At the 2013 Annual General Meeting of the Roncesvalles Village BIA, Tony Cauch announced his retirement from the position of Chair of the BIA.

Serving as the Chair of the BIA for some fourteen years, Tony lead the BIA through some of the most significant events of its history, including the founding of the Roncesvalles Polish Festival in 2005 and Roncy Rocks! in 2010, the expansion of the BIA to include all of Roncesvalles Avenue in 2007, and guided our organization through the unprecedented upheaval of construction from 2009 to 2012.

Tony will continue to serve on the board of the BIA as Chair Emeritus, joining Founding Chair John Wakulat and long-time Vice-Chair Andrew Chomentowski. The board of the Roncesvalles Village BIA looks forward to his continued guidance and wishes him the best for his future endeavours.

John Bowker, owner of She Said Boom!, was appointed Chair of the Roncesvalles Village BIA at the Annual General Meeting.

John has served on the board of the BIA for many years as Chair of the Beautification Committee and since 2012 as Vice-Chair. In this role he oversaw the creation of a number of murals on Roncesvalles Avenue, including the popular, cost-effective and innovative Top to Bottom Mural Project.

John also represented the Roncesvalles Village BIA in the community group Roncesvalles Renewed, which provided significant input to the City of Toronto in designing the new streetscape of Roncesvalles Avenue, including the dozens of new trees and the many planter beds that now beautify our street.

Throughout this process, John fostered strong relationships between the Roncesvalles Village BIA and numerous local community groups, including the Roncesvalles-MacDonell Residents’ Association, the Sunnyside Community Association and the High Park Residents’ Association, as well as dozens of community volunteers who gave of their time and expertise to the benefit of our neighbourhood’s high street, Roncesvalles Avenue.

John was also a driving force behind the Dundas Roncesvalles Peace Garden, which is expected to be constructed in late 2014 and will be a significant gateway feature for the north end of Roncesvalles Avenue.

Len McAuley, owner of Pollocks Home Hardware, served as chair of the Business Continuity Committee through the construction, and as chair of the Properties and Maintenance Committee, has been appointed vice-chair of the board of directors of the Roncesvalles Village BIA.