For the eighth year in a row, Wellington County council handed out its volunteer awards.
Seven recipients, representing the county’s seven municipalities, received the awards in a packed council chamber on April 25.
The Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington, in partnership with the County of Wellington, announced the recipients of the Wellington Volunteer Appreciation Awards.
Picking up awards were Henry Boertien of Minto, Ken Cornelisse of Guelph-Eramosa, Diana Gagnon of Centre Wellington, Heidi Matthews of Erin, Rob McKay of Mapleton, Barb McKay of Puslinch and Kate Rowley of Wellington North.
Councillor Lou Maieron presided over the award ceremony, with Tania Framst, executive director of the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington, opening the ceremony.
Framst noted that over the past eight years about 60 county residents have been recognized for their volunteer and community work.
“Each of the recipients has taken the time to serve their community,” Maieron said. “Volunteers build and sustain healthy, vibrant communities.”
Minto resident Henry Boertien has lived in the County of Wellington since 2004. He is married, has four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Boertien spent 26 years working at Home Hardware in St. Jacobs before he retired, at which point he decided to give back to his community. He is a volunteer driver for the VON and supports the organization by picking up clients at their homes and taking them to medical appointments. Officials say his calm demeanor and listening skills make him a “go to” person. He has been volunteering with the VON for over five years and gives over 500 hours of his time per year to this cause.
“I want to thank God for this,” Boertien said. “Without him I couldn’t do this.”
Ken Cornelisse has lived in Rockwood for approximately 16 years, having moved there with his spouse to start their family in a small community. Cornelisse works full time for the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Shortly after moving to Rockwood, Cornelisse began volunteering. He participated in road-side tree planting to improve the streetscape of the community. Cornelisse has devoted many years to Rockwood Minor Soccer and the Stanley Stick Hockey Association in Guelph by sharing his skills and passion for the Sports through coaching. He has supported the township for 12 years as an ice rink volunteer and has been the lead hand at the Lloyd Dyer Park ice rinks for nine years, including coordinating other volunteers and daily rink maintenance.
“My pleasure comes when looking out my patio door and seeing all the kids using the rink,” Cornelisse said after receiving the award. “It’s something our community really benefits from.”
Diane Gagnon has lived in Elora with her husband Dr. Troy Herrick since 2004. They have a son, Marc. Gagnon is a retired teacher and works part-time as a representative for Primerica Financial Services. She has been volunteering with Hospice Wellington since 2007 sharing her expertise in therapeutic touch and reiki with those who are suffering with emotional or physical pain. Gagnon also volunteers at Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus providing treatment to patients undergoing chemotherapy. She has been a strong advocate for the use of therapeutic touch at the hospital and mentors new volunteers to ensure hospital guidelines are followed. She has also brought the two organizations together as a lead volunteer for the Hospice Wellington Wellness Group at Groves hospital.
“I’ve always enjoyed helping people and it makes me complete,” Gagnon said. “I would encourage everyone to volunteer.”
Erin resident Heidi Matthews and her husband Jim have lived in the community for 25 years and have five children.
As a homemaker she has had the opportunity to volunteer her time to a number of causes. She has a long history of initiation and participation in a number of community environmental projects. She has been a member of the Climate Change Action Group since its founding in 2007 and works to create awareness and local strategies to address climate change. She is also an integral part of the “Fast Forward Environmental Film Festival” which presented five films on worldwide environmental challenges and offers a discussion period for options for local change.
Matthews also works with Transition Erin and is the co-chair of the Sustainable Development Working Group. Most recently, she has embraced the work of the trails committee of Erin to help choose trail sites, organize tree planting and encourage service club sponsorship. Matthews champions the importance of local food and is on the board of directors for Everdale Organic Farm.
“I look at this award as a reflection of the people I work with,” she said.
Puslinch resident and former county councillor Barb McKay has lived in Puslinch for 29 years with her husband Don, who is a current county councillor. She retired in 2000 from a career in social work but has stayed active in her community through municipal politics and volunteering. McKay has volunteered with Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis since 1987, when she identified the need for counselling services for women in rural settings. She helped to develop the Rural Women’s Support Program and worked as a phone support volunteer. She has been a board member since 2007 and an active member of the fundraising committee.
McKay was also a founding member of the Community Oriented Policing Committee and volunteered with them for five years. She was a leader in the Friends of Mill Creek project and acted as its fundraising co-chair for 10 years. She also volunteered for Special Olympics for five years, helping athletes with special needs achieve their goals.
McKay has also participated in two Habitat for Humanity projects – one women’s build and one to build an accessible house.
“Volunteering is important for everyone,” she said. “You get so much more (out of it) than you give. The volunteer is the unsung hero who works behind the scenes and gets things done.”
Mapleton resident Rob McKay has lived in the county with his wife and children since 1983.
It was noted at the ceremony that he moved to Mapleton to enjoy the better weather on the advice of his brother Don, a current county councillor and former meteorologist.
McKay has been an active volunteer with the Alma Optimist Club since 1996. He can be found helping with beef barbecues, the Elora Fishing Derby and other events requiring the Optimist Food Booth. He was the club president in 1999, 2002 and 2007 and also held the position of secretary five times.
McKay was the Optimist Lieutenant Governor of their zone in 2000 and 2001. He has been the grade 5 spelling bee chairperson for the Zone for 10 years and the Mid-Western Ontario District for seven years. His work with the Optimist Club has enabled him to bring his love of Sports and recreation to the Alma Public School to run activities like a softball competition, basketball skills, disc golf, soccer skills and bicycle safety.
McKay is also involved in coaching minor softball, hockey, soccer and football in a variety of roles and for many years.
He has been a leader with the Alma/Creek Bank Boy Scouts for three years. He is a founding member of the Alma Community Recreation Committee (ACRA) and has been a member for six years and is the Optimist representative for the Mapleton Township Communities in Motion group.
“I’d like to congratulate my fellow volunteers for helping to make their communities better and stronger,” he said. “All I want is recognition for the people who work with me as volunteers. I became a volunteer because I wanted to give back to the community.”
Wellington North resident Kate Rowley is married to a local family doctor and has three children, all teenagers. Moving to the Mount Forest area 13 years ago with a very young family, she knew it would be through volunteering that she could learn about her community.
Rowley has volunteered with the Mount Forest Museum and Archives for 10 years and has been the president for two years. She played a huge role in securing several grants to support heritage building upgrades, including an accessible ramp and restoring the exterior, as well as the creation of commemorative plaques and the purchase of digitizing equipment to professionally catalogue the 4,000 artifacts.
The group operates out of the historic former Post Office building in Mount Forest, located at the intersection of Wellington and Main streets.
Rowley has spearheaded museum initiatives such as remaking the building’s basement into a clean and safe archival storage area and to redesign and modernize the kitchen. With her team of 40 volunteers, she has made our history a part of our future.
She accepted the award on behalf of her team of volunteers.
“I’m most excited about taking this back north to Mount Forest and sharing it with the 40 volunteers,” she said.
