Top 3: Canada, Curtis & Tongue For Council

Fontaine began serving the Town of Bridgewater many years ago. He served on the Board of Zoning Appeals from 1989 to 1991, joined the Planning Commission in 1991 and continues to serve on it, and began serving on the Town Council in 1994.

Born in Halifax County, Virginia, Fontaine grew up in the small town of Clover. He attended Bridgewater College from 1972 to 1976, graduating with a degree in Economics and Business Administration.

After college, Fontaine began his career with Rocco Building Supplies, LLC in 1976. He served the company for 44 years, including his final 20 years as president, before retiring in 2020.

Fontaine enjoys yard work and gardening, with a special focus on growing tomatoes. Since retirement, he and his wife, Martha, have enjoyed traveling and finding new adventures. They have three children and three grandchildren.

Stephanie has served as a councilmember since January 2023 and currently chairs the Parks and Recreation Committee. Before her election to Town Council, she served for several years on the Town’s Industrial Development Authority board.

A resident of the Shenandoah Valley since 1998, Stephanie has proudly called Bridgewater home since 2012. She and her husband, Mark, enjoy the Town’s amenities, often joined by their children and grandchildren.

Professionally, Stephanie works as a paralegal at Hoover Penrod, PLC in downtown Harrisonburg.

Jim joined the Town Council in 2017 after briefly serving on the Industrial Development Authority. He currently chairs the Council’s Economic Development Committee.

Born in New Market and a resident of Stuarts Draft as a young child, Jim always considered the Valley home. First as a Methodist preacher’s kid and then as a United Methodist pastor for 50 years, he lived in communities across Virginia. In 2011, Jim and his wife, Judy, were delighted to return to the Valley when he was appointed Senior Pastor at Bridgewater United Methodist Church, making Bridgewater their home.

Jim graduated from Hampton High School in 1964 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Virginia in 1968 and a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School in 1971. While at UVA, he served the three churches of the Sherando-Lyndhurst Charge from 1966 to 1968. After Yale, he served the four-church Monterey Charge and coordinated the 12-church Highland Larger Parish from 1971 to 1978. His later appointments included the three-church Wakefield Charge from 1978 to 1984; Lane Memorial United Methodist Church in Altavista from 1984 to 1992; Timberlake United Methodist Church in Lynchburg from 1992 to 2000; and Virginia Beach United Methodist Church from 2000 to 2003. In 2003, he was appointed to the Bishop’s Cabinet as Superintendent of the 94-church Farmville District, serving for eight years before coming to Bridgewater. He retired in June 2016.

Jim has been active in every community where he has served, understanding ministry as service to the community as well as to the congregation. In retirement from pastoral ministry, he is both humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Bridgewater as a council member.

Jim is married to Judy Abbott Tongue. They have three grown children and six grandchildren.