Mayor and Council

Deb was born and raised in the Tillsonburg area on a local tobacco farm and continued to farm in the area for over 25 years. Deb, along with her husband owned and operated Tanner’s Studio in Tillsonburg and Ingersoll until 2007. Until June 2018, Deb owned and operated Lux Salon and Spa in Tillsonburg.

Deb was a former Director and Vice-Chairman of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Board and the Joint Canadian Tanning Association.

Deb was a volunteer basketball coach for a period of over 20 years in the Tillsonburg area and has been a volunteer member of the Tillsonburg Economic Development Committee.

She was first elected to Council in 2018.

Deb’s business background has provided her with valuable tools in budgeting, marketing and regulations as well as providing her with an understanding of the challenges business owners face in Tillsonburg. 

Deb’s broad experience has provided her with good insight into the inner workings of government while allowing her the opportunity to interact with government officials at all levels.

Deb is married to Scott and has two daughters and two granddaughters. She is a lover of the outdoors and her favourite activities are paddle boarding, boating, taking long walks and reading.

Dave Beres was first elected to Council in 1994 and most recently served as Deputy Mayor for the Town of Tillsonburg. He has been active in the community, both as a volunteer and a business owner for more than 45 years and is now retired from the private sector.                    

He and his wife Debbie have three grown children who, with their families, make Tillsonburg their home. 

Dave has served on many boards and committees, including Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital Board, Tillsonburg Police Services Board and the Tillsonburg Hydro Board of Directors and the Long Point Region Conservation Authority. He is a member of the Tillsonburg District Chamber of Commerce and a long-time member of the Tillsonburg Lions Club. 

Dave Beres recently served as Mayor in 2014.

Pete Luciani was born and raised in Tillsonburg and worked in a local family business until joining the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) at the age of 25.  He spent 33 years working out of various locations in Southern Ontario. The majority of his career was in the Forensic Identification Services (FIS) program which included involvement in the planning and construction phase of the OPP Forensic Lab in Tillsonburg, as the FIS Regional Manager.

With the OPP, he was involved in numerous large projects, among them the upgrading of all of the OPP’s Forensic Labs and equipment, the change over of film to digital photography at crime scenes, implementing Digital Mugshot Systems in OPP Detachments and the provincial rollout of Livescan fingerprint machines. He retired from OPP General Headquarters in Orillia as the Inspector in charge of the provincial Forensic Identification and Photographic Services program.

Since retirement, Pete has co-chaired the Tillsonburg Dog Park Committee and served on the Memorial Park Revitalization Committee. He enjoys fishing, photography, technology, and reading with the occasional glass of wine on his back deck. Pete and his wife Kelly, enjoy six adult children and eleven grandchildren. He is looking forward to serving the residents of Tillsonburg this term on council.

Christopher (Chris) Parker was born and raised in Tillsonburg. After graduating from Glendale High School, Chris attended Durham College in Oshawa where he studied Law and Security Administration. Chris is happily married to his wife Rebecca.

Chris has been the president of the Tillsonburg Men’s Slo-Pitch League for five years and the Referee In Chief for Tillsonburg Minor Hockey for six years.

Chris looks forward to the challenge of being a new member of Tillsonburg Town Council. 

Bob Parsons had a 35-year career in the fire services field prior to becoming a realtor in 2016. His previous positions include firefighter, deputy fire chief and fire chief. He also served as a certified fire prevention officer, certified public fire educator and community emergency management coordinator.

He was first elected to Council in the early 1990s, and served two terms.

In the community, Bob has served with the Police Services Board, Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital Board and Tillsonburg Non-Profit Housing. He is a past-president of the Tillsonburg and District Curling Club, a Past Faithful Navigator of the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus, and a past director of the Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board.

He currently represents the Tillsonburg District Real Estate Board as part of Information Technology Systems of Ontario (ITSO).

Bob received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for his community volunteerism. Other honours include the Exemplary Service Medal from the Government of Canada, and the Province of Ontario Long Service Medal for firefighting.

Bob is married to his wife Jeanette. They have 8 adult children and 15 grandchildren between them.

Chris Rosehart is a long-time resident of Tillsonburg. She has three grown children, two of which reside in Tillsonburg. She has managed her variety store in Tillsonburg for more than 30 years. 

Chris has served on a number of boards and committees including the Cultural Advisory Committee, Trails Committee, Cemetery Committee and Tillsonburg Non-Profit Housing. She has also been involved with the Tillsonburg Food Bank and the Tillsonburg Tri-County Agricultural Fair.

Kelly Spencer is a lifelong resident of Tillsonburg. Her family moved here in the 1970s when her father, Jim Spencer, took on the role of president of Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital.  

Active in the community, both personally and professionally, Kelly has worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters Oxford County, and regularly offers volunteer time and donations to the Stations Arts Centre, Firefighters BBQ, Tillsonburg Helping Hand Bank, and the Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital Foundation. She has also supported many sports organizations.

Kelly is a small business owner, and has operated Indigo Lounge Wellness Centre & Eatery in Tillsonburg for past 11 years. She is a wellness columnist and writer, as well as a motivational speaker. She provides stress management and mindset coaching for businesses, schools, organizations and health professionals. Prior to this, Kelly worked as a registered nurse in the community, working at both Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre. 

Kelly is a positive community advocate for all people in the community, and looks forward to being a part of Tillsonburg Town Council.