Conservation Halton fires long-serving CAO in bid `to take a new approach'

Citing the need for a change in direction, Conservation Halton's board of directors decided at its last meeting to terminate its CAO/secretary-treasurer. The decision to let Theresa Maguire Garber go was made January 19. She'd held the position for the past eight years. "The board has elected to take a new approach and direction and as such believed new leadership was needed," said Conservation Halton (CH) chair Brian Penman, adding the board appreciates what Maguire-Garber accomplished at CH and wishes her well in her future endeavours. Her last day was February 1. After having just released its Public Accountability Report 2005 and its Halton Watershed Report Card 2005, Penman said the timing was right to closely examine the environmental agency. "It's a timely moment to put our organization under a microscope and determine (how to improve)," he said. Maguire-Garber said she values the time she spent with CH. "I am proud to have nurtured Conservation Halton into a progressive, forward-thinking organization and feel deeply privileged to have worked with such phenomenal staff," she said. Prior to being CAO, Maguire-Garber was CH's finance manager and spent 15 years in total with the organization. "When you look back over the past eight years, it certainly says some positive things about Theresa," said CH director of communications Gary Hutton, adding some of the areas she helped improve are strategic planning, budgets and human resources. Allan Holmes, the former CAO/secretary-treasurer at the Grand River Conservation Authority, will fill the spot temporarily and aid in recruiting a permanent replacement, Penman said. In compliance with the Employment Standards Act, Maguire-Garber will receive a severance, but Penman wouldn't comment further, nor would he say how much she was making. Penman said he hopes to have someone new in place within the next two months. CH was selected as one of the Top 100 Employers in Canada by Maclean's magazine for 2004.