George Burton is no longer the president of Invest North Bay, indicating to city council on Tuesday that he will not seek another term in the position.
Ian Kilgour, Executive Director of the Invest North Bay Development Corporation, commends Burton for his five years of service.
“We were fortunate to have him on the board. We will continue to work with George and Canadore. Their close partnership with the city and our economic development department are a key component in the labour force and those connections in the city,” Kilgour said. “President George Burton did a great job and he was commended for it by the board and council.”
Kilgour adds that the board will work towards appointing the next president at its next meeting, which will be in early October.
Councillor Marcus Tignanelli says that he appreciates the time Burton had spent with the organization.
“Like anyone who’s dedicated five years of volunteering time, all you can say is ‘thank you for your time and your commitment to your city’,” he said.
Tignanelli says he will miss the wealth of knowledge that Burton had.
“George brought tremendous experience that no one at that table had, especially with his dealings with running a postsecondary institution. There are a select few people in the province who have that knowledge,” he commended. “I really valued the insight that he would bring,”
Invest North Bay is a branch of the city which aims to bring investors into North Bay which would promote growth.
Tignanelli believes that the group faces unwarranted criticism at times.
“I think there’s a lot of misinformation with Invest North Bay and I think it’s always the target of scrutiny. Invest North Bay has a $140,000 operating budget and that’s it,” he notes. “At the end of the day, we’re competing against our neighbours in creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem, looking at foreign direct investment, marketing North Bay to the GTA. If we’re not doing that, then we might as well roll up the carpets and turn out the streetlights.”
The recently announced Norgalv plant which is being built in the Airport Plaza in North Bay had investors from South Africa choose the city as a location to build the facility.
Burton departs from the board alongside Vicky Paine-Mantha, Jody Joyal and Caleb O’Connor, who also chose to not renew their terms.
The board for Invest North Bay now consists of:
- Mayor Al McDonald
- Councillor Dave Mendicino
- Councillor Marcus Tignanelli
- David Euler, CAO
- Steve Deacon
- George Flumerfelt
- Larry Fuld
- Jonathan Muterera
- Rob Suppa
- Tiz Silveri
The process of filling the remaining vacant seats will also begin at the next board meeting.
