2022 - 2023
Board of Directors
Pamela Fraser - President
Pamela has been with Kennedy Insurance Brokers since 2016. She believes her previous 4 years as a Financial and Insurance Manager selling credit insurance and aftermarket products in the automobile industry were an ideal foundation for her work as a Life insurance Advisor.
Attention to detail, good listening skills and great empathy are symbols of her appreciation by her clients. She is effectively supported by a team of professionals that help her build long-term relationships with her growing client base and provide excellent customer service.
Pamela is happily married and has three lovely daughters and one son. Away from the business, she enjoys hunting, fishing and spending quality time with her friends and family.
Lisa Ouellette - Vice President
CEO of Pawfect Pet Grooming, certified since 2012 with almost 10 years experience under her belt. She also completed her post-graduate studies in social work and is very involved in the West Nipissing community.
With her diploma, she worked different contracts in different organizations such as Employment Options, College Boreal, Horizon Women's Center, and the West Nipissing Community Living.
As a strong community supporter, she's very passionate about empowering other small businesses and be part of a network that's committed to improving businesses to succeed and to help the community flourish.
Manon Arcand - Treasurer
Born and raised in Cache Bay, Manon recently returned to the place she calls home after having left for studies in Ottawa, work across Canada, and travel abroad. Self-employed, she has her own private consulting company and has been working as a business consultant and project manager for the past 8 years, helping businesses in the public and private sectors achieve their goals. She is excited to share her perspective and ideas that come from a blend of work experience and travels, for the benefit of business owners and residents of West Nipissing.
Manon strongly believes in the balance between profit, planet and people in any business. Having grown up surrounded by West Nipissing’s natural beauty, she is particularly passionate about the protection of our environment for future generations. Through her non-profit, the ‘West Nipissing Green Initiative’, she strives to raise awareness and empower residents to live in better harmony with nature. Her spare time is spent with family and friends either hiking, four wheeling, camping, cycling, sitting by the fire…doing just about anything that involves fresh air.
Sylvain Bilodeau - Board Member
Originally from Welland, Ontario, Sylvain started his career with the Caisse at the Timmins branch in 1996. He continued working at the branch until 2002. He relocated to the Caisse Alliance in Verner, where he currently works in personal lending and wealth management.
Sylvain has four daughters and four grandchildren who he loves spending time with. During his time off, he also enjoys playing hockey and snowmobiling in the winter months and spending time on the water during the summer.
Sylvain joined the West Nipissing Chamber of Commerce 5 years ago as a way of networking and getting more involved in his community. He has been a great asset to the Chamber.
Jeremy Seguin - Board Member
Over the last 10 years, I've had the opportunity to work with various organizations that have enriched our community. I've worked at the executive level for the Verner Minor Hockey League, West Nipissing Ball Hockey League, the Chamber of Commerce, the NDP riding of Timiskaming-Cochrane and the Municipality West Nipissing.
As a member of the Chamber's executive, I want to ensure that we keep on working to represent our local partners and that we keep on hosting fun activities for the broader public.
Nicole Green - Board Member
Nicole has been a resident of West Nipissing all her life. Her childhood was spent on the shores of Deer Lake, where her parents reside to this day. She attended school in Sturgeon from kindergarten through high school.
Nicole has been with Pop’s Cannabis since they opened their doors in 2021. Prior to that Nicole worked at Tim Hortons for 15 years, working her way up to Assistant Manager. Through this experience Nicole has developed many great skills like team building, empathy, self-censorship, and the ability to try to see someone else’s perspective. She has also built many customer/attendee relationships from all walks of life. These have helped her get to know her community and the people in it as well as what is important to them.
Nicole is very passionate about cannabis and its many benefits. Her goals are to help change the stigma that overshadows cannabis, its consumers, and help educate people about the benefits of cannabis. Nicole is very excited to join the Chamber Board and getting involved with our community.
Nicole lives with her common-law husband and their daughter. During her time away from work she enjoys the benefits of cannabis, reading, camping and spending quality time with her friends and family.
Sonia Hotte - Board Member
Sonia has called West Nipissing home for over 25 years. Owner and operator of Sonia’s Patio (Est. 2022), she has a passion for great food, service and entertainment. Her objective is not only to serve tasty dishes, but to see West Nipissing’s entertainment sector expand. Driven, direct and people focussed, she embraces new challenges.
Prior to becoming a business owner, she was the director of the LBS/ACE Program and Assessment Centre for Collège Boréal from 2016 until 2021. In this role, she was a member of many different boards of directors and committees. Currently, she is on the Board of Directors for the Hugel Township Lakeside Property Owners' Association.
She also has 20 years experience as an intermediate and senior level teacher. Most of her teaching career was spent at ESC Franco-Cité. Sonia possesses a B.A, B.Ed and Master of Arts Education Degree (M.Ed) in Leadership, Evaluation, Curriculum and Policy Studies.
She is married and a mother to two wonderful children. She is also a stepmother to 3 great girls and a step grandmother to 3 adorable kids. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors in her gardens, on the lake or sitting by a fire.
Jared St-Pierre - Board Member
Jared St-Pierre lived in West Nipissing all his life, providing excellent service as an employee of Luc Charles Electrical, where he started working in 2013, starting as an apprentice, before working his way up to Masters in November of 2021.
When not working, he enjoys fishing, campfires, and spending time with family and friends.
Pierre Gagnon - Board Member
Born in North Bay, he has been part of the community of West Nipissing since 2007 when his family moved to Sturgeon Falls and became owners of Glenrock Cottages and trailer park. He has owned and operated his own residential construction company called Better Built Homes since 2016 in the West Nipissing area.
He enjoys spending his time with his young daughter and reading books. His mindset and goals are to help create effective and transparent communities, working together towards a sustainable future for our children and future generations. He is very excited to be a part of the chamber and is very eager to learn as a first time member.
Warren Peters - Board Member
Originally from southern Ontario, Warren is a recent (2021) addition to the community. He relocated to the area to be the Plant Manager for DSI underground here in Sturgeon Falls.
Having traveled, lived and worked multi nationally, his experiences have supported his strong belief that businesses and communities can work together and make each other successful.
Outside of work, Warren enjoys all that the community has to offer and can usually be found fishing, snowmobiling or out for a walk or drive with his dog Zeus. He is eager to be a member of the chamber to make the community stronger and making the area as successful as possible.
Stéphane Gagnon - Board Member
Originally from West Nipissing, Stéphane has been part of the growing Gagnon generation. His grandfather Leo worked at the old mill, his father Roger was in residential construction and has followed in his footsteps. He has been part of the community since 2007 and a business owner since 2016.
Stéphane is a certified carpenter and heavy equipment operator. He owns Gagnon contracting and they are currently building new construction in the area. You can usually find Stéphane at the local hardware stores, fishing or four wheeling with friends.