The Volunteer Centre of Guelph-Wellington and Wellington County announced the recipients of the sixth annual Volunteer Appreciation awards at the council meeting on April 28.
The program recognizes contributions of individuals who devote volunteer time and effort to nonprofit and charitable organizations. This year, winners ranged from people who plant trees to those who helped to create food banks, and dozens of other contributions in between.
The mayors of each township were asked to introduce the winners and present their awards.
Centre Wellington
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj saluted Norma Seibert, who has been volunteering with Groves Memorial Community Hospital since 2000 when she moved to Fergus.
Seibert began by delivering meals to patients and sorting items for the Fergus Opportunity Shop. She also served on the board of directors as vice-president, president, co-president, and currently is past president.
She is also active at the Victoria Park Seniors Centre and is helping to prepare for the Seniors Games hosted by the township this year. She sits on the advisory board and program board for the centre.
Ross-Zuj noted that Seibert has also worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Seibert thanked everyone for the award and said she would share it with “all those who volunteer with me … It’s been a pleasure.”
Wellington North
Mayor Ray Tout said his township’s recipient “is one of those unsung heroes.”
Keith Lloyd has been a member of the Kin Club since 1999, holding positions of treasurer, registrar, membership director, past-president and vice president.
He participates with the local Scouts troop as a Cub Leader, a member of the District Service Team and the Kinsmen sponsor representative. Lloyd also has coached baseball, been a member of the minor baseball executive committee and runs a program to raise funds for hockey, soccer, figure skating and baseball.
He has been an active member of the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival planning committee since its inception 10 years ago.
Tout noted Lloyd has raised thousands of dollars running the Nevada ticket program.
Lloyd thanked everyone for the honour.
Guelph-Eramosa
Warden Chris White, the mayor of the township, announced Erik Stern is the recipient. Stern has been involved in improving community and health services for Guelph-Eramosa through his work with the Rockwood Fire Department and as president of both the East Wellington Community Services and East
Wellington Family Health Team boards. He has contributed to the success of the new Rockwood Fire Hall, including helping to bring an ambulance service to the community. The newly constructed Rockwood medical centre is also a testament to Stern’s dedication. For five years, he spent many hours coordinating provincial and local governments, as well as various stakeholders and organizations to rally support and coordinate fundraising efforts to achieve that goal.
White said Stern has been “a bulwark in our community. Stern continues to work with the economic development committee and the commercial corridor improvement committee.
Puslinch
Marilyn Crow is the recipient for Puslinch.
Crow’s volunteer participation includes a variety of organizations. She has contributed as a 4-H Homemaking club leader, a board of education trustee, a county library board member, a regional library board member, a member of the provincial library task force, and the co-chair of the Harcourt Memorial
United Church design and build committee.
She currently is a founding member and the chairman of the
Puslinch heritage committee and a founding member and the past president of the Puslinch Historical Society.
Mayor Dennis Lever said Crow has “been involved for a number of decades.”
It is estimated that she provides 500 hours of volunteer work to her community each year.
Crow told the packed gallery, “It’s been really my joy to be able to give back.
Mapleton
Paul Day was a founding member of the Wellington County Stewardship Council and spent many years promoting the conservation and enhancement of land and environmental resources throughout the County.
Mayor Bruce Whale joked that his and Day’s ancestors cut down too many trees when the cleared the land, and Day has been working hard to replant many of them.
Day chaired the Peel history book committee that wrote about the history of Peel Township. It was so successful that the extra money from it was used to start planting trees. After amalgamation, that program expanded to the Trees for Mapleton program.
Day works with local farmers to plant windbreaks, living snow fences, buffers, shelterbelts, and corridor planting. Trees for Mapleton led to the creation of the community forestry initiative which, in turn, evolved into the Wellington County Green Legacy program. That program has received provincial, federal and U.N. recognition.
Day also participates in his community as an active member of the Mapleton Historical Society.
He credited all the people he has worked with over the years. “I had a great group of people to work with,” he said. “That is where the power comes from. Working with groups.”
He added that having worked in a bureaucracy and in other sectors, he likes the volunteer sector. “That’s where you can get things done,” he said, adding he salutes the county for stepping up with its Green Legacy program.
Minto
Rose van Sickle is the recipient for the Town of Minto.
She volunteers her time to variety of organizations.
Mayor George Bridge said van Sickle and he had met at church suppers.
Bridge said his own father always told him to “give back to the community,” and that is why he was so pleased to present van Sickle with the volunteer appreciation award.
With the Upper Grand District School Board, she has been the chairman of the Norwell Secondary School council for three years. She also served on the vice-principal eligibility hiring committee. She is an active member of the St. George Anglican Church having served as the treasurer, the church warden, and coordinator of the parish hall renovations.
As a Girl Guide leader, she organizes camps, attends meetings, promotes the organization, plans the cookie sales, and arranges for Guide participation in community events. She has also supervised Pathfinder groups on international trips, recently returning from Europe with 37 youth.
Van Sickle also supports Caressant Care Nursing Home in its seasonal events, bus trips, and resident visiting and feeding.
Bridge estimated that she does over 200 hours of volunteering a year.
Van Sickle said, “I love volunteering. My best friends, I met volunteering.”
Erin
Mayor Lou Maieron introduced Erin’s winner, David Robart-Morgan.
“He’s a leader in our municipality,” Maieron said. “You either like David or you like David.”
Robart-Morgan has been a member of the board of directors and a volunteer with the East Wellington Community Services since 2006. He currently sits on the board as the past president. His main focus has been food banks and seniors programs.
He has been a driving force in the creation of the new food bank in Erin. He is the chairman of the seniors advisory committee and oversaw a needs assessment that created a report to guide the future service needs of seniors in Erin.
Robart-Morgan stepped into the role of “gatekeeper” for the organization after a time of crisis. That has helped ensure service delivery was not interrupted and all reporting requirements were met after the executive director suffered injury from an accident.
Robart-Morgan was born in Zimbabwe and came to Canada in the 1960s. He told the gallery, “I had no idea what opportunities this country had.”
He started in Winnipeg and became the president of the Canadian Jaycees. He particularly cited the “opportunity to volunteer.”
He added, “I only did what was expected of me.”
All the recipients received an Inukshuk as well as a certificate for their work.
Cathy Taylor, the executive director of the Volunteer Centre, said, “The contributions of the volunteers we honour today have made an exceptional difference in our community.
“It is those volunteers whose generosity of time and spirit build our communities and inspire others to contribute to making Wellington County a wonderful place to live.”
