Our Board of Trustees
David H. Christie
Chair
Mr. Christie was born in Amherst in 1946 and has been a lifelong resident of the Amherst area and is currently residing in Lorneville NS. He was educated at King’s College School, Windsor NS, University of New Brunswick, BA and law degree LLB in 1973. He married Beryl A. McDonald and had two children, Alex (Ottawa) and Maeghan (Philadelphia) and has two beautiful grandchildren. Mr. Christie joined the Amherst Rotary Club in 1980 and is the past president of the Amherst Rotary Club, a former Director, and a member of many Rotary committees. He is a retired lawyer who formerly practiced with Hicks, LeMoine, Barristers and Solicitors from 1973-2009. Mr. Christie was fortunate to work as an Associate, Partner, then Counsel. Mr. Christie has worked with a variety of professional organizations such as the Canadian Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Society, and the Cumberland Barrister’s Association. He has also served three terms as an Elected Council Member with the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society and has been fortunate to support and work with multiple community organizations such as the Amherst Rotary Club, Amherst Golf Club, Amherst United Way, Amherst/Halifax YMCA, IWK Health Centre, Nova Scotia Business Hall of Fame, and is now the Chair of The Dr. & Mrs. H.E. Christie Community Foundation. David Christie has been a Trustee with the Foundation since 2003. For fun Mr. Christie enjoys road running, golfing, bicycling, skiing, mountain climbing/trekking, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, and he enjoys travelling the world.
Jennifer Brennan
Secretary
Ms. Jennifer Brennan grew up on Prince Edward Island (PEI) and attended the University of New Brunswick. She lived and worked for a few years in Newfoundland (NFLD) and settled in Fort Lawrence, Nova Scotia to raise a family of 3 boys and help run their family business Fort Equipment Ltd. After 31 years, their oldest son bought Fort Equipment and Jennifer and her husband retired. Their sons all live and work within 40 minutes of their childhood home and they and her husband are all involved in their communities. Over the years she has volunteered with the Cumberland County Minor Hockey Association as the Treasurer, the Bluenose Hockey Tournament Treasurer, Boy Scout Amherst District Council, the Hospital Auxiliary and she has volunteered with many other small charitable events. A few of her hobbies are quilting, gardening, golfing, reading, and travelling.
Morris J. Haugg
Vice- Chair
Mr. Haugg is one of the original trustees, who assisted Dr. Christie with the establishment of the Foundation. Mr. Haugg is a graduate of Mount Allison and Dalhousie Universities, where he received his LL.B. in 1969. He practiced law in Amherst with Hicks Lemoine for 42 years, before retiring in 2011. He also held part-time positions as a Lecturer in Commercial Law at Mount A. for 22 years and as an Adjudicator of the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court for 10 years. He is 52-year member and Past-President of the Rotary Club of Amherst and has been involved with many other organizations. He has served as a Trustee of the W.B. Wells Heritage Foundation for 37 years, in recent years as Vice-Chair. In addition to community activities, he keeps busy with writing, gardening and other hobbies, sports and interests.
Donna Fitzpatrick
Treasurer
Donna grew up in outport Newfoundland and moved to Calgary, Alberta where she attended the University of Calgary. Upon the completion of her Masters’s degree in Social Work Donna and her partner moved to beautiful Cumberland County in 1984. There they raised their two daughters while Donna worked at Cumberland Mental Health Services for almost 30 years, a job that she loved. She retired in 2012 and opened a small part-time private practice providing counselling services to children and adults. Donna has a strong belief in the importance of giving back to her community and first began volunteering in Newfoundland at the age of 16. Locally she has volunteered with the Northport Home and School Association, the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers and continues to be a volunteer with the Tidnish Crossroad Community Association as well as a volunteer fitness instructor with the Cumberland YMCA for over 30 years. In addition to working and volunteering Donna loves to travel, be physically active and spend time relaxing with family and friends.
Barry Macleod
Trustee
Mr. Macleod retired from his dental practice in 2014. He has served on various local committees such as The Rotary Club, United Way, and Red Cross. Mr. Macleod is currently a member of our investment committee for the foundation.
Mark Carter
Trustee
Born and raised in Amherst into an entrepreneurial mined family, Mark started his first business when he was only eighteen. He has been a trustee since 2015 and is the current President of Carter’s Sports Cresting Ltd in Amherst, and is a proud community-minded sponsor of many local events. Mark was the Cumberland Development Corporation youth entrepreneur of the year and Amherst & Area Chamber of Commerce business of the year award winner. He is married to Brenda, who is not only his wife but also his business partner. Mark enjoys long motorcycling adventures and traveling to sunny designations. Mark’s is an avid curler and tennis player, playing in many provincial events. Current Member of the Amherst Rotary Club and former director of the Amherst & area Chamber of Commerce’s.
Linda Macleod
Trustee
Linda grew up in Amherst, attending school there and enjoying summers at the family cottage in Tidnish. She attended Acadia University for her BA and Dalhousie University for her BEd.
She taught school in Calgary for several years and had her 3 children there, twins, Patrick and Sheila, and then David. She returned to N.S. after 15 years and settled in Halifax with her children. While studying for two Master of Education degrees, she served as Practicum Supervisor for the Mount Saint Vincent Department of Education, mentoring student teachers there. She then resumed her career in Special Education, teaching children with special needs in Halifax, Dartmouth and County schools until retiring at the age of 60. Linda has enjoyed membership in her book club with the same neighbourhood friends for 40 years. Also of great interest are gardening and gardens, art and painting and travel whenever the opportunity arises. She continues to summer in Tidnish where she enjoys annual family reunions and has maintained contact with many of her Amherst friends over the years. Linda is delighted to be a member of the Christie-Smith Foundation Board, helping to actualize her brother Michael’s dream.
Alexa MacLeod
Trustee Ex Officio
Alexa was born and raised in Amherst, N.S. She attended St. Thomas University and Dalhousie University and currently works in the community as a Registered Social Worker. She is passionate about social justice and has a background working with women who have experienced trauma, as well as individuals with mental health and addictions. She enjoys travelling, gardening, curling, yoga, and live music.
Administration
John Matthews
Administrator
John has lived in Amherst all his life and is deeply passionate about giving back to our community. For the last 40 years, he has volunteered with many organizations, including the United Way of Cumberland, the Library Boards of Nova Scotia, and the Cumberland Regional Library, and a long-time involvement with First Baptist Church. He has volunteered with the Amherst Fire Department and the Amherst Fire Fighters’ Association in various organizational and management capacities for several decades.
John has recently retired from a successful 40-year career, helping businesses prosper through effective planning, management, issue resolution, communication, and his commitment to detail.
When he is not volunteering, John seeks out fresh air and adventure by travelling, hiking, kayaking, and listening to music.