Paul Hames elected as President/Chair of FCL Board 

March 4, 2025

Paul Hames of Brentwood Bay, B.C. was elected President/Chair of the Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) Board. The election occurred following the FCL Annual Meeting on March 3, 2025, in Saskatoon. Paul becomes the 18th President in FCL history.  

FCL’s local co-operative members are divided into five districts. Three directors represent each district and serve three-year terms. The President/Chair is a member of the Board, elected by the 15 directors to lead the democratic decision-making structure that guides FCL.  

Paul is one of the directors elected by District 2, which is comprised of 20 member co-ops located in British Columbia and Alberta and has primary responsibility for seven member co-ops. He was first elected to the FCL board in 2021. 

Sharon Alford of Swan River, Man., has held the position of President/Chair since August 2019, when she became the first female to be elected to this position. Sharon was an FCL board member for 12 years. 

Darlene Thorburn of Victoria, B.C. was elected as the Vice-Chair of the Board. During the meeting, Connie Chilcott of District 1, Barb Dixon of District 2, Brett Ferguson of District 3, Nathan Holowaty of District 4 and Nicole Smith of District 5 were all elected to the Board of Directors.