{"id":11256,"date":"2015-07-08T14:30:23","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T18:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=11256"},"modified":"2015-07-08T14:30:23","modified_gmt":"2015-07-08T18:30:23","slug":"york-regional-police-headquarters-dedicated-to-former-regional-chair-fisch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/york-regional-police-headquarters-dedicated-to-former-regional-chair-fisch\/","title":{"rendered":"York Regional Police headquarters dedicated to former Regional Chair Fisch"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

After over 20 years in the public service, there isn\u2019t much left that can shock Bill Fisch \u2013 but the York Regional Police found just the thing.<\/p>\n

Mr. Fisch, who served as Chair of the Regional Municipality of York for nearly 20 years before announcing his decision not to seek re-election prior to last fall\u2019s municipal election, says he was \u201cshocked, stunned and surprised\u201d when he learned of the YRP\u2019s decision to dedicate their Aurora headquarters in his honour. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am still a little stunned about it,\u201d said Mr. Fisch at the recent dedication ceremony held on the steps of the Don Hillock Drive facility before an audience of family, friends, and colleagues. \u201cThis is truly a highlight of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who serves as Chair of the Region\u2019s Police Services Board, the decision to dedicate the building in Mr. Fisch\u2019s honour was multifold. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the most important reason was his incredible commitment and dedication to community safety and ensuring the Police Services in our Region was the best in our province, in Canada, and indeed in North America,\u201d said Mayor Scarpitti. \u201cTo say he vastly contributed to the success of the police service is really an understatement.\u201d<\/p>\n

His leadership on the Board was integral to enhancing the role of civilian police governance well beyond York Region, he continued, particularly in defining the term nation-wide. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know there have been a lot of questions about [police governance] over the last few years, but I can say you only needed to see Bill Fisch in action around the boardroom table and you would begin to understand what great governance was all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

These efforts included advocacy for changes in regulations governing access to medical marijuana and an emphasis on funding to combat guns and gangs. He was also instrumental in finding community partners to make the Community Safety Village in Whitchurch-Stouffville a reality, along with Yellow Brick House and the upcoming Belinda\u2019s Place shelter for women. <\/p>\n

\u201cYour impact will be felt for many years within this organization,\u201d said Mayor Scarpitti.<\/p>\n

For Police Chief Eric Jolliffe, the dedication of \u201cThe Bill Fisch Centre for Police Excellence\u201d was a historic moment for the organization. Mr. Fisch\u2019s commitment to the police, he said, has resulted in York Region being \u201cone of the safest communities in Canada, one of the best-run and most respected communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you as the Chief of Police, to be able to stand up and speak about how safe York Region is is a very proud moment for me,\u201d said Chief Jolliffe.<\/p>\n

The relationship between Mr. Fisch and Chief Jolliffe runs deeper than simple interaction around the political table. They also served as co-chairs of the Provincial Special Olympics when the games were hosted in York Region in 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe raised over $1 million for those games and, probably more important, we left a lasting legacy here in York Region,\u201d said the Chief. \u201cWe ensured that $300,000 would remain here for Special Olympics here in York Region. As a member of the Police Services Board, Bill\u2019s leadership and guidance directed the success of this police service for almost 18 years. <\/p>\n

\u201cSecurity, safety and the quality of life have been top priorities for Bill in all his roles and what stands out for me is his proven track record to bring people and organizations together to address the most important community needs. He had always encouraged and modelled the importance of partnering with community organizations and encouraged York Regional Police to do the same. As a result of his ideals, guidance and expectations, York Regional Police has evolved as an organization that truly, truly makes a difference in its community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casting an eye over the metallic letters that now bear his name, Mr. Fisch said he accepted the honour \u201cwith humility and pride.\u201d When he first entered the public service over 20 years ago, he did so with an eye of ensuring the local police service was the best in Canada \u2013 an objective he says he is confident \u201cwithout any hesitation\u201d has been achieved. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be proud of what we have accomplished and I am very proud to see my name here,\u201d he said. \u201cI am very proud the Chief will pass my name every day. I am very proud to say we have worked so hard to achieve the goal we set out to achieve. I want to give all of you a big hand for what you have accomplished over the last 20 years. I am very proud to be a part
\nof it.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After over 20 years in the public service, there isn\u2019t much left that can shock Bill Fisch \u2013 but the York Regional Police found just the thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/2015-07-08-03.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-2Vy","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 00:32:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}