Silver Birch Staff
Sheila Sanford
Office Administrator /Book Keeper
Our office administrator/bookkeeper and general steward of Sliver Birch Lodge arcana. She knows where the “stuff” is and keeps us fiscally viable. She serves on the Board of the Fraser Lake Legion
Email: sheila@silverbirchlodge.org
Leigh-Anne Allen
Caretaker
It speaks volumes about her, that she considers herself “lucky enough” to be the Caretaker at Silver Birch Lodge. She has worked at Silver Birch for 10 years. She is married and has three children. Her husband works at the local sawmill. She has lived in Fraser Lake for her entire life. Her home is in the Nithi Valley on her family’s cattle ranch, which has been in her family over a 100 years.
Email: Leigh-Anne@silverbirchlodge.org
Silver Birch Lodge Board Members
Art Blomquist
President
Art is a retired Civil Servant and Dotcom boom Database Company entrepreneur. He’s married and lives on a farm West of Endako with some recalcitrant chickens, three dogs and and at last count, three cats. He has served on several not for profit boards . Senior issues are very important to him. He maintains that how we treat our elders is vital to our society’s well being. He is an ardent geology student and Chess enthusiast, and his hobbies include Calligraphy, four season gardening, and reading.
Email: art@silverbirchlodge.org
Doug Bailey
Board Member
Doug has been through several iterations of the Board of Silver Birch Lodge. He is our go to guy for things mechanical or questions like: “when did we decide..” He moved to the town of Fort Fraser in 1973 to work at the Fort Fraser division of Fraser Lake sawmills. In 1984 he moved to Fraser Lake.
During his years at Fraser Lake Sawmill he did various jobs ending as a heavy duty mechanic.
After 43 year’s Doug retired in 2016.
and has been enjoying his artistic pursuits, painting in both oils and water colour. He is also a member of the Fraser Lake Men’s Shed where he does small engine repairs.
Email: doug@silverbirchlodge.org
John Fennema
Board Member
(Jan) and wife, Audrey came to Fraser Lake in the fall of 2004. John grew up in Houston and Smithers before moving with his family to the Fraser Valley when he was 14. His background is in Dairy farming and construction. However, it was working for BC Parks – specifically Beaumont which brought them here. John has volunteered as a judge for the Santa Claus and Mouse Mountain day parades and helped with cooking at Village Barbeques and more. However, he is most passionate about seniors. He is part of the Fraser Lake Men’s Shed, Autumn Services and has been a Board member of Silver Birch Lodge for two years. His hobbies include gardening, fishing and camping.
Email:johnf@silverbirchlodge.org
Diane Harder
Vice President
Diane manages the Fraser Lake Crisis Centre and can often be seen in her fire fighter garb as she serves on Fraser Lake Fire Department as Assistant Fire Chief.
Email: diane@silverbirchlodge.org
Steve Lee
Board Member
Steve Serves on the Fraser Lake Historical Society and became a board member in the May 2022 AGM
Email: steve@silverbirchlodge.org
Trevor Hedstrom
Board Member
Serves on the Maintenance Committee, His drafting skills, and construction know how, were quickly demonstrated upon joining the Board of Silver Birch Lodge
Email: trevor@admin
Jo-Anne Fiske
Secretary
Board Secretary, Jo-Anne first sat as a board member on a volunteer society while still a teenager. She has not looked back and has served on numerous boards ever since. She has experience working with non-profit and charity organizations in BC and other provinces, now sits on 6 boards, and in the past served as a policy advisor for Canada. She believes well governed non-profit groups lead to healthy strong communities. Jo is committed to good governance through careful, detailed financial management and developing clear policies and regulations to guide the board and the members.
Email: jo-anne@silverbirchlodge.org
John Stafford
Board Member
John is Silver Birch’s Mr. Fixit. He came to Fraser Lake in 1966 to teach at FLESS and taught for 37 years, mostly in the Woodshop. He also created and ran a very successful Career Preparation Program where students were allowed to apply for work placements with local businesses to gain career experience. He was very involved in coaching and refereeing basketball, as well as driving the activity bus for teams all over B.C. He made many friends among the students he taught or coached. John served on the Library Board and, currently, Autumn Services. He has served on the Fraser Lake Village Council and SD #91 Board of Trustees. He is one of the founding members of the Fraser Lake Men’s Shed. John thoroughly enjoyed all his experiences and would do it over again. He enjoys the outdoors and helping make Fraser Lake a better community.
Email: john@silverbirchlodge.org