FERGUS – Kathy Bouma is pleased, honoured and surprised to receive the Citizen of the Year award from the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber held its Awards of Excellence gala on May 30, where Bouma was announced the winner from a pool of nominees.
Bouma is a member of the Fergus and Elora/Salem horticultural societies and is district director of Wellington and Dufferin counties (district 7) for the Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA), overseeing 14 local horticultural societies and garden clubs.
She also belongs to the Wellington County Historical Society, currently serving as treasurer and secretary.
Those are her biggest volunteer efforts, but Bouma also belongs to the Elora Cataract Trailway Association, and recently began volunteering for the Elora Festival Book Sale.
She also works at the Fergus library, where she’s seen as an unofficial ambassador for Centre Wellington.
She often helps newcomers learn about what’s on offer in the township, from clubs to shops to other resources.
In an interview in her backyard on June 2, Bouma took a moment to reflect on her contributions and what drives her to volunteer her time and expertise to these community causes.
“It’s so rewarding, and you work with like-minded people who want to contribute and give back to the community,” she said. “You make great friends and great connections. You’ll never be sorry.”
Bouma has lived in Fergus for 27 years and as a young mother, her volunteer time was spent on her kids’ activities.
As they grew, she was able to dive into her own interests and joining the horticultural society was among the first.
“Barrie Hopkins was my mentor” with the horticultural society, she said.
“He taught me about propagation and so much about plants. A lot of our members have experience and knowledge and are so happy to pass it on.”
Her involvement with local clubs led to her formally becoming involved in the OHA. Next year Districts 7 and 8 are hosting the annual general meeting and conference and Bouma is co-chair.
‘Amazing project’
The historical society recently worked with Susan Thorning to publish a manuscript written by her brother, Stephen Thorning, who was a towering figure when it comes to local history.
Stephen died in 2015 and some years later, Susan came across a manuscript outlining the history of Elora.
“Susan brought it to the attention of the board – Steve was a big part of the society,” Bouma said, adding that after three years, the book launched in May.
“It was an amazing project,” she said.
Bouma was a young woman when she nominated Rienk and Robert Vliestra for Citizen of the Year, and Bouma’s nominator is also a young man, Michael Black.
“To have someone in his 30s make the nomination says a lot,” she said.
“That’s the generation we need to have volunteering. So for him to recognize the importance of volunteering is very heartwarming. This community would not be what it is without volunteers,” she added.
“I’m a very happy Centre Wellington resident right now. This is a big honour.”
