Board of Directors

Bio: Ernie has a master’s degree in Agriculture Economics from the University of Manitoba.  He spent his career at Statistics Canada where he was a director in five different divisions including Agriculture, Corporate Planning, Electronic Database Publishing and Census Operations.  After retirement he spent 10 years doing projects in statistical development with the World Bank and OECD working in several African and Asian countries.  During this time, he was also an adjunct data librarian at the Carleton University Data Centre.

He lived next door to the Larrimac golf course for 32 years and now has a cottage on Sherrin Road and a condo in Ottawa. He joined Larrimac in 1988 and has been on the board for 10 years having served as vice president and president.

I recently retired after a number of varied careers.  My education career finished with me being the CEO/D.G. of a large school board.  I have been a Principal of many Ottawa area schools and prior to that was in the automotive repair business.  I am a licensed mechanic and taught it for many years.  I am also retired as a pilot and military member.

After many false starts in the world of golf, my wife and I took lessons at Larrimac and are going into our 3rd year as members.  We are also long-time Chelsea residents and are familiar with the community.  We both love the area and the Club.  We want to be a continuing part of Larrimac’s second century.  My goal is to ensure that Larrimac is here for my kids and their kids.

Specifically, if I am elected to the board, I want to bring my leadership experience and technical background to the table.  I want the club to operate as a revenue positive one and am fiscally conservative.

If elected, this will be my second year as a board member.  I believe I was active and accomplished much during my first year and I think most will recognize significant accomplishments over the difficult past year.  In short, my vision is to have Larrimac for our children and their children.

I am excited to put my name forward for the Larrimac board. Since joining the club, I have actively participated in many aspects of our Larrimac community, including golf lessons, Tuesday women’s league, attending and helping organize social events including the Anniversary Tea. I have met many talented and welcoming members, each with their own unique Larrimac story.

Most memorable was supporting a project to select pictures for display in the clubhouse and create a slideshow for the opening BBQ. Looking through old photo albums deepened my appreciation for the rich history of golf and tennis at Larrimac.

Many of the skills and expertise I gained in my career at Canada Life align with being an effective board member. I led teams and national projects focused in a variety of key strategic areas:

• Training & facilitation
• Continuous improvement & sustainability
• Operational excellence & cost management

With a focus on collaborative planning toward common objectives, financial stewardship, and an engaged membership, I believe we can continue to build and strengthen our community together.

Denis is a Federal Public Servant where he is an Executive with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).    Denis spent most of his career in the global telecommunications industry in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.   

Denis joined the Board in 2020 as Tennis Director having taken up the sport for the first time at age 61.   Too often his love for golf interferes with his love for tennis.    He relishes in performing the Larrimac Biathlon (play tennis in the morning and golf in the afternoon).    As Tennis Director he established a partnership with the Meredith Centre where we jointly ran junior tennis clinics in 2023 and this summer.    We continue to build on this partnership.

Denis became the Treasurer in 2023.    He has largely been focused on managing our cash requirements, while investing in critical infrastructure and growth.   In 2024 we enjoyed a record year in club service revenues, have a strong food and beverage offering, and some important foundations to build upon.

Among his goals is to retire much of our infrastructure deficit, leveraging our investment capital and through funding secured from multiple levels of government.   He believes that we can develop a sustainable business model that generates the necessary working capital to responsibly maintain the assets that support the day-to-day operations of the club. 

After a BA in French Language and Literature, I moved to France for six years where I worked for a Stockbroker, played field hockey in their national championship, climbed on Everest and met my husband.

Back in Canada I Manage an Outdoor Equipment Store, took part in an expedition to K2, became involved with the Olympic Movement and was hired as the first Manager of the Women’s High-Performance Program at Hockey Canada, culminating in a role as Team Leader at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games and first appearance of women’s hockey.  Direct involvement in national and world championships gave me, among other things, extensive experience with volunteers, event management, marketing, business planning and evaluation.

A bike accident and two volunteer experiences at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg and the 2000 Pan American Games in Sydney, Australia saw me recruited by Sport Canada where I ended my career as Manager of Major Games and International Sport. I worked with a wide variety of National Sport Organizations, sitting on Boards and Committees, leading strategic planning and developing policy. Leading our Federal Delegation to several major sporting events developed skills in planning, team building, event management, crisis management, protocol and more, working with a wide variety of partners at different levels domestically and internationally.

I have lived in Chelsea since 1990, two kilometres from the Club and served twice on the Board of Directors with direct involvement in: marketing, communications, social events, planning and human resources.

I would like to contribute any and all of these skills to the Board with an emphasis on streamlining operations and administration, capturing our processes, policies and procedures to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

He is a long time member of the club who also worked on the grounds crew for over 10 years, and his mom was the club manager in the early 1990s. Trevor is currently a Federal Public Servant who’s work and background includes Environmental Management Specialist and Health and Safety, and in his spare time is a part time firefighter with the Chelsea Fire Department. He holds a M.Sc in Environmental Practice and has also completed the McGill Mini MBA program, he has lived in Chelsea for over 40 years and has been involved with the golf course in some capacity almost as long.

I was a junior Larrimac member in the 60s; Board member in the 80s & have been a social member & challenged golfer since 2016.

My company, Browncrest Farms Limited, has been in the land development and construction business in Chelsea since 1972. Over the last 40 years I have been in the restaurant and retail business; Executive Secretary to the Board of the Medical Council of Canada; and I did communications and fundraising for Habitat for Humanity, Ottawa for 5 years.

As a volunteer Board member for the Gatineau Valley Historical Society, I have published its newsletters and set up and administered the Facebook account since 2006. In 2016 I became the treasurer and keep track of the membership records.

I help the Chelsea Quail House ‘jammers’ who make jam and chutney to support Quail House activities for its residents. I redesigned the labels & continue to print and label the production each week. I also organize a yearly fundraising dinner at Les Fougères for La Maison des Collines, the palliative care home in Wakefield.

I am proficient in Microsoft Office, MailChimp and Quick Books on both iMac & PC computers.

I have lived in Chelsea since 1988 and been a member of Larrimac since 2021.  Prior to retiring, I practiced law in both the private and public sectors, with experience in corporate and environmental law, as well as legal risk management, governance, transparency and privacy.  I have managed people, and helped teams obtain objectives.  I would like to be on the Larrimac Board of Directors as I would like to ensure Larrimac’s continued success in the future.  I have been part of the team which has energised the women’s programme at Larrimac.  I would like to make Larrimac the vibrant and financially sound community-centred golf, tennis and social club I know it can be.  I also want to respect Larrimac’s history and the contributions which Larrimac’s members of long standing have made.

I have been coming to Larrimac since 1958.  My parents bought the property, which my husband John Parkes and I presently own, at the bottom of Larrimac Road in the mid 1960s.  I spent virtually every summer growing up here.  While I was not a golfer, as children we played some tennis, and we all ran around the log booms!  My children all spent their summers here and my son Dennis was in the junior golf program, but the girls thought the lessons started too early!  They regret that now and all my children and their spouses play here when visiting.

Now retired, I was a senior Manager in the Ontario government for over 30 years with the various iterations of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.  I ended my career as Ontario’s Senior Economic Officer in California (5 years) and Mexico (6 years) responsible for trade and investment.

I have previously served on the Board of Bishop Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario and was an Advisor to the Association of Canadian Chinese Entrepreneurs (ACCE) in Toronto for many years.

I am fluent in Spanish and speak French and Italian.  I have a BScL (Bachelor of Science in Language) in translation and interpretation (French to English) with a minor in Economics from Laurentian University.  Also have Diplomas and Courses in Economic Development (University of Waterloo) and in Entrepreneurship and Management (Ryerson, now Toronto Metropolitan University).  I currently spend my time between Larrimac and the GTA with long visits to Mexico.

Raised on a farm in Quebec, I learned the value of ethics and a hard day’s work at a very early age.  For the past 20 years, I have dedicated my professional life to Public Safety with the GOC, and my personal life to my family of 4!  Our bilingual family recently moved to Chelsea. I’m looking forward to investing some of my time, effort and experience as a board member of the Larrimac Golf Club.  I have always volunteered in the communities that we have lived in, as well as spearheading several large volunteering projects, some requiring the raising of over $100,000 in a very short time.  As a team leader, I have organized several large youth hockey camps in partnership with the National Hockey Leage Players Association where up to 100 youth players would attend and be coached by current and retired NHL players. I have organized an international aviation “fly in”, volunteered for the 2007 Canada Winter Games, coached minor hockey for several years and donated much of my time to various community events.

In addition to my proven strong “team player” aptitudes, my leadership, experience, enthusiasm and “make it happen” attitude would be a significant asset to the board.  If elected on the board, I plan on assembling a strong and effective team that could reinvigorate the Larrimac youth golf program and work towards ensuring the viability and success of the club for the next century. 

If you wish to discuss any issues, share any ideas that may improve our golf club, or to express your interest in assisting the leadership of the Larrimac club, I urge you to reach out to anyone on the board and invite them to have a conversation with you.  If elected to the board, I will make myself available to meet and discuss with community members alike.

Chelsea resident and member of Larrimac Golf Club.

Growing up only a few hundred yards from the first tee, I was fortunate enough to get to spend most of my days growing up out in the sun playing golf at the Larrimac golf club. I’m proud to say that I have won 3 JR Larrimac club championships, 4 men’s Larrimac club championships, and have even been lucky enough to place in a few tournaments at the Club de Golf del Uruguay, all the way down in Montevideo. On the industry side of golf, I worked in the pro shop at Larrimac for 3 seasons, I was also a manager at a Golftown for around 3 years, allowing me to make countless connections in the world of golf. All of this is thanks to the passion for golf that I acquired participating in the Larrimac Junior Program.

I would like to contribute to the board by giving a younger perspective on the game of golf, and hopefully help make larrimac more popular among young people. I am currently starting my career as a real estate broker in the area, so for the next few years, my availably will be limited, however I would still like to contribute to the betterment of Larrimac by being present for board meetings and being able to give my opinion on matters at hand. I firmly believe that the knowledge and experience that I have acquired in the world of golf puts me in a position to be a crucial voice for the young people at Larrimac, to help guide the club into its 2^nd Century.

I am volunteering to be the tennis representative on the board for a second year.  I am a long time Chelsea resident and have played tennis at Larrimac since joining as a junior so  I have extensive experience with tennis at the club.   I am also a new golf member and enjoy skiing in the winter. I am retired from the federal public service where I was previously an IT manager.

I would like to continue to represent the interests of tennis players with the club.  I would continue to work on getting the courts resurfaced, and would like to bring back more activities next year such as the  end of year tournament, providing there is enough membership interest.   I would also work with the tennis committee to ensure there is agreement on plans for tennis at the club.