Ferguson Forest Centre announces the retirement of its Chief Executive Office – Ed Patchell

This year’s fall equinox marked the end of an era at Ferguson Forest Centre as Ed Patchell formally retired after 20 years of service as Chief Executive Officer of the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation.

Ed’ forestry career began in 1978 with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (OMNRF), where he worked at their Thunder Bay tree nursery for eight years. In 1986, Ed relocated to Kemptville, spending 10 years at the G. Howard Ferguson Forest Station and two years as a lands technician and forester, for a total of 20 years of service with OMNRF. From 1998 to 2000, during the two-year transition between the dissolution of the OMNRF-run forest station and the creation of the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation, Ed ran a private consulting firm, Oxford Consulting, which operated the Ferguson Forest Centre under a municipally-mandated board of directors.

In 2000, Ed took on the role of Chief Operating Officer, and later Chief Executive Officer, for the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation, a not-for-profit company with a volunteer board operating the tree nursery to promote good forestry and support conservation and recreation in the Municipality of North Grenville.

Ed has resided in the North Grenville area since 1986, is married with two children who grew up and went to school in the Kemptville area. Ed has also been involved in local scouting and the Lions Club over the years and has provided support and help to many organizations using the Ferguson Forest Centre and surrounding Crown land.

Ed will continue as a member of the Corporation Board of Directors as Corporate Secretary.

Ferguson Tree Nursery will be headed by a new management team, comprised of:

Penny Lennox, Director of Nursery Operation;

Maureen Jacques, Director of Sales and Business Development; and

Carolyn Rayfield, Director of Human Resources and Finance.

Contact information for each of these Directors can be found at: www.fergusontreenursery.ca

COVID19 has unfortunately curtailed a planned celebration of FFC’s 20th anniversary and will also delay a retirement celebration to honor Ed; however, a public celebration to mark both occasions will take place at a later date. - - -

Ferguson Forest Centre is 1100 acres of multi-use forested land located in the Municipality of North Grenville. The Centre boasts walking and hiking trails, snowmobile and skiing trails, an arboretum, dog park, children’s areas and a waterfront park with a picnic shelter and canoe and kayak launch dock.

The Centre is governed by the not-for-profit Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation, which oversees 360 acres of municipal land and 740 acres of provincial lands. The Corporation’s wholly-owned Ferguson Tree Nursery grows native and non-invasive naturalized trees and woody shrubs, through which it funds the operation, management and maintenance of the Centre and recreational lands.

Information is also available on our newly revamped website (www.fergusonforestcentre.ca) and on our Facebook and Twitter sites.

Contact:

Carl Doucette, President, Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation