City fills two crucial positions

At city council's public meeting on Jan. 28, the hiring of Richard Bourdon on a three-year contractual basis as a Public Security Captain was approved. At the same time, a new position, that of Communications Coordinator, was filled with the hiring of Brigitte Stock.

Bourdon, who is replacing John Everatt, a veteran Public Security officer who recently retired, served for 36 years with the Montreal Police Department. Most recently, he was the commander of Neighbourhood Police Station 48, which serves the Borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in the City of Montreal.

According to Councillor John de Castell, who chairs the Community Safety Commission, Bourdon's wide experience includes emergency planning, as well as traffic management and enforcement. "He will share his vast knowledge with the new, young officers who are replacing the 25-year veterans of the original crew who are now retiring," said de Castell.

Prior to her hiring by the City, Stock, a Westmount resident, had 25 years experience working in the field of integrated communications and public relations. Most recently, she was vice-president for corporate communications at National Public Relations, the largest PR firm in Canada.

Stock is an active member of several non-profit groups and she volunteers in community organizations, such as the YMCA swim team's Parent Executive Committee. She sat on the City's Community Events Advisory Committee, where she has been involved in recent years organizing the children's Carnival Boat Cruise held during the annual Winter Carnival.

Stock completed a public relations and communications program at the prestigious Sorbonne university in Paris, France, in 1984. She has an M.A. in political science from the University of Quebec in Montreal, which she obtained in 1985. In 1993, the completed the Technology Executive Leadership Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Stock is a frequent guest speaker at the Sorbonne, and has been recognized by the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario as one of 650 outstanding women in Canada. Stock is the mother of an adult daughter and two young teenage sons. She is also a strong supporter of her sons' participation in the City of Westmount recreation department's hockey and soccer programs.