Frank Fagan, Newfoundland and Labrador's newly appointed lieutenant governor, is preparing for the next chapter of his life.

He has been an active member of the local community for years, and now, he's ready to fill John Crosbie's shoes as the province's 13th lieutenant-governor.

Fagan hosted one of his last events on Wednesday as the chair of the board of directors of the Health Care Foundation.

"I'm just hoping now that I have the opportunity to meet more people that are out doing community work and I'm looking forward to it," he said.

Fagan said the appointment comes at a tough time, as his family is grieving the loss of their son.

"We've had a recent tragedy in our family, with our young son passing away, and we thought, you know, we really [have] to help out more."

Fagan, a retired Bell Aliant chief operating officer who has volunteered with numerous organizations, said he's up to the task.

"All they have to do is ask and I will go out of my way to make sure I'm available to anyone in this community who would like me to drop by and encourage them and support them and recognize them or do anything I can … I'm available," he said.

Wife will play important role

Meanwhile, Fagan said his wife, Pat, will play an important role in his new position. He made that point in response to criticism from NDP Leader Lorraine Michael, who said a woman should have been chosen as the next Queen's representative.

"I wish she was the lieutenant-governor and I was the partner but unfortunately it wasn't like that," he said.

"She will be there with me and she will be as much the lieutenant-governor as I will be. She might not be able to sign the order papers but everything else she will be front and centre with me on it."

Fagan said he recently had a tour of his new home, Government House. He also got some advice from Crosbie about his new gig.

"He said it's a great job. He said it's a job that gives you an opportunity to meet and work with people throughout the province, and just wished us good luck and gave us all the encouragement that he could possibly give us."

Fagan officially takes over from Crosbie in March.