* Larry Brassard took over this week as director of Fire and Emergency Services and fire chief for the Town of Gravenhurst. His appointment was announced last week, a day after Lorne McNeice announced his retirement after serving as the town’s fire chief since 1985.

* Michael DeGagne will take over on Jan. 7 as the new president and vice-chancellor at Nipissing University. DeGagne is the executive director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and chairman of the Child Welfare League of Canada.

* Lieutenant-Governor David C. Onley on Thursday presented the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship to 13 individuals "who have made outstanding contributions to their communities." Honoured were:

Paulet Biedermann of Cambridge for her support for newcomers, women, youth and people with mental disabilities and her leadership in the Caribbean community and her advocacy for sex assault victims and pregnant teens;

Ernie Crossland of Newmarket for his work at the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Foundation, through which he helped created a walking trail along the water, and 60 years expanding Lions Club International;

Frank Fernandes of Toronto for his efforts to build bridges between immigrant communities and police through his work with the Toronto Police, Bowmanville Fire Department, The Rotary Club and St. John Ambulance;

Jack Foster of St. Catharines for her work in raising $2.1 million for the redevelopment of the Niagara Peninsula Children's Centre;

Richard Hannah of Uxbridge for his efforts to promote and swimming and increase access to the sport;

Ancilla Ho-Young of Burlington for more than a decade of work as a first responder at Nina's Place, the only sexual assault and domestic violence centre in Halton Region;

Stephen Lam of Richmond Hill for his work to build the first of five welcoming centres in the area, helping more than 10,000 new Ontarians transition to Canada;

Elizabeth Martin of Cornwall for her more than 60 years volunteering with the Girl Guides and her roles at the Cornwall Hospital Auxiliary, the Red Cross, the CNIB, Heart and Stroke, the local historical society and the Cornwall Rotary Club;

Anand Rupnarain of Toronto for his role in founding Toronto Arya Samaj, a meeting place for the Indo-Caribbean community, and the Vedic Cultural Centre, a multicultural facility that offers meditation and educational activities;

Nalini Stewart of Toronto for 40 years of volunteerism in the arts and culture. Some of her positions include working with the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council, the Stratford Festival and the Ontario Trillium Foundation;

Brian Tardif of Ottawa for his efforts to create One Community Place, headquarters for several community organizations in Ottawa;

Alex Waugh of Toronto for his four decades of work to improve access to education and for developing degree programs for non-traditional students at the University of Toronto's Woodsworth College; and

Christine Wilson of Ottawa for founding the Total Communication Environment, a non-profit organization established 23 years ago to house children with multiple disabilities and communication needs.

Appointments

LOCAL HEALTH INTEGRATION NETWORK - SOUTH EAST LOCAL HEALTH INTEGRATION NETWORK

Andreas Von Cramon-Taubadel – Vice-chair

ONTARIO JUDICIAL COUNCIL

Sylvie Powell

People on the move

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