Bonnie Folkard

Board Chair

As Board Chair for Age Friendly Cold Lake, I take my role to heart. Having called Cold Lake home for the past 11 years, I have always felt a deep desire to make a difference in my community through volunteering and service. When Age Friendly Cold Lake was founded in 2019, I was inspired to get involved and have been proud to be part of its journey ever since. I’m incredibly proud of our team’s dedication and accomplishments—together, we’ve built programs and services that truly make a difference in the lives of isolated, vulnerable, and underserved seniors in our community. At Age Friendly Cold Lake, we believe every senior carries a lifetime of wisdom, love, and resilience—and they deserve to live each day with dignity, comfort, and connection. My passion has always been helping people, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than by supporting and celebrating our seniors.

John Bitz

Vice Chair

I grew up on a farm near Kindersley Saskatchewan and started working in the oil patch on the service rigs, drilling rig moves and then hired on with Imperial Oil. We transferred to Carnduff, Saskatchewan in 1987 with Imperial where we started raising our 2 kids. From there we transferred to Rainbow Lake again with Imperial where I worked in the plant and field for 6 years. We enjoyed snow sledding, hunting, fishing, coaching hockey and starting up Ducks Unlimited. We transferred to Cold Lake in 1997 where I started working as a Maintenance Planner for 18 years. I then hired on with Husky Energy and then to Devon Energy as a Maintenance Manager for 18 years until I retired in 2019. I have enjoyed coaching my son and grandsons in hockey, being a part of the Hockey Board and assisting my daughter who is a teacher, with track and field, cross country, etc. We have enjoyed extensive travelling with close friends and treasure our days on the lake fishing when we aren’t biking/hiking. I have had extensive management training and have built great working relationships with the people I have worked with over the years. I feel that I can add some value to the board and look forward to making a difference in the community.

Wayne Warner

Board of Directors, Cold Lake Men's Shed

Wayne spent over 40 years working in the retail industry, with major companies such as Hudson’s Bay, Canex, and Arctic Co-Operatives. He also spent two years outside the retail industry in Yellowknife working with the Constitutional Working Group to establish a constitution for the Northwest Territories. This involved working with all seven Indigenous groups, the government of the Northwest Territories, and the Canadian Federal government. Wayne has served on a variety of boards, including Lakeland Credit Union, Alberta Central Credit Union, The Goldeye Foundation, and various municipal boards. As the start up for the Cold Lake Men’s Shed, Wayne also serves on the board of Age Friendly Cold Lake.

Donna Taylor

Board of Directors

I was born and raised in Calgary where I worked in the oil and gas sector. My husband took a teaching position in Peace River and we have moved to a number of locations throughout Alberta since. We settled settled in Sylvan Lake area where we raised 2 daughters whiling working in real estate. I have volunteered in many capacities such as Kinettes, Christmas Bureau, president of the school PTA, Agricultural Society and Hospital Auxiliary and members of the Board for the Curling Club and Seniors Centre. After retirement we spent 8 years in Fort Macleod helping my husbands ailing cousin. We moved 2 years ago to Cold Lake and are enjoying this friendly progressive City and want to be a a helpful entity within the community.

Linda Grant

Board of Directors

Linda has lived in Cold Lake for thirty years. She is married with two grown sons. As a retired nurse, Linda worked as head nurse in Long Term Care at the Cold Lake Healthcare Centre for 25 years. She is the chair of Cold Lake Hospital Foundation and Medical Development Society, a member of Provincial Advisory Council for Seniors Health and Continuing Care, a dementia care educator, and the board chair of Age Friendly Cold Lake Society. Strong advocate for seniors issues.

Marlene Welsh

Board of Directors

I am originally from Calgary and was posted to Cold Lake with 4 Wing Air Force in 1969. I was physiotherapist for many years. My husband and I raised our family of three here and enjoyed the many benefits of Cold Lake. I enjoy cross-country skiing, aqua fit, biking, golf and playing bridge. I have always enjoyed working with seniors.

Cathy Aust

Executive Director

Cathy’s passion for seniors began in Wardsville, Ontario in 1975, where she worked in both a senior’s care facility and a seniors lodge. Since then, Cathy has spent over 50 years working in the realm of Social Services, Preventative Social Services and Program Development. In the last several years Cathy has returned to her roots and her work has been committed to seniors’ issues and making the lives of seniors in our community and our care facilities a little easier by providing outreach services through Age Friendly Cold Lake.