Longtime community volunteer Jean Campbell has been recognized posthumously with one of the province’s highest honours.
On Nov. 30 she was named one of 20 recipients of the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, which recognizes people who have made “exceptional long-term contributions to the quality of life in the province.”
Campbell, who died in June, was recognized for her “generous volunteer work and cultural advocacy,” which, “helped grow the Drayton Festival Theatre from its humble beginnings into the seven-venue phenomenon it is today.”
The citizenship medals are the second-highest civilian award given by the province, next to the Order of Ontario. They were presented by the Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell at a ceremony at Queen’s Park on Dec. 1.
“Through their inspired and long-term contributions, and without any expectation of recognition, these exceptional Ontarians have positively transformed the lives of countless people in communities in all parts of our province,” Dowdeswell stated in a press release.
“I thank them for their exemplary service, which enriches us and brings us all together.”
Drayton Entertainment artistic director and CEO Alex Mustakas has always been quick to recognize the vital role Campbell played in the growth of the theatre company.
“We are proud to learn that Jean Campbell, the first volunteer at the Drayton Festival and a key contributor to the Drayton story, is being honoured,” Mustakas wrote in a Facebook post.
“Jean is a knowledgeable, intelligent, compassionate woman who believes in giving back to the community. She has given so generously because she understands that volunteerism is the lifeblood of any community.
“In doing so, she has become a great friend to everyone at our organization … one who commands our respect and admiration.”
In fact, it was Campbell who first helped convince Mustakas of the theatre’s potential during a 1990 tour of the historic building, which once housed Drayton’s municipal office, council chambers, library, fire hall, garage and jail.
“I couldn’t believe it … Here was this beautiful opera house basically at the crossroads of two county roads,” Mustakas told the Advertiser several years ago.
Campbell became secretary-treasurer of the Drayton Festival Theatre, which was originally run through a committee of Drayton council. In addition to an administrative role, Campbell also headed up the theatre’s wardrobe department.
She was one of a number of volunteers who helped grow the company from modest beginnings into one of the largest and most successful theatre companies in Canada.
Today Drayton Entertainment welcomes over 200,000 theatregoers annually at seven locations: the original Drayton theatre, the Huron Country Playhouse and Playhouse II in Grand Bend, King’s Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene, Dunfield Theatre in Cambridge, and the Schoolhouse Theatre and Country Playhouse in St. Jacobs.
But Campbell’s volunteer work didn’t end with the theatre.
Over the years she also played important roles with the Mapleton and Wellington County historical societies (including a history column in the Community News, sister paper of the Advertiser), Drayton Rotary Club, the local agricultural society, Drayton Citizen’s Association, the Mapleton Cemetery Committee and as a volunteer driver for Wellington Community Services.
Campbell’s lengthy resume of volunteer work led to her being presented with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
-With files from Patrick Raftis
