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26 stouffville suntribune thursday april 3 2003 stouffville suntribune people doug watson man of many hats busy year for head of stouffville lions chamber by hannelore volpe stouffville sun although doug watson may have the smile of a mischievous urchin he relishes being in the midst of his community sleeves rolled up and ready ttrwork when he became president of the stouffville lions club and chair person of the board of directors for the whitchurchstouffville cham ber of commerce last year he had goals firmly in mind he replaced carl johnston now pastpresident of the stouffville lions and former whitchurchstouffville chamber of commerce board chairperson john webster mr watson has become entrenched in the whitchurch- stouffville business scene and beyond in a decade as general manager of the stouffville coop and manager of the uxbridge co op the cedar valley coop and the port perry pet headquarters the stouffville coop is a longstanding member of the whitchurch- stouffville chamber of commerce support system his unflappable ability to juggle many jobs while looking like hes having fun seems to have carried over tohis work in the community after all he took over leading posi tions in not one but two influential organizations it has been a great year mr watson said he has found the sup port he received from people in both organizations to be absolute ly tremendous before becoming board chair person of the chamber of com merce mr watson had learned the ropes as the chambers secretary- treasurer he came in as chairper son with the aim of making the organization more responsive to members needs and communicat ing more effectively with them to this end the chamber surveyed memberslastyeartofindoutexact- as2 steexheadplus woods savesloos of dollars limited quantities ly what they heeded and wanted mr watson also worked to increase local residents awareness of the work of the local chamber by lob bying more effectively through the ontario chambers of commerce and the canadian chamber of commerce he wants the organiza tion to continue improving the local business environment and increas ing economic development another of his priorities was increasing membership which now stands at around 170 ranging from oneperson businesses to cook canada inc the towns largest employer iwas kind of at a stage where i should be giving something back to the community how better than with a service club like the lions club mr watson looks back with a sense of accomplishment on the board strategy planning sessions over the past couple of months that will lead to an official plan for the chambers future direction and focus its designed to make the job of incoming executive members easier and to give them a starting point as they take up their new duties hes proud of the work thats been done so far but says you never get to accomplish every thing on april 10 he should find out whether hell be reelected for a sec ond oneyear term as board chair person of the chamber although doug and his wife elaine live in the uxbridge area the family is obviously tied to the stouffville community he has already gotten his daughter irene shoe bag with water bottle reg 1999 15 and his 13yearold son brandon to help out with some of the stouffville lions activities another dualorganization dynamo helene johnson the ceo and president of the whitchurch- stouffville chamber of commerce and lions club vicepresident calls mr watson very down to earth and a great young man to work for his enjoyment of community events and willingness to pitch in is evident at events such as the lions beef barbeque at the strawberry festival where several hundred meals will again be served in june the lions also feed the crowds at markham fair enlisting at least 64 volunteers to staff its food booth mr watson joined the stouffville lions club almost six years ago because he was he said kind of at a stage where i should be giving something back to the community how better than with a service club like the lions club hoping kids he was attracted by the work he saw the lions doing in the commu- nity helping people at christmas with food and gift baskets with toy drives with the lions fishing derby in the summer and with vision screening he has found the fishing derby to be very rewarding because the seniors look forward to it the chil dren look forward to it and the smiles on their faces make it all worthwhile after helping other municipali ties with their vision screening pro grams the stouffville lions have brought the program f 6 whitchurchstouffville since the fall kindergarten chil dren in all local schools have been screened for lazy eye and other conditions at a stage when they can still be easily corrected the stouffville lions also keep a stock of hospital and medical save up to doug watson lives in uxbridge but is general manager of the stouffville coop in his spare time he heads the stouffville lions club and the whitchurchstouffville chamber of commerce hes shown on main street in downtown stouffville hannelore volpe photo youngsters up to 18 to introduce them to community work it gets them interested in their community and what they can give back it fits very well with the high school curriculum he said mr watson and the stouffville lions club are continuing to look to the future especially to later this year when the organization will cel ebrate its 65th anniversary equipment for anyone who needs it wheelchairs hospital beds and other items are kept in good repair by the lions and lent out upon request getting young people in the community involved in the lions club is something mr watson is emphasizing during his presidency the stouffville lions are organ izing a chapter of the leds club for j0ty ssgati sti 427ccdriver proforce shaft off entire inventory limited quantities instock only reg 24949 a with any driver purchase r500 series kj0 southwest corner hwy 7 mccowan same plaza new building dimarco m colf a 8312 mccowan rp 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