The Cognashene Cottagers' Association Board of Directors
A committed group of individuals that bring together their passions to represent and coordinate the communal interests of its members, to assist in the preservation of the Cognashene area and beyond, to ensure the ongoing enjoyment of the Bay and provide a strong sense of community.
Chair: Kara Hunter | Vice Chair & Secretary : Meagan Carney | Treasurer: Matt Murphy | Past President: Sue Carter | Memberships: Cathie Bowden | Communications: Matthew Hawley | Rec Program: Christine Davis | Services: Cam Allen | Technology: James Maynard | Community Events: Nancy Bennett | Municipal Affairs: Gregg Badger | GBA Rep: David Matthews & Tom Halpenny | Planning: Marc Kemerer | Environment: Jack Giroux | Cottager: Barb Russell | Member at Large: Jim Bowden
KARA HUNTER — Chair
president@cognashene.com
I have been a Cognashene cottager all my life. My great grandfather and grandfather built on Ship Island in the 1950's and my parents built our family cottage on Bone Island in the 1980's, which I have been fortunate to enjoy ever since. I have spent every summer at the cottage, learning swimming and boating as a child with the Cognashene Recreation Program, and later, holding a summer job with the Recreation Program for a number of years. Through the Cognashene Cottagers' Association (CCA) community, I have met wonderful lifelong friends through the years and now enjoy all that the CCA has to offer with my husband, Kyle, and our two children, Neve and Clark. The enjoyment of the Bay and a strong sense of community in Cognashene have been instrumental in my life. I am passionate about playing a role in the on-going enjoyment and community experience in Cognashene for our members and I am proud to serve the membership on the Board.
I joined the Board in 2021 as Membership Director, then as Vice Chair in 2023. Now as your Chair, I am thrilled to serve the membership and alongside a tremendous group of talented volunteer board members, leading the future direction of the CCA. I am here for any questions or comments you would like to raise on behalf of the community and for the Board's attention. I look forward to seeing you at the Bay!
MEAGAN CARNEY — Vice Chair & Secretary
vicepresident@cognashene.com and secretary@cognashene.com
By Georgian Bay standards, I am a Cognashene newbie! As long-time power boaters, my husband - Jamie and I stumbled upon a small cottage for sale in Cognashene by pure (good) luck when we were test driving a boat. We felt an instant connection to the island that formerly housed the Vancrofter Houseboat and took a leap from boating into cottage ownership. And what a leap it has been! Over the past 5 years, we have discovered a warm community, rich in history and with the love of Georgian Bay and cocktail parties always at the forefront. Jamie and I live and work close by in Orillia along with our two adult children. I am with the Ontario Provincial Police and am passionate about fitness, golf, and family. I am thrilled to be involved with the Cognashene Cottagers Association as your Vice Chair Secretary. I hope to raise awareness to other Cognashene newbies about the fantastic work the CCA has done in the past and continues to accomplish going forward. I look forward to connecting with all our current and future members over the next cottage season.
MATT MURPHY — Treasurer
treasurer@cognashene.com
Matt is a life long Cognashene Cottager with a family history on the Bay, and the CCA kick started his passion for swimming, camping, and community. He recently became a property owner himself, building a cottage on Arthur Island. Matt has his CFA designation and has spent his career working with a number of investment banks analysing the financial accounts of Canadian companies with a focus on mining. He has great respect for all of the volunteers who have successfully delivered the CCA's mandate year after year and is happy to contribute by keeping the CCA's financial account in good working order.
SUE CARTER — Past President
pastpresident@cognashene.com
My family has been cottaging on the Bay for three generations, first in Honey Harbour and since 1977 on Governor Island in Cognashene. I’m married to Ross who was first introduced to the Bay by my brother in the early 80’s. We have two boys who share our love of the Bay and all things Cognashene. Mitch and Alex have spent most of their summers in the community making lifelong friends. They enjoyed the summer recreation program first as campers and then as instructors for several years. This is my second time on the CCA Board. Thirteen years ago, I was Co-Director of the Recreation Program, a position I shared with Sarah Tawaststjerna for two years. I returned to the board to work with other members on the membership committee several years ago to help promote the benefits of membership in the CCA to members and non-members alike and increase and improve upon the membership experience. In 2017 I returned to the Board in the role of Membership Director. A role I thoroughly enjoyed as it was an opportunity to meet a great many of our member community. In 2020, I served as the Vice Chair and then in 2021, I was honoured to have the opportunity to serve as the Chair of the Association. After two years as Chair, I am delighted to now serve as Past Chair and work with an incredibly dedicated and energetic group of volunteers that make up your Board of Directors.
CATHIE BOWDEN — CCA Membership Director
membership@cognashene.com
I have been a Cognashene cottager since 1978 when I married Craig and joined his family who have been on Cognashene Point since 1900. I spent every summer at the cottage when our two children, John and Carolyn, were young then continued to be a full time summer resident once they left the nest and Craig retired. We now enjoy sharing our special piece of northern paradise with our four grandchildren who visit from Nelson, B.C. and Orangeville, Ontario.
I have been a volunteer on Parent Councils, at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, as a Social Convener for curling at the Mississauga Golf & Country Club, as part of the volunteer program at the McClaren Art Centre in Barrie, as the editor of the GBLT Landscript newsletter and as a member of the previous and current CCA cookbook committees.
Cognashene is my spiritual home and the community of residents is very important to me. I am looking forward to sharing my love and knowledge of the area to support existing members and encourage new memberships.
MATTHEW HAWLEY — Director of Communications
communications@cognashene.com
Matthew is a multi-generational cottager and was extremely fortunate to spend his formative years at the CCA Rec Program where he made life long friends. Matthew is passionate about the preservation of Georgian Bay and the CCA for future generations.
CHRISTINE DAVIES — Co-Director of Recreation Program
recprogram@cognashene.com
My family has also been cottaging in the Cognashene area for generations. Georgian Bay is a way of life. As a child, I spent every summer on the Bay. I grew up going to the beach program and I made lifelong friendships there. During my teen years I volunteered and worked in the rec program. It feels natural to be back on the beach as a mom and now as the co-director of recreation. There is no better place to be and no better way to spend my time.
MEGHAN FINKLE — Co-Director of Recreation Program
recprogram@cognashene.com
With a deep love for Georgian Bay, I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent my summers here. My great-grandparents started our family's tradition on Ship Island, and when I was two, my parents built our cottage on Bone Island. The recreation program has been a huge part of my life—it's where I met most of my best friends and spent two unforgettable months every year with family and community. After working there for many years growing up, it feels amazing to return as a mom, now supporting and giving back to the community that has shaped so many of my own cherished memories. Cognashene holds a special place in my heart, and I’m thrilled to continue nurturing the traditions and connections that make this area so special.
CAM ALLEN — Services Director
services@cognashene.com
I, like so many others, am fortunate to have been born into a family with deep roots in Cognashene as well as the surrounding area. My great-great-grandfather settled on the shores of Georgian Bay in the late 1800s and was a minister at the Knox Church in Midland. I am a fourth generation cottager and I have spent the last 37 years on the bay, learning how to swim, sail, fish, drive a boat and navigate precarious shoals; first at my grandparents' cottage north of Aunt Edna's and more recently, at my parents' cottage on the southern tip of Thibodeau Island.
Through the CCA community, not only have I met lifelong friends, but I also met my wife Nikki (also of Thibodeau Island), and we continue to create memories with our daughter Eve and both of our families in this island paradise.
With so much history and passion for this community, it is no surprise that I was honoured to be welcomed onto the CCA board as a Member at Large in 2022. I now manage the CCA services portfolio, including the Winter Patrol program, making updates to the CCA map, negotiating with the District of Muskoka regarding large garbage services and communicating with the Fire Chief of the Township of Georgian Bay about fire pumps and any changes or problems and more!
Cognashene and Georgian Bay aside, in my professional life, I enjoy a career as an Estate Manager for a private client in Toronto. My area of expertise has always been logistics, luxury hospitality and service, working for some of the most decerning and notable people on the planet. It is my broad industry knowledge, large network and experience on the bay that make me a suitable addition to the board.
JAMES MAYNARD — Director of Technology
technology@cognashene.com
James is celebrating his third decade of enjoying summers in Cognashene, where you can expect to find him in his sailing out to the open if there's ever any amount of wind to enjoy. When not at the cottage, James has spent the last 15 years in the IT industry, designing and building software projects of all sizes. James is a product of the University of Waterloo's Systems Design Engineering program and recently celebrated the birth of his first daughter - part of the fifth generation of cottagers in his family.
Nancy Bennett — Community Events
communityevents@cognashene.com
I am very fortunate to have grown up in Cognashene surrounded by grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and more cousins than I can count! I first cottaged on Townsend Island with my Davis family, met my husband Michael Bennett at a Junior Cognashene Cottager's Association boat wash and after we married in 1981, we spent our twenties with my Bennett family on Bone Island. We were very lucky that my Mom and Dad also met at the cottage as we were given property by my mom to build our own cottage. We built our cottage ourselves, with a ton of help from friends and family and after about four years, we moved into our cottage on Mackay Island in 1989.
My love of Cognashene started on Townsend Island and then grew when I participated in the recreation program learning to swim, paddle and sail and met many new friends. My first job was cleaning the motel units at the Cognashene store on the Freddy Channel when I was 13 and I soon graduated to cashier, a job I thoroughly enjoyed for three years because the store was the hub of Cognashene and I was able to meet so many people and their families. Between the Rec Program, my job at the store and JCCA events and Saturday night dances, I forged friendships in this community that I still have 50 plus years later!!
I have been on the CCA board in the past as Recreation Director and then co-ordinated the regatta for a time as well. Most recently, I have taken on the fun task of organizing weekly get togethers for the Ladies of Cognashene. Cottaging on an island can be isolating so I look forward to planning events for everyone to make new friends, reacquaint with old ones, to enhance our knowledge of our beautiful area and feel connected to our community!
GREGG BADGER — Director of Municipal Affairs
municipalaffairs@cognashene.com
My wife Kate and I built our cottage on the Muskoka Mills lands in 1991, having camped on our dock with our two infants for a few years prior. I grew up on Playfair Island on Lake Joseph. That cottage remains in my family. But, having visited the Bay a few times, and after seeing a For Sale sign on our gorgeous piece of rock on one visit, we decided then and there to make the leap over to the more challenging waters of Georgian Bay, and have not looked back.
I am a lawyer by education, called to the Bar in 1986, but I have spent my career in the finance business: at real estate and mortgage broker Murray & Company; then at investment dealer Thompson Kernaghan; and most recently as COO of Ronald A. Chisholm Limited, an international food merchant. Meantime, I served on non-profit boards, including Pearson Airport. I have now retired and intend to spend the best part of six months at the Bay.
I have always had a keen interest in politics, both federally and provincially. I also took an interest municipally in our Township prior to the last election and look forward to working with the CCA Board in the Municipal Affairs portfolio. It has been my view that we are unfairly taxed for services that are just not available to us. With talk of amalgamating coastal communities up and down the Bay, I am keen to do what I can to help in that effort.
TOM HALPENNY — GBA Rep
gbarep@cognashene.com
A life long seasonal resident of Cognashene. Grandson of Dr George Smith who purchased Smith Island in 1912. Spent many summers working at Honey Harbour as an outboard mechanic until University. A consulting engineer with H H Angus and Associates Ltd for 38 years. Married to Beth (Leonard ) who has been a seasonal residence all her life, as a child she grew up at Waubanoka Island. Beth and I have two children, Brooke and Dale both whom spent may summers at Cognashene enjoying the summer recreational program. Also both worked at Honey Harbour Boat Club in there pre graduation years. Both of the girls a have a passion for the life at the cottage and spend as much time as possible at the bay. As did Beth and myself have developed a group of friends in Cognashene that they will have all their life. We built our own cottage on Bone Island in 2001.( and still working on it!) Over the last several years we have been coming up in the winter and enjoyed the snow and sunshine with others that do the same. Coming up to Cognashene all year around has built a huge respect for the weather and hazards that confront us during the different seasons. I have been active on the Honey Harbour Boat Club board of directors for over 30 years mostly as the Operations Director. I believe my experience on the HHBC board and 60 years on the bay will help me provide a valuable contribution to services position on the Coganashene Board.
DAVID MATTHEWS — GBA Representative
gbarep@cognashene.com
I did not have the good fortune of growing up on the Bay, although visited many times in my teens. I was fortunate enough to marry a gal (Joan Leonard) who had spent her entire life on the Bay, so I consider myself a very lucky Import.
I first joined the Board of CCA in 2001 to run the Regatta. After running the Regatta for 3 years, I moved to the role of Vice President for 1 year then assumed the role of President from David Allen. During my 4 years as President, I was privileged to have a keen group of cottagers who joined me as we developed our very first Official Plan. We got approval from both the Township Council (October 16, 2006) and the District Council (January 22, 2007) for the plan and the accompanying By-laws (a feat which most said was almost impossible).
I currently sit on the Committee of Adjustments for the Township of Georgian Bay, the Executive Committee of Georgian Bay Association (GBA) and I am the newly elected President of Honey Harbour Boat Club (yes for a second time).
I am honoured to be back on the Board for Cognashene as one of two representatives for the Georgian Bay Association (GBA). I encourage all of you to consider joining the Board of Directors for CCA as the rewards you will gain will last a life time.
JACK GIROUX — Environment Director
environment@cognashene.com
I have been spending my summers on the rocky shores of Georgian Bay since I was born. Growing up in this ocean sized playground has given me the opportunity to meet some amazing people and experience some unforgettable things. My love for nature and the great outdoors defiantly comes from this special place and all its beauty. I graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an honors degree in Environmental Studies. This coming fall I will be continuing my study at the University of British Columbia, pursuing a Masters in Geomatics for Environmental Management. I worked with Georgian Bay Forever for 3 summers as a community ambassador. Educating the community on lake levels, microplastics and phragmites was a wonderful experience and a great learning opportunity for me. Learning about the impressive geological history of the Great Lakes as well as the surmounting challenges the lakes are facing has given me a new perspective. For the past two winters I have been working at the Lake Louise Ski Resort. Working and living in one of Canada’s most beautiful national parks has been both a humbling and rewarding experience. Although the mountains are grand and beautiful, there is truly no place like Cognashene.
BARB RUSSSELL — Cognashene Cottager - Editor
cottager@cognashene.com
I am a fourth generation Cognashener and have the privilege of cottaging on Minnicognashene Island, where I have summered for my entire life. Having retired from a long career of teaching English the position of Cognashene Cottager editor was an easy fit. I thoroughly enjoy reading and editing members' articles and viewing photo submissions for The Cottager. I believe The Cottager is an integral part of our community, enabling us to share our love for the unique and stunning environment that is Cognashene, and providing a social history of our community for future generations.
JIM BOWDEN — Member at Large
memberatlarge@cognashene.com
My family has been cottaging on the Bay for three generations, first in Honey Harbour and since 1977 on Governor Island in Cognashene. I’m married to Ross Carter who was first introduced to the Bay by my brother in the early 80’s. We have two boys who share our love of the Bay. Mitch and Alex have spent most of their summers in Cognashene enjoying the summer recreation program first as campers and then as instructors for several years. This is my second time on the CCA Board. Seven years ago I was the Director of the Recreation Program, a position I shared with Sarah Tawaststjerna for two years. I began working with Chris Hawley and other members of the recently formed membership committee last fall to help promote the benefits of membership in the CCA to members and non-members alike and increase and improve upon the membership experience. As the new Membership Director I look forward to meeting more of our member base over the next while and I encourage any questions, comments or concerns you may have.