Business View Civil and Municipal | March 2021

190 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL MARCH 2021 AT A GLANCE TECUMSEH, ONTARIO WHAT: A thriving town; population nearing 25,000 WHERE: Essex County, southwestern Ontario WEBSITE: www.tecumseh.ca O N TA R I O I n today’s hurried world ruled by social media, it’s not often you find a town where people truly care about and take care of community members, but also of strangers. Tecumseh, Ontario is one of the few places left with that neighborly and welcoming spirit. It’s the reason long-time Mayor of Tecumseh, Gary McNamara, chose Tecumseh to raise his family, run for town council 30 years ago and assume the top job of Mayor 18 years ago. McNamara, who hails from Cornwall, Ontario was hired at the Chrysler Factory in Windsor, Ontario in the early 1980s. He was looking for a small town, similar to where he grew up, to raise his family. He’d drive all over Essex County, but always started his weekend search at a small coffee shop in Tecumseh. Over breakfast one morning, a man who happened to be Tecumseh’s Fire Chief came to McNamara’s table and sat down, soon joined by the restaurant owner, and both described how wonderful the town was. McNamara recalls, “He told me, “You don’t have to go any further. If you want a raise a family in a good town, this is the place to be.” That’s heartwarming for a total stranger to come up and start talking about why this is a great place to live and how the people are friendly and welcoming… I remember grabbing the phone, calling my wife and saying: I think I found a place.” They moved in and experienced even more warmth from neighbors and because of that welcoming feeling he began to feel responsible to help make the town the best it could be. To this day, he tells people, “You can have and should have amenities to support your residents, but it all starts with the people. If anybody comes into our community and goes into a restaurant or one of our pubs, they will certainly realize the T H E S P I R I T O F ‘ H O M E ’