Newly-appointed Huron County Warden Jamie Heffer shakes hands with past-Warden Glen McNeil after being given the chain of office on November 27, 2024
Huron County has a new warden.
Morris-Turnberry Mayor Jamie Heffer was appointed to the role for the next two years.
He was the only member of county council to put his name forward, and received the full support of his colleagues.
Heffer had mentioned previously that he had intended to put his name forward.
During a ceremony ahead of council’s inaugural meeting on November 27th, Past Warden Glen McNeil, who ended his second consecutive two-year term, passed along the chain of office, as well as a gavel, which serves more as a symbol than a necessary item.
In his opening remarks, the new warden started by thanking his family: wife Lori (sp?), daughter Jessica, who attended with Heffer’s youngest granddaughter Eve, and son Jonathan. His brothers Doug and Dave were also present.
He acknowledged members of Morris-Turnberry council who were present, councillors Jamie McCallum, Jodi Snell, and Sharen Zinn, as well as senior members of Morris-Turnberry municipal staff, which included CAO and Clerk Trevor Helm, and Chief Building Official and Drainage Superintendent Kirk Livingston.
Remarks were also given by Dawson Hallahan on behalf of MPP Lisa Thompson, and by
Bill Strong, on behalf of Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb.
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“I would like to thank County council for the honour of letting me represent you as a warden of Huron County for the remainder of this term. And when you’re acclaimed, it gives you a moment to just stop and ponder ‘what did I do?’ and ‘why was everybody else smart enough not to do it?’ and “what was I missing?’, but you knew better than to stick your necks out like this, but I truly believe that any one of us on County council should be able to step into this role, and I thank you for enabling me to do this on your behalf.
I want to thank Glen for his leadership in the last four years. And Glen, you’ve set a standard that’s very high, and have demonstrated a real commitment to promoting Huron County, and on behalf of County council, I thank you for that.
At this midpoint of our term, I would suggest that we take some time to review the strategic goals that we set when we began this term. Call it a mid-term health check if you will, and we need to determine if our goals and priorities need any adjustments as we move the business of the corporation forward for the next two years.
Past Warden McNeil handed me the gavel a few minutes ago, and I realize it is symbolic, and I really hope that I never have to use it. And I trust that we can work with each other, respecting each other’s views and perspectives so that we will make good, sound, and consistent decisions on behalf of the residents of Huron County.
As I chair your meetings, there are three things that I’m going to ask of you, and if alliteration helps, you think of the three Cs. I’m going to ask that you be clear, I’m going to ask that you be concise, and I’m going to ask that you be considerate. And if we do that, then we will be able to work together, build on the strengths that we have, and move Huron County forward. So thank you for the opportunity to be your warden.”