Our team

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The Legal Structure

Fairbairn House belongs to the Municipality of La Pêche which is part of the MRC des Collines de l'Outouais in west Quebec just north of Ottawa/Gatineau.

The Maison Fairbairn House Solidarity Cooperative is the legal structure of the heritage centre, as established in agreement with the Municipality. A solidarity cooperative structure allows different community members (individuals, users, associations, interest groups, businesses) to play an active role in the development of the project. Its members include workers, users or volunteers with an interest in the cooperative, as well as other individuals, municipalities or corporations interested in participating as support members. The cooperative speaks through the project coordinator, and is guided internally by its members. Decisions are made by consensus through votes at the Annual General Meeting.

Our Executives

The Board of Directors forms the executive structure of the Maison Fairbairn House Solidarity Cooperative. Currently our Board has eight members and one vacancy. (See biographies below):

Luc Brazeau
Michael Cooper
Cynthia Gunn
Jean K. laFlamme
Janet E. Long
John Lowden
Anita Rutledge

Biographies

The Maison Fairbairn House Board is lucky to have sitting members who are experts in the fields of historical research, computer science, project management, archival studies, human geography, local history, public relations, marketing and education.

Luc Brazeau
Born in Papineauville in the heart of la Petite-Nation, Luc has lived in Wakefield since 1978. He studied at Ottawa University and Carleton University and received a B.A. (History) degree in 1970. Luc worked as a technician at the Public Archives of Canada Library (1971-1972) and at the Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée nationale in Quebec City (1972-1978), and as a documentalist for the Outaouais regional center of the Archives nationales du Québec in Hull-Gatineau (1978-2009). This last position allowed him to acquire a good knowledge of all aspects of the history of Western Quebec. He retired in 2009.

Michael Cooper
Educator
Born and educated in UK, Michael received a teacher's degree with a minor in history from the University of Manchester. Michael brings his experience as a Social Studies Consultant for the Western Quebec School Board and has initiated many history and heritage projects in the Wakefield and Outaouais region. He also builds and restores wooden boats.

Cynthia Gunn
Geographer
Cynthia has many years of experience in the tourism, heritage and environment fields. After a decade in Banff, Alberta, she worked for two years at an environmental firm in Ottawa. Cynthia then wrote research reports for the Heritage Canada Foundation. She is currently a full-time mother of two. Cynthia holds a Master of Arts in Geography.

Jean K. laFlamme
Communicator
After graduating from l'École des beaux-arts in Montréal, he became, respectively, designer, photographer and, eventually editor of several business publications. Moving to Ottawa, he worked in various communications capacities for the federal government. After retiring, he chaired a federal referee board for nine years. He then joined several local organizations, such as the Wakefield Covered Bridge Project. He is a member of the National Press Club of Canada Foundation.

Janet E. Long
Communicator
A Carleton University Journalism graduate and reporter for four years, Janet joined the federal government as a general communicator in 1972. She retired in 2002 after working in seven different departments. She was a volunteer with the Wakefield Covered Bridge Committee, the Chelsea Foundation, and the Municipality of La Pêche Heritage Advisory Committee. She is now on the des Collines Health Foundation Board of Directors and a member of the National Press Club of Canada Foundation.

John Lowden
Accountant
John Lowden is a Chartered Accountant who lives in Wakefield, Quebec. He obtained his university education in Montreal. John had worked in Montreal, Calgary and Toronto where he has also served on the board of various charitable and non-profit organizations.

Anita Rutledge
Researcher/writer
After 30 years in government service in positions involving writing, editing and publishing, Anita has worked as a volunteer for the Gatineau Valley Historical Society archives, and on committees to rebuild the Wakefield Covered Bridge and replace the Wakefield Memorial Cenotaph. She currently sits on the Municipality of La Pêche Heritage Advisory Committee and writes and edits historical articles for local newspapers and books.