Duane Hicks
Volunteering is not a solo affair—it’s about the people you work with while doing it.
That’s the message Larry Patrick delivered shortly after humbly receiving his “Citizen of the Year 2015” plaque from Mayor Roy Avis on Monday evening.
“There are two slogans I live my volunteering life by, if you will,” noted Patrick, who took the lead in Fort Frances hosting the Dudley Hewitt Cup this past spring and then organizing “Duncan Keith Day” on Aug. 1.
“One [sign] hangs in the Ice For Kids lobby, and I believe there’s one here at the Civic Centre, and it says: ‘Volunteerism is the rent you pay to live in a good community,’ and I felt at some point my rent was overdue,” he remarked.
“The other one was . . . ‘You can’t go through life with two catcher’s mitts on your hands. You have to be able to give something back.’”
The retired teacher said it was a honour to accept the award but stressed his endeavours have been collaborative efforts.
“I’ve been privileged to work with some great teammates,” Patrick said.
“The two recent committees that I served on—the ‘Duncan Keith Day’ and the Dudley Hewitt tournament—I was blessed with a team of passionate, committed, dedicated volunteers,” he noted.
“I can’t stress enough that while I may have been the leader, I was only as good as those people following me,” he added.
“And yes, I was meticulous.”
Over the years, Patrick has volunteered for events ranging from the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship to OFSAA hockey tournaments, and “every one of those experiences was rewarding because of the people I engaged with.”
“That’s the key to volunteering for me—it’s the people you engage with,” he reiterated.
“While sometimes there’s drama with it, the positives far outweigh the drama.”
Patrick said he believes in the resiliency and vibrancy of Fort Frances, and has accepted the challenge of enhancing life through volunteering.
“Fort Frances—the ‘Jewel of Northwestern Ontario’ as I often refer to it as—is fortunate to have a legion of volunteers that, without exception, showcase outstanding, significant events,” he noted.
“We’ve set the bar so high, I don’t believe there’s a community anywhere that could outdo us when it comes to staging these events,” added Patrick.
“Engaging with volunteers who are passionate about their roles is priceless and, council, you’re going to love this, ‘boundless.’”
In addition to thanking his wife, Josie, son, John, and daughter-in-law, Kristin, as well as other family and friends, Patrick gave special thanks to the Fort Frances Lakers’ volunteers, noting they’re a dedicated, passionate group that he’d put up against any organization in the country.
They do it for no reward other than to showcase junior hockey in Fort Frances—and they do a good job.
Patrick also served on the Fort Frances Sports Hall of Fame committee this year, and referred to Terry Ogden and Dave Egan as “giants in the volunteer business.”
“My time on the Sports Hall of Fame committee was really fun with those two fellas,” he said.
“Dave had the wit, if you will, and Terry had the passion, and I kinda just went along for the ride,” he noted, adding the inaugural Sports Hall of Fame awards banquet in August was “another successful event that we showcased.”
Ogden shared a few words on behalf of himself and Egan.
“Part of this was based on Larry’s volunteering for years,” Ogden said. “We all know about 2015, but he’s been doing this for quite a while—sometimes in the background, sometimes in the front.
“As an educator, he would help many kids and teachers, as well.
“He’s volunteered at the bass tournament, running the parking for a number of years,” added Ogden. “And for all four OFSAA tournaments, starting back in 1977.
“We’ve had four of them here and Larry ran the busing for the teams once they get into Fort Frances.”
Ogden also noted Patrick has helped with the Lakers in the background.
“2015 was a bit different. He was stellar with his contributions,” said Ogden, noting anyone who’s worked with Patrick knows that “stellar” is one of his favourite words.
This year, Patrick chaired the Dudley Hewitt Cup committee “to great success,” Ogden lauded.
“Emotionally, for this community, when we were reeling a little bit with the paper mill situation, we needed a boost,” he remarked.
“And the Dudley Hewitt Cup gave the community a boost emotionally, and I haven’t seen the books but I would think it gave the Lakers a boost financially.”
In the midst of chairing the Dudley Hewitt Cup, Patrick joined the Fort Frances Sports Hall of Fame committee and made a significant contribution to that group.
Prior to the inaugural Hall of Fame banquet in late August, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.
Being a friend of the Keith family, Patrick was a natural choice to chair the “Duncan Keith Day” committee.
“And we all know how that turned out and what a blast we had there,” Ogden said.
“In conclusion, 2015 was a very busy year and Larry, your performance as a volunteer and leader in this community was stellar,” he added.
“Congratulations on your selection and thank you on behalf of the people you’ve worked with and for.
“Thanks Larry.”
On behalf of town council and the citizens of Fort Frances, Mayor Avis thanked Patrick for accepting the honour of “Citizen of the Year 2015.”
“He has touched the lives of most citizens from children to adults, being an educator and being a volunteer,” the mayor noted.
“I know, Larry, that Fort Frances was always first and foremost in your thoughts,” he added.
This year, Patrick did “a remarkable job” chairing the Dudley Hewitt Cup committee and the “Duncan Keith Day” committee, Mayor Avis said.
“I learned very quickly that Larry was a perfectionist,” the mayor remarked.
“I had an opportunity to work with him on the ‘Duncan Keith’ committee, and if you accepted a role in planning, you had to give weekly reports—and excuses were not accepted, that’s for sure,” he quipped.
He concluded that Patrick is “very deserving” of the honour bestowed upon him.
Mayor Avis also read a letter from Duncan Keith’s dad, Dave, congratulating Patrick for being named “Citizen of the Year.”
“Larry has been, and continues to be, a dedicated individual who continues to strive to make Fort Frances a truly great place to reside in and to have come from,” Dave Keith wrote.
Patrick is to commended for all his hard work; he was instrumental in making “Duncan Keith Day” a reality, he added.
“It was a credit to Larry’s meticulousness that the event proceeded flawlessly,” wrote Keith, who on behalf of himself, wife, Jean, sons, Duncan and Cameron, and daughter, Rebecca, thanked all of the citizens of Fort Frances, and especially Patrick, for the “tireless energy that he devoted to organizing and planning this event.”
“We truly enjoyed ourselves,” Keith noted.
“Thanks again, Larry. You are truly deserving of the ‘Citizen of the Year’ award,” he concluded.
