Former Chair Ken Seiling
The Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum is named in honour of the Region’s longest-serving chair. An exhibit display case honouring former Chair Ken Seiling is located in Christie Digital Theatre.
When Ken Seiling announced his retirement in 2018, after 33 years of service, a committee made up of elected officials and community members (Jack Young Civic Award Committee) made a recommendation to Regional Council requesting the museum name change as a way to recognize Ken’s interest in local heritage and support for heritage preservation. Regional Council approved the recommendation on November 14, 2018.
Ken Seiling and his wife are life long residents of Elmira, Ontario. Ken attended Elmira District Secondary School. He received his post-secondary education at Waterloo Lutheran University, McMaster University, and the University of Toronto. Ken began his working life teaching at Waterloo Collegiate Institute and then became the Director of the Wellington County Museum and Archives . After serving two years as a Councillor and seven years as Mayor of Woolwich Township and a Regional Councillor, Ken was first elected by Regional Council as Regional Chair in 1985 and again in 1988, 1991 and 1994. In 1997, he became the first directly elected Regional Chair in Waterloo Region. He was re-elected in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Ken sat on many Boards and Commissions, including the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board, Waterloo Regional Library Committee, Waterloo North Hydro Commission and the Grand River Conservation Authority. Ken sat on the Board of Governors of the University of Waterloo. Provincially, Ken sat on the Board of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), chaired the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario for many years, and has served on many AMO groups and sub-committees. He was also appointed to many advisory groups by the Province over the years.
Ken and his wife Kathryn have five children and eleven grandchildren. For more than 40 years, Ken served as an organist and choirmaster and now enjoys filling in at the organ in churches across the Region. Among many awards, Ken was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to the community, a Paul Harris Rotary Fellow, and was also chosen as one of Wilfrid Laurier University’s 100 Alumni of Achievement. Upon his retirement, Ken was honoured with the naming of the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum.
Ken Seiling served as special advisor in the Province of Ontario’s review of regional governments, launched in mid-January, 2019.
