The Saugeen Times

Ron Brown Retires

Town Council

Ron Brown credits his staff Lori Sweiger (L) and Linda White (R)

Four generations Ron Brown with his mother, Margaret, daughter Nicole and grandsons Eric( L) and Adam (R)

Ron Brown, former Chief Administration Officer (CAO) of Saugeen Shores, was surrounded by family and friends at Southampton's Walker House as he officially retired Friday.

Family came from across Ontario and friends and colleagues came from the communities where Brown held positions before coming to Saugeen Shores to gently 'roast' Brown.

Brown, who was involved in municipal administration for 34 years, came from Newfoundland in 1962. He worked first for Woolco in maintenance and then turned to door-to-door sales before going into the banking industry with Bank of Nova Scotia in London in 1967, where he also met his wife, Noreen.

He then began in municipal administration in Paisley in 1975 and then went to Wiarton before moving to Southampton in 1993 prior to amalgamation. Brown was the first CAO of Saugeen Shores after amalgamation and is the first retiring CAO.

MPP for Huron Bruce, Carol Mitchell spoke about her liaising with the town through Brown and former Mayor Mark Kraemer alluded to the eight years that he and Brown worked together. "I value every memory we had, your dedication to your job and the execution of your duties was simply the best," ended Kraemer.

Mayor Mike Smith told the crowd that being a municipal administrator is all about dealing with people and their problems. "Ron had a special talent and skill for doing that. He also had a great ability to see complex problems in a simple way and present them in a calm manner. He was greatly admired by councils who worked with him and I found him to be a confidant that I could share problems with and his fabulous sense of humour often diffused difficult situations."

"You go through a lot of things in your career," said Brown, "but it's always the good times you remember. When I started in 1975 and walked into the council in Paisley, I didn't even know what a By-law or tax law was. The reason I have enjoyed the job so much over the years was because of the fantastic mayors and councils and the incredible staff that I worked with."

Brown ended with, "I only hope I can have as much fun in retirement as I have in the work I've been lucky enough to do.'

Ted Quesnell's antics had the crowd rolling with laughter as he roasted Ron Brown