Board & Staff

About The Board

LOWBIC functions with a volunteer Board of Directors who are elected at the Annual General Meeting of the corporation which is usually held in the fourth week of April each year. Members are drawn from the private sector, non-profit organizations, municipalities, education, labour sectors and First Nations.

The Corporation has adopted a policy of rotating membership calling for three-year commitments by each director. In concept, four directors are replaced each year; however, a director may step down before his/her term is completed. The policy allows for a new director to be appointed by the Board during the year to fill a vacancy created by a departing director.

The policy also suggests that the Corporation would like to have equal gender representation; however, the Board is not bound to have a 50/50 male/female representation. New directors are recommended for acceptance by a nominating committee of the Board and are selected for skills that relate to the work of the corporation, their interest in business development, experience on other boards and the desire to have certain communities represented on the Board.

Board of Directors:

James Hendy – Chair
Sean Hughes – Vice Chair
Tracy McDonald – Treasurer
Angela Kuchma
Matt Wilkie
Bob Bernie
Sheri Gentes

Our Staff

Ryan Reynard

MBA – Executive Director

Ryan was born and raised in Kenora until Hockey and School took him to Colorado Springs, Colorado. While attending Colorado College on a full hockey scholarship, Ryan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics. He also completed his MBA in Global Management. Ryan played professional hockey for 1 year after graduating college. During his time in Colorado, Ryan worked in the Hi-Tech industry. Colorado was home to Ryan for nearly 10 years until he and his family decided to return to Northwestern Ontario, where he worked for Weyerhaeuser. Ryan joined LOWBIC as the Executive Director in early 2006. Ryan has had a significant impact at LOWBIC, helping the corporation regain stability and rebuild the trust of the business community and government agencies! Ryan has also served as President of the Northwestern Ontario Development Network (NODN) and is currently Chair of the Northwest CFDC Network. Ryan has a passion for community and economic development activities, helping make the Kenora area a great place to live and work. Ryan and his wife Michelle have two wonderful daughters – Natalina and Isabella. Ryan is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys playing hockey, golf, baseball and coaching his girls in hockey!!

Phone: (807) 467-4657 | Email: [email protected]

Allyson McTaggart

Business Development & Lending Officer

Ally studied for 4 years at the University of Guelph, receiving her Bachelor of Commerce in 2012. She enjoyed studying a semester abroad in Innsbruck, Austria, where she was able to travel and experience a large part of Europe. From there, she was able to continue her travels to South East Asia. She enjoys taking advantage of what Kenora and the surrounding area has to offer, year round.

Phone: (807) 467-4651 | Email: [email protected]

Samantha Smith

NWCF Network Coordinator

Sam Smith was born and raised in Kenora. She has resided in Halifax and Toronto before settling back in Kenora in 2017. She is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate of Ryerson University. Sam enjoys spending her time outdoors and is active in Kenora’s local hockey, curling, and soccer leagues. She is currently acting President of the Kenora Women’s Soccer League. Sam takes pride in her work and would describe herself as being highly organized, efficient and self-motivated.

Phone: (807) 464-1116 | Email: [email protected]