Clifford G. Preston, I am retired Chartered Accountant. During my thirty plus years in the corporate world, I enjoyed a variety financial positions including directorships and lastly vice president of finance. In my last assignment I worked on a successful IPO. This resulted in my position being moved to the US and that was the end of that chapter. I then made one of my better decisions, to open a private tax consulting business which I continue to operate today. My wife and I raised two wonderful and successful children while living 47 years in Mississauga. During this time I volunteered with FAM, promoting education and aids awareness for Sr. public and high school students in Mississauga. I spent a six year term a director with the Community Foundation of Mississauga assisting in its growth from its inception. After years of commuting to the Georgian Bay area to ski, we made the decision to significantly reduce our commute. Wasaga Beach held the greatest appeal for us-skiing, biking, golfing and the BEACH. We heard of the plans submitted by Fram. We were aware of their expertise from the marvelous refurbishing that they accomplished in Port Credit. We were excited and anticipated the same upgrades for Wasaga. What a disappointment to learn that the new town administration rejected this opportunity. This and other observations caused me to ask “Why Wasaga?” I have always believed that if you are unhappy with a situation, it’s. time to get involved. With that I joined the WBRA Inc. to hopefully assist with Wasaga achieving it’s beautiful potential.

My grandparents owned a cottage (at what is now Shore Lane and 62nd) for 25 years and I spent most of those 25 summers loving the beach and the “vibe”. It was an easy decision to come to Wasaga Beach to “retire”. My husband and I both ski, we love the beach and the recreational town feel. What I had not realized until a few years went by that the “vibe” and excitement of the beach was quickly waning. The terms to describe the Town were now “lost potential, derelict, outdated, missed opportunity”.

When Brian Smith first ran for office and spoke to this decline and his desire to create a world class destination once again, I was reinvigorated on it’s potential. The beachfront and downtown plan with FRAM Building Group at the helm was the ideal marriage of experience and willingness. A project of this magnitude takes planning and time, and the 2014-2018 council simply ran out of time, so when a new council was elected they decided to do away with the plans, the builder and the vision. It was then I became involved in the Wasaga Beach Ratepayers Association. Having formed an association years ago in Whitby, I was more than familiar with the advantages of such an association to the residents of any Town. This town does not have a ward system, no dedicated council member for a specific area, so Ratepayers Associations can fill that gap. They become the cornerstone of conversation between residents and Council. We follow all the Council meetings and initiatives, keeping the membership informed and engaged is our primary focus.

Annette L. MacDonald - Director

I had a 30+ year successful career as a Business Development Manager and Consultant in the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry. I also volunteered for the Oakville chapter of Zonta International serving as Director and Vice President during my tenure.

In 2007, my husband and I decided to retreat from the GTA. We chose Wasaga Beach for its beautiful abundant beaches, natural environment and relatively close drive to Toronto Airport for travel convenience.

Being a Southern Georgian Bay native, Wasaga Beach was very familiar to me and a frequent destination as a teenager growing up in the area. Back then, Wasaga Beach was a "happening" place with live music at the "Dard" and other venues as well. I have very fond memories of those days.

Since living here, I became very concerned with the deterioration of Wasaga Beach.
The 2014-2018 council showed us hope that we could attract a high caliber investor to revitalize and develop a downtown. Hope was squashed with the induction of the Mayor Bifolchi-led town council. To allow the lapse of the letter of intent with an award winning developer (Fram Building Group) is, in my view, irresponsible and not in the best interests of the town.

I have never been engaged in municipal politics; however, I chose to get involved with the WBRA in 2020 because municipal politics is the only level of government that has no official opposing parties. I believe a professional ratepayers association is a necessary watchdog to fill that void.