Board of Directors
The Word Guild is the main activity of Christian Info Canada, a registered not-for-profit charitable organization.
Les Lindquist is a change consultant with 35 years' experience at IBM who is now a partner with his wife N. J. in the publishing company That's Life! Communications. Since leaving IBM in the spring of 2009, Les is also mapping out a new career as a consultant, writer and speaker. For some years, he's been teaching workshops on change management, re-engineering the church, prayer walking, etc. at various conferences including Equip and Tyndale.Pastors, and he plans to increase his activity in this area.
Les has played an instrumental role in The Word Guild since its inception, including serving as the sounding board and advisor for N. J. and Wendy in TWG's early years, becoming the treasurer, and being a board member since 2002. He is currently the chair of the board of Christian Info Canada, which is the name of the ministry whose primary activity is The Word Guild.
A retired book publisher (Irwin Publishing), John W. Irwin is an active member in many church and para-church organizations, having served on the boards for McMaster Divinity College, Toronto School of Theology, Wycliffe College, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship,The Mustard Seed Mission, and Threshold Ministries, to list a few. He served as President of Scripture Union for many years. He is committed to supporting and furthering the evangelistic mission of the Church and the authority of Scripture.
John and his wife, retired classics professor M. Eleanor Irwin, in conjunction with The Word Guild recently initiated Canada's largest literary prize for writers who are Christian, the $5,000 Grace Irwin Award. The prize honours John's aunt, author Grace Irwin. It will celebrate the best book published in 2010 by a Canadian author who writes from a Christian worldview, and will be presented at The Word Guild's 2011 Awards Gala on June 15 at World Vision headquarters in Mississauga.
Johanne Robertson, co-publisher and editor of Maranatha News, co-founded the publication in 1996 to cover news about and celebrate the accomplishments of Canada’s diverse Christian community. With her ability to see possibilities and build relationships, Johanne has broadened the paper’s coverage and assembled a strong team of freelance writers and editors. Maranatha News is a monthly publication distributed free of charge to evangelical churches, Christian bookstores and colleges, and stores across Canada (www.maranathanewspaper.com). Robertson also is co-founder of Read For Life, a Canadian program that encourages young people to read.
Eric Spath is an entrepreneur at heart, who has 18 years experience in the Christian market, working for both ministries and for-profit companies. His key areas of focus have been in marketing and event development through partnerships with the Christian media, churches and retailers in Canada. Throughout the past ten years he has developed a variety of innovative programs that have resourced Christians and churches with products, services and events.
Eric, in his current role as Manager of Speaker & Events for World Vision Canada, has had the opportunity to work on events such as Live 8 and Canada for Asia, while developing a variety of Christian market events with authors and speakers, including Girls Night Out, Couples Night Out, Aspiring Women and Bananas.
