Society, Mr. Geneau served as the volunteer marketing chair and a board member of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse and was the President of the Etobicoke Historical Society from 2013 to 2017.
Professionally, he is currently the VP of Marketing at Benbria, has served as the Director of Marketing for Simply Hired, and was also the VP of Marketing at Benecaid, one of Canada’s most successful benefits administration companies focused on the small-to-medium sized business market. He was also the corporate project and marketing manager for Morneau Shepell, the largest Canadian-owned firm focused on benefits and pension consulting and administration. He holds a BA from Concordia University in Montreal, received his CMA certification in direct marketing from the University of Toronto, and Executive Studies in International Marketing from the Edinburgh School of Business.
Denise Harris, Chief Historian
Denise Harris is a retired human resources development manager and a lifelong resident of Etobicoke. She credits her Mother for her love of local history, and the Canadian Studies program at York University for her skills in historical research. Denise has been leading historical walking tours and giving lectures on local history since the 1980s. She is a past president and the current chief historian of the Etobicoke Historical Society (EHS.) In this role, she researches Etobicoke history, assists EHS members and the pubic in finding answers to their history questions, liaises with media, and writes articles on Etobicoke history.
Denise also volunteers at Montgomery’s Inn, acting as EHS’s representative on the board of Montgomery’s INNovators and handling requests from the public for access to the Inn’s photograph collection. She has served on the Etobicoke York Community Preservation Panel and the board of the Heritage Etobicoke Foundation, and has written a column on Etobicoke history for the Guardian newspaper. For her volunteer work championing and preserving Etobicoke’s heritage, Denise has received EHS’s Jean Hibbert Memorial Award and LAMP’s Building a Healthy Community Award of Merit.
Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan has recently rejoined the Board of Directors of the Etobicoke Historical Society, having previously served as a Director from 1980 to 1996, including a two-year term as President. He also served two terms as a citizen member of the Etobicoke Historical Board in the 1980s.
Richard grew up in North York and studied Geography and Environmental Studies at York University before relocating to Etobicoke. Now retired from the City of Mississauga, where he was a Geographic Information Systems Specialist, Richard contributed a local heritage column to the Neighbours and GTA sections of Toronto Star from 1984 to 1991. His feature articles on a variety of topics have also appeared in the Saturday Star, the Sunday Star and a number of genealogy and history magazines.
Richard’s family genealogy book, Beyond the Great Pine Ridge, was published in 2004 and he is now working on a book about Irish Protestants in Canada. He has recently produced a mini-documentary about a true incident from his family’s past entitled Murder in the Family Tree. Richard is well known for his speaking engagements with historical societies and seniors groups.
Mireille Macia
Neil Park, Membership Secretary & Speaker's Night Coordinator
Mark Taylor, Treasurer
Joel Winter, President
Joel Winter is a retired elementary school teacher. He first fell in love with history as a child when visiting a museum about the rebellion of 1837 in Lloydtown, and a later visit to Fort York. From this he realized the importance of sparking a love of history in children and adults. He went on to take every history course he could in high school and then completed a degree in Canadian history at Carleton University. Later he worked at museums such as Ste-Marie Among the Hurons and Toronto’s First Post Office. Joel initiated a 17 person historical re-enactment of a 1649 Jesuit / First Nations voyage from Quebec City to Ste-Marie in 1982. He still enjoys getting into a canoe, but doesn’t go as far. Joel lives in Etobicoke with his wife and son.
Laurence Dutil-Ricard
James Geneau, Chair, Marketing Committee
Mr. Geneau brings over 20 years of sales and marketing expertise to the board at the Etobicoke Historical Society. He is an experienced marketing, technology, and process improvement specialist with extensive experience in customer relationship management (CRM), strategic marketing, branding, communications, Web marketing, social media, and product development. Prior to joining the Etobicoke Historical Society, Mr. Geneau served as the volunteer marketing chair and a board member of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse and was the President of the Etobicoke Historical Society from 2013 to 2017.
Professionally, he is currently the VP of Marketing at Benbria, has served as the Director of Marketing for Simply Hired, and was also the VP of Marketing at Benecaid, one of Canada’s most successful benefits administration companies focused on the small-to-medium sized business market. He was also the corporate project and marketing manager for Morneau Shepell, the largest Canadian-owned firm focused on benefits and pension consulting and administration. He holds a BA from Concordia University in Montreal, received his CMA certification in direct marketing from the University of Toronto, and Executive Studies in International Marketing from the Edinburgh School of Business.
Denise Harris, Chief Historian
Denise Harris is a retired human resources development manager and a lifelong resident of Etobicoke. She credits her Mother for her love of local history, and the Canadian Studies program at York University for her skills in historical research. Denise has been leading historical walking tours and giving lectures on local history since the 1980s. She is a past president and the current chief historian of the Etobicoke Historical Society (EHS.) In this role, she researches Etobicoke history, assists EHS members and the pubic in finding answers to their history questions, liaises with media, and writes articles on Etobicoke history.
Denise also volunteers at Montgomery’s Inn, acting as EHS’s representative on the board of Montgomery’s INNovators and handling requests from the public for access to the Inn’s photograph collection. She has served on the Etobicoke York Community Preservation Panel and the board of the Heritage Etobicoke Foundation, and has written a column on Etobicoke history for the Guardian newspaper. For her volunteer work championing and preserving Etobicoke’s heritage, Denise has received EHS’s Jean Hibbert Memorial Award and LAMP’s Building a Healthy Community Award of Merit.
Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan has recently rejoined the Board of Directors of the Etobicoke Historical Society, having previously served as a Director from 1980 to 1996, including a two-year term as President. He also served two terms as a citizen member of the Etobicoke Historical Board in the 1980s.
Richard grew up in North York and studied Geography and Environmental Studies at York University before relocating to Etobicoke. Now retired from the City of Mississauga, where he was a Geographic Information Systems Specialist, Richard contributed a local heritage column to the Neighbours and GTA sections of Toronto Star from 1984 to 1991. His feature articles on a variety of topics have also appeared in the Saturday Star, the Sunday Star and a number of genealogy and history magazines.
Richard’s family genealogy book, Beyond the Great Pine Ridge, was published in 2004 and he is now working on a book about Irish Protestants in Canada. He has recently produced a mini-documentary about a true incident from his family’s past entitled Murder in the Family Tree. Richard is well known for his speaking engagements with historical societies and seniors groups.
Mireille Macia
Neil Park, Membership Secretary & Speaker's Night Coordinator
Mark Taylor, Treasurer
Joel Winter, President
Joel Winter is a retired elementary school teacher. He first fell in love with history as a child when visiting a museum about the rebellion of 1837 in Lloydtown, and a later visit to Fort York. From this he realized the importance of sparking a love of history in children and adults. He went on to take every history course he could in high school and then completed a degree in Canadian history at Carleton University. Later he worked at museums such as Ste-Marie Among the Hurons and Toronto’s First Post Office. Joel initiated a 17 person historical re-enactment of a 1649 Jesuit / First Nations voyage from Quebec City to Ste-Marie in 1982. He still enjoys getting into a canoe, but doesn’t go as far. Joel lives in Etobicoke with his wife and son.
Nominating a Director
Elections for the Board of Directors are held at the Society's Annual General Meeting (September). Should you wish to stand for election or to nominate a Society member for one of the nine Director's positions, please click on instructions. Nominations should be made no later than a month before the Annual General Meeting.