John has been on the Board of the Society since 2017, most recently as 1^st Vice President, Membership Chair and Chair of the Operating Committee.

John has attended the St. Andrew’s Charity Ball for the past 18 years (save for COVID) with his wife Pearl. The Ball, with all its pageantry, tradition and great company been an important and cherished part of every November. His Scottish roots go back to a great-grandparent who settled in Toronto early in the last century. Pearl’s Scottish forebears were among the first to settle in P.E.I. in the 1700’s.

John has extensive experience in both in the public and private sectors. He is retired from the Ontario Public Service (OPS) where he managed development of public policy for housing and homelessness. A former CMHC employee, he led the development of NHA Mortgage-Backed Securities for CMHC and went on to help create the MBS market. Before leaving the crown corporation, he was responsible for insurance marketing, business development and communications. As Director of Marketing for the Chicago Title Insurance Company, he was one of the pioneers in the launch of title insurance in Canada. Before joining the OPS, John had a successful consulting practice in process engineering, change management and communications.

Kathryn Witt has been involved with the St. Andrew’s Society for 16 years. Originally from Inverness in Scotland, she emigrated to Toronto in 2006. After feeling a bit homesick, her husband looked up “Scottish things to do in Toronto” and that led them to attending the St. Andrew’s Charity Ball. From there she joined the Ball committee for eight years, six of them as Chair. Kathryn has also served on the Membership and Communications committee and has developed the Tartan Thistle e-newsletter.

Kathryn graduated from Aberdeen University with a Bachelor of Education in Primary Teaching. After teaching in Scotland for 9 years she took part in a teaching exchange to Barrie, Ontario. It was during that year that she met her future husband, Richard. They live in Toronto with their two daughters. Richard is now also the Honorary Secretary of the Society!