Theatre Sarnia is a not-for-profit organization, overseen by an elected Board of Directors. Elections for Directors take place every September, and each Director serves for a three year term.
A summary of the board meeting can be found here.
The current board members are:
I am pleased and grateful to have been afforded this opportunity to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors. A lifelong resident of Sarnia Lambton, I grew up in a Family which placed a high value on service to our Community. I am blessed to have three wonderful daughters with three outstanding son-In-laws and enjoy Papa status with three precious grandchildren - Gracie, Lachie and Lily and one more on the way.
My educational background included achieving Degrees in Physical Education and Education from the University of Western Ontario. It continued with a career in Education which included Classroom and Administrative experiences. A great deal of learning was realized in the robust relationships shared with students, staff and parents in nine school communities throughout Sarnia Lambton. Lifelong learning is a passionate priority for me.
My experience as a Director of Sarnia Bay Marina for a decade was incredible. Along with running the day to day operations in meeting the needs of our Seasonal members, Marketing initiatives designed to entice people to come visit our Marina and Sarnia Lambton were a priority. I reached out to the business community to collaborate in “ hooking ” visitors to experience the extraordinary value of what we all had to offer. From the Community perspective, I have recently been or am currently involved with the Muskoka Woods Student Leadership initiative, Diabetes Camp Fundraisers, Municipal Election as a Campaign Manager, a Director/Chair on the Blue Coast Primary Care - Physician Recruitment and Retention Board and as a volunteer and a Board Member on the Theatre Sarnia Governance Committee. Coaching Girls’ Travel Hockey for seventeen years was busy and delightful. I garnered an interesting and most memorable positive perspective as to Theatre Sarnia experience in my participation in acting roles in five Productions including Annie, 42nd Street, Crazy for You, Jacob in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat and War of the Worlds . One realizes, directly, the formidable
commitment and huge talent, on and off the stage.
I am driven to passionately give back to a Theatre and a community which has given so much to me.
To contact Stephen, or find out more about the governance committee, email sgelinas@theatresarnia.org
Phil was elected to the Board of Directors in 2020. He is also a member of the Production Committee.
He is a recently retired principal from the St. Clair Catholic District School Board. He worked for this organization and its predecessor, the Lambton County Roman Catholic Separate School Board, for over thirty years. In that time he served in a number of capacities, such as Science teacher and Department Head of Science at St. Patrick’s Catholic High School. He was also Vice-Principal at St. Therese Catholic School, St. Anne Catholic School and St. Christopher’s Secondary School. He ended his career serving as Principal at a number of schools including Good Shepherd Catholic School in Thamesville, Holy Family Catholic School in Wallaceburg and Holy Trinity Catholic School in Sarnia.
A resident of Sarnia-Lambton since 1990, Phil hails from the small town of Tilbury, Ontario. He received his Honours Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1986 and pursued a medical research career for three years at Western where he was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. In 1989, he attended St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and received his Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1990.
A strong advocate for the Performing Arts, Phil has been involved with many production groups throughout his years in Sarnia-Lambton including our very own Theatre Sarnia.
Phil is married to his beautiful wife, Julaine, for the past twenty-two years and they have raised three children. Together they are season ticket holders with the Imperial Theater and treasure their nights spent being entertained by all the local talent in Sarnia-Lambton. Their children have been participants in many productions as well.
As an active supporter of the Performing Arts, he wishes to increase his role in participating in the delivery of top-notch entertainment to the residents of Sarnia-Lambton in the gem of a facility, the Imperial Theatre. The future will be an exciting place and he hopes he can fulfill all the expectations that a contributing Board member can bring.
To contact Phil, email: pbedard@theatresarnia.org
Amanda was elected to the Board of Directors in 2021. She is also a member of the Governance and Community Engagement committees.
She has a BA in Psychology/Sociology from Carleton University in Ottawa. Amanda is a partner at Wright General Contractors where she has worked for thirteen years. She specializes in administration and safety management.
Amanda was born in South Africa and her parents emigrated to Canada in the late 1970’s. They lived in Sarnia and then moved to Bright's Grove when she was in Grade 7. After university, Amanda travelled to South Korea to teach English for a year. She finally settled down in Toronto for a decade and worked in the software industry in a management role. She met her husband John there and once they had their first child she convinced him to move to Sarnia to raise their family. They have been living in Sarnia for 15 years and have two teenage children.
Amanda is passionate about the community that the theatre provides and is excited to be a part of this group.
To contact Amanda, email: awright@theatresarnia.org
Henri Canino was elected to the board in 2022. She is Chair of Production Committee and Chair of Play Reading Subcommittee.
She is an honorary life member who has had extensive experience volunteering backstage and onstage for Theatre Sarnia for over 38 years.
She is a retired high school teacher from the St. Clair Catholic School Board where she taught drama, religion, philosophy, and film studies.
Henri has been married to her wonderful husband, Frank Canino, for almost 20 years now, and together they have four children and 9 grandchildren.
Henri wishes to increase her role in creating an educational and encouraging atmosphere for new talent by implementing guidelines, mini-workshops and post production assessments that will help new talent feel supported in their endeavours.
She is really looking forward to working with this diverse group of people on the board who have terrific skill sets which are such an asset to a quality run organization.
To contact Henri or learn more about the Production Committee, email: hcanino@theatresarnia.org
To contact email: cdemspey@theatresarnia.org
I have always been a patron of the arts – taking my kids to Toronto 20 plus years ago to see The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables along with trips to the Stratford Theatre and London’s Grand Theatre. During the pandemic, we missed our Imperial ‘date nights’ and eagerly looked forward to being welcomed back to experience again all the theatre has to offer. I value The Imperial as an integral and contributing asset for the Sarnia community.
To contact Joyce, email: jveenstra@theatresarnia.org
To contact Mark, email: mmckelvie@theatresarnia.org
To contact Godfrey, email gstevens@theatresarnia.org
In June of 2022 Doug retired from a 40-year career with Imperial Oil. During his career, Doug held a variety of technical and managerial roles at the Imperial Oil, Sarnia Research Centre and ExxonMobil Research and Engineering. From 2001-2003, Doug and his family lived in Germany as Doug travelled the world on the Formula 1 circuit as the Esso Racing Coordinator with Panasonic Toyota Racing. Doug and his family have been around the theatre community for the last 20 years. His wife Melissa teaches private voice lessons in Sarnia and has performed in Theatre Sarnia productions. Many of Melissa’s students have been in Theatre Sarnia productions over the past decade. Doug’s daughter Grace is currently pursuing a Masters in Vocal Performance at UofT. His son Nicholas is a Mechanical
Engineer working in Sarnia. In his retirement, Doug was looking for volunteer
opportunities that contribute to our community. Theatre Sarnia and the Imperial Theatre play a vital role in enhancing the quality of life for Lambton County residents and Doug is excited to be a new Director on the Board of Theatre Sarnia.
To contact Doug, email dhakala@theatresarnia.org
To contact Brian, email: baustin@imperialtheatre.net