To say Steve Wagler knows a thing or two about community would be a grand understatement. As a partner in family-owned Josslin Insurance Brokers along with his brother Scott, he is a proud resident and supporter of all things New Hamburg. Whether it is taking a leadership role in the New Hamburg Board of Trade, playing in the New Hamburg band or supervising the bouncy castle at the Mennonite Relief sale, Steve takes an active part in building community.
As one of the founding members of LYNC, Steve has contributed his time, talent and financial resources towards bringing the vision of affordable housing to life in New Hamburg. Steve is passionate about housing those in need. As landlords themselves for the last 27 years, Steve and his wife Michelle have seen first hand the impact the pandemic had on the rental market. “I’ve seen what people have been able to rent their properties out for and people are coming from Toronto to rent them, leaving local people out of the equation. What are we going to do as a community? There are only so many places available. We have to work on solutions.”
With barriers such as the cost of land, cost of materials and now the rising cost of financing, Steve feels the best solution for building new affordable housing units that meets the needs of the local population is through non profits and charities such as LYNC. He is a strong advocate for bonding together as a community to create the change we want to see. “The unit of change is the people in this community. The Federal, Provincial and Regional governments will make great partners but they can’t solve Wilmot’s problems. We have to get people together who are invested and that means putting your money where it is needed. It takes leadership.”
We are grateful for both Steve’s generosity and leadership in bringing LYNC to where it is today.