Peggy Revell
With years of service that would total more than a millennia if added altogether, the contributions of the region’s volunteers were recognized here last week with the presentation of the 2011 Volunteer Service Awards.
“You seek to offer your spirit, your energy, and your goodwill,” said Colleen Moran, with the Ontario Honours and Awards Secretariat of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, which oversees the awards.
“You offer much to many in your community, and it doesn’t go unnoticed,” she stressed.
This year’s ceremony, held May 17 at the Townshend Theatre, drew people from Rainy River District, as well as the Kenora, Dryden, and Sioux Lookout areas.
While only a few dozen were able to attend, 75 people in all from across the region were recognized for their years of service, receiving pins and certificates demarcating “milestones” such as five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and more years of service.
Volunteers are the “heart” of our communities, Moran lauded, noting this was the 25th anniversary of the provincial awards program, with 150,000 volunteers having been honoured over that span.
This year, the province will see more than 10,000 volunteers saluted.
No stranger to volunteerism, reigning Fort Frances Citizen of the Year Joyce Cunningham was the guest speaker for last Tuesday evening’s ceremony.
Cunningham noted that right now, we’re seeing in the news stories of many people who are volunteering and donating when natural disasters strike, such as the flooding in Manitoba.
“But every day across this province, there are thousands of people who are quietly volunteering their time, their expertise, their knowledge, and their creativity to make our communities better,” she noted, praising and thanking the hard work and dedication that volunteers have and their “quiet leadership.”
This year saw two district youth presented with volunteer awards.
Crystal Lambertson of Alberton was honoured for her time spent with Fort High’s “Medical First Responders” and Devlin’s Jon McCoy for his volunteerism with the Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum in Emo.
Other area recipients this year included:
Fort Frances
•Wendy Agar, Friends of the Fort Frances Public Library (10 years);
•Vivian Callaghan, Fort Frances Horticultural Society (10 years);
•Barb Cousineau, Friends of the Fort Frances Public Library (five years);
•Nadia Felix, Fort Frances Horticultural Society (25 years);
•Arlene Georgeson, Fort Frances Public Library Board (five years);
•Dianne Hoffman, Fort Frances Horticultural Society (10 years);
•Donna Law, Fort Frances Horticultural Society (10 years);
•Pamela Makarchuk, Fort Frances Horticultural Society (25 years);
•Ann Ostby, Fort Frances Horticultural Society (25 years);
•Gladys Payne, Friends of the Fort Frances Public Library (10 years);
•Margaret Rahn, Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum (40 years);
•Joseph Sletmoen, Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (10 years);
•Shirley Stuart, Friends of the Fort Frances Public Library (10 years);
•Gordon Taggart, Friends of the Fort Frances Public Library (10 years); and
•Sean Ward, Fort Frances and District Youth Justice Committee (five years)
Devlin/Emo
•Marcine James, Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum (40 years);
•Kathy Smith, Rainy River District 4-H Association (five years);
•Dale Stamarski, Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum (20 years);
•Sheri Stamarski, Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum (15 years);
•Allen Teeple, Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (30 years);
•Jason Teeple, Rainy River District 4-H Association (10 years);
•Shirley Teeple, Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (30 years);
•Tina Visser, Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum (30 years); and
•Bernie Zimmerman, Chapple Volunteer Fire Department (10 years)
Barwick, Stratton,
and Sleeman
•Marvis Darrah, Chapple Volunteer Fire Department (five years);
•Abram Eberly, Chapple Volunteer Fire Department (10 years);
•Clifford Eberly, Chapple Volunteer Fire Department (10 years);
•Leonard Larsen, Rainy River District Women’s Institute Museum (five years);
•Lavern Martin, Chapple Volunteer Fire Department (five years);
•David McKelvie, Chapple Volunteer Fire Department (10 years);
•Rick Neilson, Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (30 years);
•Trish Neilson, Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (25 years);
•Bill Romyn, Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (30 years); and
Dorothy Taylor, Girl Guides of Canada (30 years)
Atikokan
•Dennis Brown, Community Living, Atikokan (20 years);
•Pat Desrochers, Pioneer Club of Atikokan (10 years);
•Susan Hanson, Northwest Community Legal Clinic (five years);
•Avis Henderson, Special Olympics (10 years);
•Henry Kooper, Pioneer Club of Atikokan (15 years);
•Marj Lambkin, Atikokan Renewal Committee, (five years);
•Jay Leather, Atikokan Renewal Committee (five years);
•John Monroe, Atikokan Renewal Committee (five years);
•Debi Rasinaho, Community Living (five years); and
•Carol Robinson, Pioneer Club of Atikokan (10 years)
