It has become a tradition at Minto council to recognize the achievements of residents, and Paisley Perrie has a number of accomplishments to recognize.
That includes the North American championship of her short track speed skating division earlier this year.
Deputy-mayor Judy Dirksen said recently, “I read about your accomplishments over and over again … and I think … do we have her in this time? No, if we wait another two weeks, she’ll have won another competition. Or, if we wait another couple weeks, you’ll have had another competition. And sometimes, you have more than one accomplishment in the same story.”
“We’re very proud of you here in Minto and we’re proud to call you our own.”
She quipped “Every once in a while, I see Paisley Perrie, of Mount Forest … and that bothers me … and I’m glad to see it bothers you just a little bit too.”
“Hopefully we can get that rectified, because you are definitely Minto’s own.”
Dirksen said the certificate on behalf of the town recognizes Perrie’s significant achievements in speed skating.
“Because there are so many, they wouldn’t all fit onto this certificate.”
Perrie was wearing her medallion from the North American championships earlier this year. The event was held in Madison, Wisconsin.
Perrie won overall in the midget girls division for North America. The competition involved the top speed skaters – four from Ontario had qualified earlier in the season.
Recreation director Dave Stonley said, “Minto is very fortunate to have this gifted athlete living here and we are all extremely proud of her accomplishments to date.”
“We wish her the best in the future and I’m sure we will be hearing a lot more about her in the future.”
Councillor David Turton said he watched Perrie competing in Waterloo one Saturday afternoon. He wanted to find out exactly what short track skating was.
“It was a really interesting afternoon,” he said. “I spent about an hour talking to Alex [her father], who was a speed skater as well.”
