Golden Area Initiatives (GAI) has hired a new manager who will be starting work at the end of the month. Suzanne McCrimmon is relocating from Bethany, Ontario. She has held the position of Senior Business Development Officer for the Town of Markham, ON, since 2008.
“I commuted on average two and a half hours a day to the High Tech capital of Canada,” said McCrimmon. “It was the most diverse community in all of Canada and offered amazing cultural experiences. The municipal staff that keeps the engine of the town running is 900 strong, and I was privileged to be a member of the Economic Development Team.”
During that time, she established and maintained solid relationships with the Real Estate Community and launched a ‘Real Estate Symposium’ for an alliance of developers, site selectors, and real estate brokers. McCrimmon was also instrumental in implementing the 2020 Strategic Plan and Markham’s ‘Green Print’ Plan.
McCrimmon was proud to call Bethany, Ontario, home.
‘Whether you were a mechanic, local store owner, a stay-at-home parent or an executive that commuted to downtown Toronto – at the end of the day, it was the people that created the town and that is why I was proud to call it my home,” she said.
Previous to her position in Markham, as Business Development Manager for the Clarington Board of Trade, Suzanne became a founding member of the Durham Strategic Energy Alliance, where she worked with the private and public sectors to position Durham Region as a leader in providing sustainable energy solutions. She was also a key player in establishing the Newcastle Farmers’ Market.
McCrimmon has a fine arts degree and a Certified International Trade Professional Certificate from Ryerson University in Toronto. She is a graduate of the Business Retention & Expansion Certification Program, and she has completed 2 years of the Economic Developers Association of Canada Certification Program at the University of Waterloo. She is thrilled to have had LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification Training.
So why did she choose Golden?
“Three words,” said McCrimmon. “It just fits. From the minute I took that last swooping curve on Highway 1 and caught my first view of the town, to Highway 95 that took me into downtown, I felt a sense of belonging. The Town of Golden had met my expectations, and I knew that I had found balance.”
McCrimmon is coming to Golden with drive and focus. Some of her goals include enhancing community partnership through a collaborative approach, like the Home Seekers initiative, providing a long term vision and direction where people come together to build the community of Golden and creating a Strategic Plan that reaches out and listens to people of all facets in different ways, including public meetings, focus groups, round-tables, online surveys.
McCrimmon also wants to incorporate a Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) program into Golden’s overall strategy and develop solid relationships with all levels of government to ensure the Town of Golden is included in any dialogue.
“Community is about harmony,” said McCrimmon. “Connections make everything work, stronger connections make everything work better.”
Welcome to Golden, Suzanne.
