Former Toronto councillor elected president of Caledon Heritage Foundation

Jane Pitfield At a recent meeting of Caledon Heritage Foundation (CHF) the Board of Directors elected Jane Pitfield as its new president.

Pitfield will take over from Jim Wallace, who has held the position since October.

Pitfield is the owner of a century home in Caledon, which she is restoring to its original state. She is keenly interested in the cultural heritage aspects of the Town of Caledon and is looking forward to using her fundraising expertise in assisting the Foundation with its various projects.

Pitfield is a former City of Toronto councilor and has garnered a great deal of experience as a member of the Preservation Board for eight years and a member of the Todmorden Mills Board for six. She is the author/editor of Leaside, a book published by Natural Heritage Publishers.

"On behalf of CHF, I would like to express our gratitude to our out-going president, Jim Wallace, for his leadership, time and energy," Pitfield commented. "We are delighted that he will continue to serve as a Foundation Director. I am excited to assume the role of president. Our Foundation feels that there is an important need to increase awareness and education to motivate the protection of heritage in the Caledon community."

CHF is alive and well and living in Caledon

There are currently 53 members of the Foundation. Membership in CHF is open to the public and can be obtained by contacting the Caledon Heritage Foundation, P. O. 83, Station Caledon East, Caledon, ON L7C 3L8

Since the annual meeting in October, the Foundation has been busy with several projects.

CHF continues to implement the Town's Designated Heritage Property Grant Program, which provides matching grants of up to $4,000 toward the restoration or maintenance of designated heritage properties by owners in all tax classes other than commercial and industrial.

A Study by ERA Architects Inc. to determine the feasibility of redeveloping the town-owned Kerr Log House (c.1845) as a community heritage centre has been presented to Council. The next steps will be taken by council.

CHF Board of Directors participated in a Visioning Workshop to discuss openly and collectively our best thinking about the on-going purpose of the Foundation and what it can successfully achieve in Caledon.

As an offshoot of this session, a marketing committee has been formed to work on publicizing the purpose(s) of the Foundation and a concerted effort is going into creating a distinctive name and logo for CHF, which will be easily recognizable throughout the community.

A definitive arrangement is in place for ongoing communication with the members of CHF, and plans are proceeding for the 2008 annual general meeting.

The directors of CHF are anticipating creating some interesting educational projects throughout the community, some of which will be specifically aimed at the youth so that they may learn of the rich heritage of the Town of Caledon.