Gary McKeown

Gary McKeown has quietly gone about making a difference in the community. Currently the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada, he has served as a member of the Karnak Shrine since 2007 and led it as Potentate in 2018.

Gary played an important role in bringing an annual St. Patrick’s Parade to the Town of Hudson in 2010 with his cohorts, leaning on the United Irish Societies of Montreal for some operational advice.

Gary is Vice President of Business Development at STS Aviation Services, a one-stop service provider to the global aviation industry. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Hudson Yacht Club, the Canadian Professional Sales Association and is a Mason with Hudson’s Lodge #98.

Gary’s Irish ancestry comes from his paternal great grandfather Thomas John McKeown, who was born in Belfast in 1870, left Portadown in the mid 1890s, and settled in Montreal where he married recent immigrant Annie Berry in 1897 and where they raised their family.

Gary’s community involvement comes to him naturally. In 1995 the Erin Sports Association named Brian McKeown, Gary’s father, as Irishman of the Year and in 1998 the United Irish Societies of Montreal honoured Brian McKeown as the Parade Grand Marshal. In 2018, the organizers of the Hudson St. Patrick’s Parade named Gary as its Irishman of the Year.

Gary married Leslie Bouchard in 1992 and is very proud of their 3 children, Kristofer, Kaitlyn and Kolby. They are both immensely proud of their 3 grandchildren, Amalia, Elijah and Aycee.

The United Irish Societies of Montreal is pleased to name Mr. Gary McKeown as Grand Marshal of Montreal’s 201st St. Patrick’s Parade in 2026!