Heather Johnson, the executive director of Fort Frances’ Chamber of Commerce, has been named Citizen of the Year for her many years of passionate support for the community and dedication to the town’s business and community organizations.
Recipients of the Outstanding Citizen awards were announced last week by Mayor Andrew Hallikas during the town’s annual volunteer appreciation barbecue at the Memorial Sports Centre’s upstairs auditorium.
Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas praised Johnson for her many years of leadership in and support for the community.
“She is a cornerstone of our community and one of our unsung heroes,” Hallikas said. “She is a determined supporter of Fort Frances and its business community. She has contributed greatly to our economic success through her work as Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce; she has made Fort Frances a better place to live and to thrive, and the town of Fort Frances thanks her. Now it’s her turn to be celebrated and recognized for all the wonderful things that she has done for Fort Frances.”
Johnson said that community work has been a lifelong passion and that her job with RBC always put her in a position to get involved with volunteers.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “No matter where I’ve lived—Atikokan, Fort Frances, Thunder Bay—All of them were for the Royal Bank, which is very much into volunteerism, being in the community and helping out whoever requested it.”
The Outstanding Citizen awards enable the Town of Fort Frances to acknowledge the notable efforts of societal contributions and acts of volunteerism of select people who are seen to consistently go out of their way to make the community a better place to live.
The awards given this year were the Outstanding, Volunteer, Lifetime Volunteer, Junior Citizen and Citizen of the Year awards.
“Today is all about celebrating the heart and soul of our community, the amazing volunteers who make Fort Frances such a great place to live,” Hallikas said in a speech during the barbecue. “For without our volunteers, Fort Frances would be greatly diminished, and so I extend a very special welcome to all of you here who are volunteers.”
Alexis Latter, a Grade 12 student at Fort Frances High School, was awarded the Junior Citizen Award for constantly going out of her way to volunteer and her engagement as a member of groups in Fort Frances and across the district. Hallikas noted that she has a strong ability to lead her peers and an honest desire to work alongside others before he called on her to come accept.
“She has a genuine desire to be involved, and acts on that desire,” Hallikas said. “This young person sets an example of what a volunteer is and is a role model for people of all ages. She is an asset to our community. The town of Fort Frances is grateful for all that you have done to make your community a better place.”
Latter said she hopes her nomination and recognition will encourage other young people to step up in the communities they are a part of as well.
“I hope that from this, it’ll make other youth my age and younger than me want to go out and volunteer more often,” Latter said. “I just try to be involved with everything that I do. Every time an opportunity comes up for me to volunteer, I always try to take advantage of it.”
Carol Booth was named Volunteer of the Year, with Hallikas noting her regular work with seniors. “She has, in her retirement, made excellent use of her skill in hair cutting. Bringing joy, a new look and style to as many seniors as she can, she often brings treats to staff and residents alike,” he said. “The town of Fort Frances thanks you for this dedication and care that you bring to our seniors.”
Booth said her involvement has never been about winning recognition, and that volunteering with seniors was simply a passion to which she feels dedicated.
“I worked at Rainycrest for 20 years,” Booth said. “I got called back in to come in as a volunteer and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go do this.’ I’m older than some people in there, but you know what, I love it.”
The newly instituted Lifetime Volunteer of the Year Award, which recognizes a person who has dedicated a large part of their life to serving the community, was presented to Diane Maxey for her work with children and on town committees, and for sharing her great spirit and musical talent with the community.
“She leads by example and always has a positive outlook and an encouraging word for everyone that she meets,” Hallikas said. “I attend many community events in my duties as mayor, and I see this individual at almost all, selflessly volunteering her time and talents.”
Maxey, who was named Citizen of the Year in 2009, said that nothing she does in the community is for any type of reward and that she wouldn’t be able to do it alone.
“I’m just overwhelmed,” she said. “You never do anything like this for gratification, but it’s awesome. I’m very, very humbled to receive this, and it’s just a blessing to work in this community. You can’t do it by yourself, it’s everybody that you’re involved with, and that makes it so wonderful and so easy to do.”
Another new award, Outstanding Group of the Year, was given to the Eighth Street Trails Committee in recognition of its high motivation and hard work in rebuilding community trails that act as a valuable asset, giving residents of the town, or anyone else in the district who can make the trip, access to walking trails that can also be used for winter recreation such as skiing and snowshoeing.
