HARRISTON – Officials from federal, provincial and municipal governments, as well as well as local community members, were on hand for an appreciation dinner for Town of Minto Mayor George Bridge, who is stepping away from politics at the end of the current term.
Bridge, has served three four-year terms as mayor of Minto and a member of Wellington County council, including a term as warden.
Minto Fire Chief Chris Harrow, who is also currently a co-interim CAO of the municipality, said Bridge’s leadership style has brought stability to town operations.
“I’ve had the good fortune to be here for all 12 years of George’s run as mayor,” said Harrow.
“But not only me, almost all of our department heads have been here for 12 years, which is a testament to George’s leadership, abilities and the culture we’ve built here in Minto.”
Noting not all current department heads were in that role when Bridge was first elected, Harrow said, “they, however, have all worked to be part of the senior management team, and played a key role and continuing the team environment George helped to push within our organization.”
Harrow added, “George was able to take his past experience as a banker and a leader in other not-for-profit groups and be a positive influence on us department heads.
“He taught us to push forward through the adversity and not be scared to endeavor into new ideas and projects.
“Through the good economic times we encountered, George pushed on and said we need to stay on top of things – if we don’t stay on top of things we will pay for it later. It is now later and we can see that those words of wisdom are paying off.”
Former CAO Derrick Thompson noted Bridge’s tenure included the challenge of leading the municipality through the COVID-19 pandemic, as council members and staff were compelled to do business from home or under modified conditions for months at a stretch.
“The world stopped. We closed. We packed everything up and we all went home. And you know, if it wasn’t for George and his leadership in that very trying time, I don’t know how we, mentally, would have gotten through that – with Zoom calls – what was a Zoom call?” Thompson recalled.
“We were still doing stuff over conference (calls) so we only had one line in the council chambers so you can imagine what was going on (as we) tried to talk over each other.
‘A real leader’
“But George was there all the way through. If we needed technology, we got technology. We didn’t have to make those tough decisions on what we were doing with vaccinations or whatever it was, George was there. That’s a real leader,” said Thompson.
“People can lead when times are good. The true test of a leader is leading in times of trouble.”
Another former CAO, Bill White, who addressed the crowd via video link from his current residence in Texas, said part of the reason Bridge succeeded as mayor is “because he cares about Minto.
“He truly likes being with the people who live there and took great pride in representing them in Toronto or Ottawa or anywhere else he was at.”
White also noted Bridge made a point of being active and visible in the community.
“Picture in your mind an event you were at in Minto and try to think of when he was not there. He went early mornings to the Mayor’s Breakfast, he went on weekends to service club events. He always had time for the community and genuinely loved talking to each and every one who approached him,” White stated.
Wellington Place administrator Jana Burns, who also heads Wellington County’s museum and archives and economic development departments, noted the latter area was a particular focus for Bridge.
“George was one of the founding fathers of creating the economic development division at the county in 2012. And over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing George’s progressive leadership and his commitment to working with people,” said Burns.
“Regardless of the audience, George has never changed his down-to-earth, beautiful demeanor. He also has this incredible ability to just never get nervous. I’ve seen George dress up like the County of Wellington Duke at the IPM (International Plowing Match) in 2016, and without hesitation, in full costume, ride our homemade zipline,” she added.
Burns noted Bridge devoted “much energy, enthusiasm and wisdom” to “growing Wellington County’s economy.
“The programs that you have been delivering and the impacts on the community are something that will be part of your legacy,” she pointed out.
“George has done a lot for my hometown,” said Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae, a Town of Minto native.
Rae said Bridge, council and town staff have generated economic activity worth “millions and millions of dollars” over his tenure as mayor.
“It’s great to see that our rural communities are thriving and it’s because of George Bridge’s leadership.”
Rae added that Bridge, as a member of the Western Ontario Warden’s Caucasus and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, has “taken his passion across the country.”
Local MP John Nater said Bridge’s work with economic development and “community building” are among his most notable accomplishments.
“The focus that George has made on economic development, bringing new businesses, livening up the downtown cores of each of the communities here in Minto, has been impressive. And I think we can see meaningful development, meaningful changes over these past 12 years thanks to George,” he explained.
“And the second thing is about community building, things like the events that we see in the downtown core, things like the Mayor’s Golf Tournament, raising funds, raising opportunity for people to participate and become part of this community,” Nater added.
During his turn at the microphone, Bridge thanked his family for their support over the years.
“Anybody that’s in politics, in any job, you need the support of your family… I’ve had great support for 12 years,” Bridge stated.
“I’m proud of the fact that, as Jana pointed out, we’ve done really good things in economic development at the county level and it’s really helped everybody and that’s because we have an amazing team there,” he added.
“In my town staff, I never thought about it, but yeah, a lot of people have grown with me all the way through those 12 years. I
“t’s been amazing and my dad had a great proverb, he said, ‘If you (want to be) really successful, you surround yourself with really competent people.’
“And I have, because then I don’t look so bad.”
