Pembroke community champion Jay McLaren joins AC Board of Governors
April 12, 2016
McLaren has been a part-time teacher at the College for the past 13 years. He started teaching at Algonquin while he was still running a very successful business, Sunset Nursery, which he owned for more than three decades.
After selling his business, McLaren dedicated his spare time to teaching and community volunteerism, primarily through the Kiwanis Club of Pembroke. He was the President of Kiwanis when it embarked on a $50,000 fundraising campaign to support the building of the Waterfront Campus.
“I have always enjoyed my time in the classroom and continue to appreciate the enormous benefits the College brings to all of Renfrew County,” says McLaren. “I am delighted and excited to join the College Board of Governors and look forward to helping ensure the Waterfront Campus in Pembroke prospers for many years to come,” adds McLaren.
McLaren will replace long-time Board of Governor, Fred Blackstein, who has spent much of the past decade on the Board. Blackstein was instrumental in securing the Board’s support for building the new Waterfront Campus and feels McLaren is an excellent choice for the Board.
“Jay is an accomplished businessman, a dedicated community champion, and someone who has many years’ experience working within the college,” says Blackstein. “Jay is very well suited for the role of governor and I know he will be very conscientious and highly committed to the work of the Board. I commend the selection committee for appointing a highly respected individual who always acts in the best interest of our community,” adds Blackstein.
Blackstein has been involved in the Ontario College system since its inception almost 50 years ago, having served on Algonquin’s first Advisory Committee in the late 1960s. He was a member of the College’s Board of Governors from 2004 to 2010 and re-joined the Board in 2012, the year the Waterfront Campus opened in Pembroke. His current term will end this summer.
All of Ontario’s publicly funded colleges operate under the guidance of an appointed Board of Governors. The Governors are volunteers and are selected through a competitive selection process. McLaren will begin his three year term on the Algonquin College Board on September 1st.