City Councillor named Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins)

City of Waterloo Councillor Diane Freeman has become the first woman and Professional Engineer to be named as the Regimental Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel (HLCol) of the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins). The Regiment is one of the oldest elements of the Canadian Army dating back to 1866 and in modern times has played an important role in both active deployment and domestic emergency response.

Councillor Freeman is also the first civilian and first resident of the City of Waterloo to hold this prestigious role in 31 Combat Engineer Regiment.

“I am incredibly honoured and humbled to be named to this post,” said Councillor Freeman. “I not only have tremendous respect for the Canadian military, but hold The Elgins in very high regard. I am committed to serving and representing The Elgins to the best of my abilities.”

“On behalf of my Council colleagues and the residents of Waterloo, I offer my congratulations to Diane for this wonderful honour. I know she will do a great job in this role and builds on her lifelong track record as a community builder and leader,” said Mayor Dave Jaworsky.

As a result of this role, the title HLCol is bestowed on Councillor Freeman. The handover of duties to HLCol Freeman from HLCol (The Reverend) Mark Sargent occurred over the summer.

HLCol Freeman is a University of Waterloo Civil Engineering Alumni and has served continuously, as an elected member of the City of Waterloo Council since 2006.  She is a professional engineer with more than 28 years of engineering and project management experience.  During her years on Council, HLCol Freeman has been an unrelenting champion for building accessible communities by planning, funding and installing sidewalks, trails and dedicated bicycle infrastructure.

Through her work on the Board of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Share-the-Road Coalition, HLCol Freeman helped to deliver Ontario’s first Bicycle Summit. For her work in building a cycling friendly Ontario, HLCol Freeman received a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee medal and a cycling leadership award from the Share-The-Road Coalition. In addition to those mentioned above, HLCol Freeman has served on the board of a number of important organizations including Professional Engineers Ontario, Grand River Hospital, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Waterloo Public Library, Ontario College of Veterinarians, the Air & Waste Management Association, and the Butterfly Learning Centre. For her community work, HLCol Freeman received a Leading Women Building Communities Award from the Ontario Women’s Directorate and awarded the Kitchener Waterloo Roger’s Woman of the Year in the Professional Category. She has also served as the 2010-11 President of Professional Engineers Ontario.

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Tony Iavarone
Director, Corporate Communications
tony.iavarone@waterloo.ca