MAYOR JAMES A. BURGESS

    James Burgess was born in Wawanesa the fourth in a family of ten children.  His parents were both from Scotland, his father from Edinburgh and his mother from the Isle of Harris.  Mr. Burgess Senior was engaged in the contracting business for many years in Wawanesa where he served on the council for fifteen years.

    Having completed his education, Jim joined the Royal Bank staff in Wawanesa and came to Russell in 1928 and was connected with the banking world for fifteen years.   In 1942 he returned to Russell as accountant for Smellie Brothers Limited.   When the creamery and store business of Smellie Brothers Limited was sold in 1959, Mr. Burgess and Mr. R. C. Smellie formed Russell Insurance Agencies of which they are still partners.

    In 1939 Jim married Agnes Thom of Russell. They have three children, Neil, Jack and Eleanor.

    During his long residence in Russell there has been no area of public life which has not felt the benefit of his driving energy, his ability to organize and his skill in financing.  However, his dedication to public service has led him to wider fields and many organizations operating at the provincial level have had the benefit of his wide experience in the business world.  The general confidence of his ability led to his election as Mayor of Russell in 1956.

    His multifarious activities in the Russell district include the presidency of the Kiwanis club, golf club, and curling club on three occasions: vice president of the Russell Chamber of Commerce and secretary of the Russell Community Curling Club Limited since its inception in 1946.  The Agricultural Society elected him a director and enjoyed his astuteness in financial matters as Mr. Burgess was secretary of the Society for seven years.

   The religious and educational organizations of the community also attracted his interest as evinced by his fifteen years service on the Board of Stewards and the Session for twenty years, and eight years service as school trustee.

    On a broader scale Mr. Burgess has lent his energy to the Manitoba Highway 83 Association as its president.  He has served as director of the Manitoba Golden Boys and the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce.

    Mr. Burgess served as councillor for four years prior to his election as mayor.  During his long term of office the town has seen many projects brought to success, which have made living in Russell more enjoyable; the enlargement of the Firehall and improvement of the fire fighting equipment; the establishment of a regional library, the paving of five miles of the town streets, the early enlistment of the Town in Manitoba Town planning scheme.  Perhaps the town waterworks best attest the drive that has characterized his community work.  It is well known that some fairly sober minded citizens considered the waterworks plan as bordering on the fantastic.  A less dedicated man might have abandoned the project in the face of such distinguished opposition

    At the moment Mayor Burgess is chairman of the Russell District Hospital Association with a new hospital as its goal and chairmen of the centennial committee which is planning a new building for the present library.

    Mr. Burgess dedication to both local and provincial affairs is best illustrated in the happiness he experienced in being elected President of the Manitoba Urban Association .

JlM BURGESS by C. N. Kushner Q.C.

I have known Mayor J. A. Burgess "Jim" for many years and it has been my privilege to be the Executive Director of the Manitoba Urban Association during the time that Jim served as President of that important body.

    His vast experiences in Municipal Affairs was extremely helpful to me in my work and was a stimulating experience.

    Although Jim had gained his experience in a small community, it was a constant source of amazement to me how he appreciated the problems of the rapidly expanding urban centres in Manitoba, particularly the suburban areas around the City of Winnipeg and the Province's surrounding cities like Brandon and Portage la Prairie.

    While acting as President he succeeded in bringing the problems of the Urban Centres to the attention of the members representing smaller communities in the Province and at the same time, he succeeded in bringing to the attention of the representatives of the larger centres the different type of problems facing rural Manitoba as well as the small centres who were not making rapid progress.

    This ability to bring all the problems lacing Municipal Government to the attention of the Members of the Manitoba Urban Association marked Jim as one of the more successful and effective presidents which the Association has had over the years.

    There is no doubt that Mayor Jim Burgess of Russell has left and is leaving an indelible mark on Municipal Affairs in Manitoba.

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