Individual Excellence: Chair’s Citations

CAREER-LONG COMMENDABLE SERVICE EARNS PERSONAL RECOGNITION

The EDA Chair’s Citation is awarded to board members or utility executives who have distinguished themselves through outstanding, dedicated service to the EDA and the industry over an extended period of time. The award is presented in memory of Dr. Robert H. Hay, who through over 30 years of service showed tireless dedication, leadership, and outstanding commitment to this association and the electricity industry at large. Two Chair’s Citations were presented at this year’s EDA Awards Gala.

Present for the awards ceremony was Associate Energy Minister Bill Walker (at left in photos).

Ruth Tyrrell, C. Dir. Chief Corporate Officer, Orangeville Hydro Ruth Tyrrell will retire this year after a quarter-century working in the electricity distribution sector, a career trajectory that culminated in her post as a senior executive at Orangeville Hydro. Tyrrell advanced through a succession of roles over her time in the sector, in the process becoming an ambassador for local hydro, and embodying the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that the EDA promotes among all of its members. She has served as a member of the EDA’s board of directors since 2007. She is also a director of MEARIE, a trustee of the LDC Tomorrow Fund, and an active member of her home EDA District of Georgian Bay. She emceed the EDA’s Women Connected event and promoted the rewarding career opportunities available for women, and indeed for anyone, within Ontario’s distribution sector.

Chair’s Citations were presented by incoming EDA Chair Ysni Semsedini (at right in photos).

Ron Stewart Former President & CEO, Hydro Ottawa Stewart began his career at Ontario Hydro in 1970, where he held various senior management roles that spanned nearly 30 years. He successfully managed several major utility transformations, including the transition and restructuring of transmission and distribution systems during the formation of Hydro One. He led the crisis recovery efforts following the 1998 ice storm – the most devastating on record and the largest emergency effort ever undertaken by Ontario Hydro. He was founding Chief Operating Officer of Hydro One Network Services, and then served as President and CEO of Hydro Ottawa, where he led the merger of five municipal utilities into the second largest LDC in Ontario. In retirement he has consulted on major initiatives in the Ontario electricity sector with a focus on the social well-being of remote northern areas and off-grid First Nation communities.