By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
A group of individuals representing the Cobourg Community Centre Vaccination Committee got a standing ovation at Wednesday’s Cobourg Civic Awards.
The mood was jubilant as well for the announcement of more than 30 other individuals who won honours at the 20th annual Civic Awards event, held in the Victoria Hall Concert Hall.
Following a virtual awards presentation last year, Councillor Nicole Beatty commented on how good it felt to hear live music, with the Concert Band of Cobourg offering a musical welcome to the audience.
Emcee Lynda Kay, who was part of the original committee, noted that the awards began in 2001, the International Year of the Volunteer.
And Cobourg’s traditional VIPs for civic events were also on hand, with poet laureate Jessica Outram and town crier Mandy Robinson sharing their own talents.
Mayor John Henderson said he had given a lot of thought in designating a winner for the Mayor’s Award of Distinction, and the 14 dedicated individuals known as the Purple Shirts could not be beat.
This group includes Paul Allen, Nancy Bruce, Richard Brulotte, Mark and Linda Essak, Ann Grozier, Lynda Kay, Helen Lackey, Gord and Patti Ley, Brian Read, Kym Read, Dr. Bob Scott and Roger Tessier.
Their efforts in setting up a mass vaccination clinic were carried out in collaboration with the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit, Northumberland Hills Hospital, the Ontario Health Team-Northumberland, Northumberland County and the Town of Cobourg. They also recruited about 600 volunteers who would eventually administer more than 50,000 shots to fight COVID-19.
Henderson recalled how impressed Premier Doug Ford had been when he visited the clinic at the Cobourg Community Centre. He was not the only one, the mayor reported – it became a model emulated by mass-immunization clinics throughout the province.
Referring to the orange T-shirts the volunteers wore, he continued, “orange became our new symbol of courage, hope and promise for a better tomorrow in the fight against the virus.”
The evening saw a spotlight turned on the many individuals of all ages who have enriched the community in a wide variety of endeavours – including the posthumous winner of the Angus and Bernice Read Volunteer Award.
The late Douglas Lloyd was an employee at Brookside Youth Centre whose compassion was not confined to his job. He was also a volunteer whose efforts were invaluable to the Help and Legal Centre, Probus Club, Salvation Army, St. Peter’s Anglican Church and the Northumberland Labour Council.
Four individuals won Distinguished Civic Awards for Arts and Culture.
Victor Svenningson spearheaded several major projects for Northumberland Players in spite of the pandemic, including last summer’s pop-up theatre productions that saw 28 shows take place over six weeks. He played a key role in writing and implementing safety protocols for both volunteers and patrons. These efforts made possible a Northumberland Players summer camp for 70 children, and he is currently overseeing the group’s new carpentry shop. He has personally contributed more than 400 volunteer hours to this organization over the past year.
Sharon Anderson put in more than 100 volunteer hours with Northumberland Players last year working on the group’s Costume House, updating policy and governance, and playing a key role in obtaining more than $130,000 in Trillium grants that, among other things, made possible the installation of new hospital-grade air purifiers at the Costume House and the Firehall Theatre (making it a safe place for rehearsals as well as the kids’ summer camp).
David Newland is a musician, writer, story teller, music historian and broadcaster. His Spirit of the Song show on Northumberland 89.7 involves extensive research to ensure the best possible presentation of the community’s musical treasures.
Kim Aubrey, a writer who helped organize the Northumberland Festival of the Arts, was also a key player in the Spirit of the Hills writers’ 2021 group project to keep local writers in the spotlight called Pandemic Times.
The Distinguished Civic Award for the Environment went to Tom Shea of the Blue Dot Northumberland group that works to educate people on the right and the need for a healthy environment.
He was praised as a strong and effective advocate with a collaborative approach.
Five individuals won Distinguished Civic Awards for Athletics.
Lisa Hughes was with the Northumberland Soccer Club for eight years, acting not only as a member of the executive but also in such hands-on roles as referee.
Carly Steed is a head coach and trainer with the West Northumberland Girls Hockey Association who also sits on the executive. She has played hockey since she was nine years old, and has helped develop a program that allows children to give hockey a try for the first time. She has also been a pancake-breakfast volunteer for 17 years at YMCA Northumberland.
Hilary Johnson, a student at Cobourg Collegiate Institute, is active in cross-country, swimming and track-and-field. She has won OFSAA championships in both cross-country and swimming, and track-and-field championships at Easter regionals. She helps mentor young athletes, works as a swimming instructor and lifeguard, and is also a member of the Northumberland Swimming Club as well as a competitive tri-athlete.
Brendan Woodward, also a CCI student, plays soccer, volleyball, basketball, track-and-field and cross-country. A basketball coach, he is an all-star player who qualified for OFSAA in cross-country championships and East regionals in track. He is also a student council member active in fundraising for various charitable projects.
Andrea Piazza, a St. Mary Secondary School student, is a strong leader in soccer, with perfect attendance for both practices and games. He earned an MVP designation at Kawartha finals. He is a member of the Cobourg Soccer Club and a volunteer with the West Northumberland Wild. And he also finds time to help his neighbours with snow shovelling and other tasks.
More than a dozen individuals were singled out for Distinguished Civic Awards for Community Service.
Darrell Manley is not only the treasurer for the Cobourg Knights of Columbus, he also volunteers for virtually anything that is needed at the Columbus Community Centre. And if his own two hands aren’t enough, he’ll bring his family in to help as well.
Mary Harnden took it upon herself to transform the drab strip of land around her apartment parking lot into a garden with colourful plantings at her own expense (and elbow grease). She also keeps an eye on her neighbours, sharing her homemade jams and baking generously. And during COVID, she stitched up dozens of facial masks based on the latest research to make sure her friends were safe as well as fed.
Nine leaders in the Girl Guides of Canada-Cobourg trooped to the stage to be recognized for their work in helping the local Girl Guides organization pivot over the course of the pandemic to ensure its young members could continue to be part of the movement, preserving treasured routines and friendships at a challenging time.
Dianne Brock originated the Cobourg Yesteryears Facebook group that – as Civic Awards advisory committee member Lynn McMillan said – “explores history, people, businesses, characters and characteristics of the town.” It is not only popular with residents, she said, but also with former residents who enjoy the nostalgia of looking back to their old home town.
Kenneth Ward is an active volunteer with Church on the Hill who helped develop the Mission Thrift Store and works with the Northumberland Promise group dedicated to helping lower-income individuals.
James Maguire is a volunteer with Rebound Child and Youth Services Northumberland, whose valued contributions include not only teaching young people the basics of playing guitar but also training staff in the use of Automated External Defibrillator machines.
Ian Beattie is a Habitat For Humanity ReStore volunteer who doubled his volunteer commitment to the store during the pandemic. He worked more than 500 hours in 2021, which is more than twice that of any other ReStore volunteer. He was also one of the volunteers at the mass-immunization clinic at the Cobourg Community Centre.
The Distinguished Award in Education and Technology went to Don Conway who helped establish the on-line platform for the Cobourg and District Sports Hall of Fame which showcases the sports history of the community. His work included categorizing more than 1,000 pieces of memorabilia, and he is now posting sports clippings.
The major awards followed, beginning with the Arts and Culture Award won by Lynne Templer of Northumberland Players. Templer has been with the group since its inception, first as a youth then as an adult. The award spotlights her work with the Costume House, the knowledge of fashion history that makes it so invaluable and the dedication to its organization and the upkeep of its more than 10,000 costumes that makes it the largest resource of its kind from Toronto to Montreal. It has become an invaluable resource for other communities’ theatrical offerings, as well as TV and movie productions.
Trish Whitney took the stage to accept the Environment Award as a true proponent of stewardship, from concern for the town’s tree canopy to her service on the town’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and her long-time Cobourg Horticultural Society membership (including a term as president). She encourages the beautification of both public and private spaces, and has the knowledge to help it along – this includes her work on the Five Corners Community Garden. She was part of the town’s efforts in the Communities In Bloom competition, with her dedication, organizational skills and personal shepherding of the judges on their visit.
The Heritage Award winner, Diane Chin, moved to Cobourg in 2013 and became chair of the Cobourg and East Northumberland branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. More recently, she has become chair of the provincial ACO. Her local activities include organizing tours of significant heritage buildings and sites, fundraising and her work on the restoration of St. Peter’s Anglican Church. She has also worked with Victoria Hall Volunteers and served as program chair for the Cobourg and District Historical Society.
Kate Current could not be present to accept the Layton Dodge Athletic Award, so her mother Jennifer accepted on her behalf. During her years at CCI, Current was at OFSAA six times in cross-country and track-and-field, winning silver in the 800-metre event. She continued cross-country and track-and-field at Western University, winning awards in both every season. She also won the university’s Female Athlete of the Year honours in 2019 and 2020 and was on the provincial university all-star team for both in 2021. Her 2021 track-and-field record shows a second place in the 1,500-metre and a provincial gold in both 1,500- and 3,000-metre. In fact, she holds her school’s record for the 3,000-metre.
Jennifer Darrell was named the winner of the Outstanding Senior Award for a long list of achievements, starting with her 27-year membership with Victoria Hall Volunteers and her decades-long membership in the Cobourg Horticultural Society. Since the start of the Ed’s House hospice project, she has been involved as a fundraiser and supporter, and she has also been a key supporter of the SONG (Sounds Of the Next Generation) program that provides free musical education and performance opportunities for young people. Recent years have also found her volunteering to distribute Christmas dinners to the less fortunate and putting in time at the Cobourg mass-immunization clinic.
Trudy Stacey won the Sportsmanship Award, a long-time supporter of girls’ hockey who began playing the sport at age four. As a member of the West Northumberland Girls’ Hockey Association. Her contributions include evaluating hockey try-outs and mentoring young players. She was also an invaluable volunteer in the big Cobourg Hometown Hockey event several years ago. Stacey is also involved in the Cobourg Senior Baseball rep team, and has won four provincial championships. As well, she is active with two local children’s cancer charity initiatives and has won the NCAA Hockey Humanitarian Award.
The Civic Awards Advisory member includes the mayor, Councillor Adam Bureau, Chair Beth Selby, Vice-Chair Olinda Casimiro, McMillan, Jennifer Ashley, Reva Nelson and Toni Galea, Executive Assistant to the Mayor and CAO.
