Councillor Chris McDonald

I am a proud and passionate resident of Parry Sound and have spent my entire life working and living in the Parry Sound Area.

In 1999 I opened a brew on premise facility King Brew & McWine on Bowes Street and built a loyal customer base while continuing to work for my family-owned business Georgian Lanes Entertainment.

In 2004, I became part owner and full-time manager of Georgian Lanes and made several upgrades including automatic scoring, renovations to our layout and revamped our food and drink menu.

Over the years we hosted countless community fundraisers including the annual Knockdown Cancer campaign, and forged many partnerships with local businesses, organizations, and residents.

We were an annual team sponsor to the RACH 3 Pitch Baseball tournament, proud sponsor of the EMS toy drive and various other community events and fundraisers.

In 2010 we were voted "Business of the Year" by the Parry Sound Area Chamber of Commerce and over the years have won dozens of Parry Sound North Star Readers' Choice Awards.

In 2012, I purchased sole ownership of Georgian Lanes Entertainment and continued focusing on providing the highest level of service to all our loyal customers.

In 2017, I co-chaired a committee to lobby to bring a Splash Pad to Waubuno Beach and spent the next 2 years working hard with fellow chair Erin Cardy. In early 2020 we came up just short of pulling it off as talks of a Community Pool Complex overtook our efforts and we decided to step back.

I had the good fortune of meeting my wife, Natalie, here and in 2010 we got married at the Charles W. Stockey Centre. Over the past 9 years we've been busy raising our family of two sons Declan and Edwin and caring for our Old English Sheepdog Winnie.

In September of 2021 I sold my businesses and accepted a position as the Executive Director at the Parry Sound Area Chamber of Commerce which gives me a great opportunity to work with, advocate for, and promote, the local business community.

I currently sit on several boards including the Downtown Business Association, Industrial Park Board, Bobby Orr Hall of Fame Exhibition Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, Civic Scholarship Committee, and the West Parry Sound Economic Development Collaborative Stakeholder Board.

These next few years of Council are going to an exciting time of development for our area, and I'm honoured and thankful for the opportunity of being elected councillor.

I promise to work hard and provide strong leadership in the coming years for the residents of Parry Sound.