The Town of Hawkesbury has a new, full-time fire chief.
Council approved the appointment of Normand Beauchamp as the new chief at the March 8 meeting. Beauchamp’s appointment became effective March 15.
Outgoing Fire Chief Daniel Gascon is preparing for retirement, but will remain as an internal consultant to the Hawkesbury Fire department for approximately six months.
The decision to hire a full-time fire chief for the Hawkesbury Fire Department resulted from a review of the department and risk analysis in 2020, which recommended the position become a full-time responsibility.
The process of selecting a new fire chief began in January of this year. Two candidates were interviewed for the position.
According to a report from Acting Chief Administrative Officer Dominique Dussault, Beauchamp has previous experience managing fire departments similar to Hawkesbury’s, which has a combination of full-time and volunteer firefighters.
Beauchamp was previously the fire chief for the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, which is well known as the home of Wiarton Willie and the popular Sauble Beach tourist area.
New Public Works Director
Hawkesbury council has also filled another vacant position in a municipal department.
On March 8, council approved appointing Jonathan Wilson as Director of Public Works and Engineering. The vacancy had been advertised in February following the departure of former director Guillaume Boudrias.
Three candidates were selected for interviews. Wilson’s selection ended up being an internal appointment, because he has worked for the Hawkesbury Department of Public Works and Engineering as a civil engineering technologist since April of 2020.
