Citizens recognized for their community work at the 70th Queen's Jubilee

By Pepper Parr

July 22^nd, 2022

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The event was originally going to be held in Civic Square – extreme heat killed that idea – so it was held at the Art Gallery

73 citizens were going to be recognized for their contribution to making Burlington what it is – they were publicly recognized by Karina Gould, Burlington’s Member of Parliament and a member of Cabinet along with Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.

Names were announce and a 150 word – max – description was read and the person came forward.

The Gazette has been covering the city for more than ten – we knew many of the recipients – but there were many we did not know.

And some of the things they did were remarkable – all simple acts, done with little in the way of fanfare.

Some paused before they stepped up to the platform and did an ever so slight bow then stepped in between the Mayor and the MP.  Mayor Meed Ward presented the certificate which was bound in a vert attractive leather case.

Along with the Certificate was a pin signifying that the person was recognized as one recognized in the Queen’s 70 Jubilee.

MP Gould urged people to wear their pins.

The recipient are:

Robert Ankrett
Bob is a key volunteer at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 60, organizing many events and focusing what the Legion stands for. Some of Bob’s milestones at the Legion include memorializing 28 WW2 veterans, arranging anniversary ceremonies including Remembrance Day, bringing the veteran banner program to the city, and curating memorabilia for the Legion Museum.

Leslie Bell
Les served as the president of the Burlington Soccer League for almost 30 years, and Tournament Director of the Ken Bradwell Soccer Tournament for 4 years. He has also been running a series of trivia quizzes called “Let’s Get Quizzical!” to raise funds for Joseph Brant Hospital, Oakville Trafalgar Hospital and Juravinski Cancer Centre. Les is a great friend and naturally gifted spokesman and compere which was recognized during his work life at RBC.

Robert Bennett
Robert has acted as the managing director of the Burlington Teen Tour Band for over 40 years. Robert has provided outstanding leadership, direction, friendship and sometimes comfort to the members of the band. He always provides positive encouragement to the legions of youth who have passed through the band program.

Catharine Benzie
Catherine is a dedicated volunteer at the Burlington Public Library. Catharine has an inclusive and approachable leadership style and acts as the Chair of the Board. She has worked to make the library safe and welcoming for everyone and has contributed to the development of two BPL strategic plans. Catharine also volunteers at Pineland Public School, and makes Burlington a better place to live, play, and work.

Raj Beri
Raj had a distinguished career as a Hydrographic Surveyor and for 37 years has been the President of Arya Samaj Burlington. Under his leadership, Raj has facilitated donations to women’s shelters, homeless shelters, the Joseph Brant Hospital, the Carpenter Hospice, and food banks. He also organized church services and cultural and social events for the community to enjoy. He always promotes inclusiveness and acceptance.

Lesline Bess
Lesline is a retired nurse and has given her time to St. Christopher’s Anglican Church for many years. She tends their gardens, and packages donation barrels to send to St. Vincent for those in need.

Hilda Binns
Hilda is a decorated athlete, having medaled at multiple Paralympic and Parapan American games. She also acted as an ambassador for Canada at the 2012 Paralympics. Hilda was a founding member of the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association and for several years Hilda was national membership conveyor for the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association. Hilda was successful in having Hamilton put in corner curb ramps and having Burlington lower walk signal buttons. She taught children about disabilities in schools, bringing her 58 medals for them to try on! She also volunteered at the Grand River Correctional Centre for Women and as a wellness checker for the community.

Marianne Bromley
Marianne has been a leader in Girl Guides for over 35 years. In that time, she led all the different age groups: Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers. This is a commitment from the heart as she was involved with Girl Guides as a youth and received the highest award in Guiding, the Canada Cord. She has travelled with different groups to The Chalet in Switzerland, Pax Lodge in London, Netherurd House in Scotland and several national camps in Canada.

Ken Brooks
Ken was one of the founding members of Friends of Freeman Station in 2011 and continues to be one of its most dedicated and hardworking volunteers. In the past year Ken has spent hundreds of hours helping refurbish a 1929 CPR caboose with his hands on carpentry skill while also leading a crew of other volunteers. This valuable artifact would not be available to the citizens of Burlington and the surrounding area without Ken’s amazing contribution.

Dorothy Brownhill
Dorothy has volunteered for over 25 years at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church, and has volunteered for all her life. Her current project is creating snack packs for those experiencing housing homelessness in Hamilton’s Gore Park. She and her group support around 300 people every single weekend.

Rick Burgess
Rick has a strong volunteer presence in our community. He has generously given his time to the Burlington Community Foundation, the Halton Police Board, the Chamber of Commerce, Tansley Woods, John T. Tuck Public School, the Burlington Holiday Market, Creative Burlington, the Burlington Museum Foundation, and many more. He is a committed and dedicated resident of Burlington and has received a number of awards for his contributions including a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Stuart Carrothers
For the past decade, Stuart has cared for some trees on the property of a public school that back on to his yard. He will prune the trees, water them, and repair any damage, all out of his own pocket. He says he does this as the school board may not have the resources and that it is good to care for and plant trees whose shade you do not expect to always sit. His son who nominated him shared that “I know it’s a small thing but sometimes the smallest things take up the most space in your heart”.

Ian Chan
Ian is the co-owner of Code Ninjas Burlington. Recently, he has been volunteering on the Six Nations Reserve to help older students and teachers learn how to code, so they can then teach younger grades in a culturally appropriate way. When the Mohawk language teacher was set to retire, Ian quickly found a way to integrate Mohawk into the coding curriculum. Ian also set up “teacher sessions” within Halton to teach basic coding to educators and started a program at Code Ninjas to match children living in poverty with community sponsors so that they can have the opportunity to learn.

Gabriela Covaci
Gabriela has worked to support newcomers to Canada since arriving from Romania in 2003. Gabriela is an amazing role model and mentor for anyone that came in touch with her, has been an active volunteer member in the community. She has founded a non-profit, mentored young women transitioning into technical fields, been an ambassador in the Halton for All Campaign, chaired the Halton Region Newcomer Strategy Project, fundraised for women in transitional housing, and authored books. She did not stop during the pandemic and pivoted to help support people.

 Rick Craven
A former city and regional councillor, Rick is a strong advocate for Aldershot. Rick founded the Aldershot Community Council, as well as Partnering Aldershot and the Partnering Aldershot Newsletter. He worked to form the Aldershot BIA, to help drive local business improvement. He has inspiried others by being the initiator of so many projects, a community builder, energizer of the team, preserver of the history, a mentor to many, and true champion of the cause

Craven took Zoom; there wasn’t a chance that he would stand with the Mayor and receive his certificate

John D’Addario
John has been a member and leader of the Knights of Columbus service club for many years and seems to have boundless energy to serve. He is very much an “idea” man and comes up with all sorts of ways of fundraising for the community. Thank you for your years of generosity and teamwork, John.

Maria DiDanieli
Maria represents our health care industry at its best. Through her work at the Burlington Family Health Team, she serves the community selflessly. Her “people-person” nature shines through in in the amount of work she is doing to impacting people’s lives in a positive way.

Mary Dilly
Mary has a true compassionate spirit. She helps women leaving the Halton Women’s Place resettle with donated furniture that she collects. She has started a business helping seniors downsize and move into seniors’ residences around town. Mary helps to run a sit-down Christmas dinner for the community and has also fostered 13 service dogs!

That 13th dog took part in the presentation – didn’t bark

John Doma
John was appointed by the Slovenian Ambassador as Honorary Counsel for the Republic of Slovenia. John continues to wear this voluntary hat with honour, passion, commitment and respect. His main driving forces are to build bridges and collaborative sustainable relationships between the two countries. John is also the President of the Canadian Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and volunteers at free tax clinics, sport coaching, and supporting startup businesses.

Marilyn Fish
Marilyn has always taken care of the community. Always an advocate for safety, she had the speed reduced on the straightaway of her street and the bus stop changed to her front yard to see the children safely off to school. She was involved as a leader in Girl Guides, dragon boating, and is now involved in the Art Gallery of Burlington Weaver’s Guild, acting as the treasurer.

Family members would walk to the stage behind the parent that was being recognized and take pictures

Leanne Forsyth
Leanne is a survivor of human trafficking and now an advocate for supporting survivors and raising awareness. Her strength and resiliency shine through in everything she does.

Roki Fukuzawa
Roki volunteers her time with the local Halton Breastfeeding Connection program which provides free mother to mother telephone support for breastfeeding mothers. This is very impactful to the new mothers as having support from a recent breastfeeding mother provides comfort that someone has gone through all the ups and downs of breastfeeding and can offer tricks and suggestions when problems arise. As Roki is fluent in three languages (English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese) she is usually paired with new mothers who do not speak English or would prefer to have support in their mother tongue.

Lisa Garland
Lisa brings value to Home Suite Hope. Lisa is the Board Treasurer and has supported individuals as they move through the program. She is also involved with the gymnastics club and leads finance related Life Skills Modules and Income Tax sessions. Lisa has fulfilled her commitment to HSH and is now joining the Joseph Brant Hospital board.

Donna Gillies-Marson
Donna has been giving her time, talents and heart to many over the years. She recently retired as a teacher for Blind and low-vision individuals. She has served with the Children’s Aid Foundation of Halton, Burlington Meals on Wheels, and has helped to increase awareness for stem cell donations when her close friend’s lost their daughter to cancer.

Pat Gilmore
Pat began a unique initiative during COVID called Meals of Hope, which now runs 5 shifts out of Port Nelson United Church. They supported Wellington Square and Gore Park Community Outreach Program. She is an active participant in a Winter Clothing Drive and works to stock Port Nelson’s lending library with books.

Marion Goard
Marion co-founded 100 Women Who Care Burlington, a philanthropic giving circle that supports a variety of charities and initiatives that serve the Burlington Community. The group has raised a collective total of over $192,000 for over 30 charities.

Eunice Gorman
Eunice makes time to help anyone in the community. She assists the community by removing garbage and keeping the streets clean and helps seniors stay active.

Barb Guilfoyle
Barb serves on the Dare to be You team as well as at Halton Women’s Place. Her kind and compassionate spirit to always lend a helping hand is unwavering. She never seeks recognition and has consistently and generously volunteered her time with numerous community organizations.

Darlene Halchuk
Darlene is the Community Coordinator for Special Olympics Burlington who exemplifies leadership and inclusion in the community. She is responsible for the operation of 8 Winter Sports and 5 Summer Sports involving over 200 athletes. During the pandemic Darlene worked hard to ensure our athletes stayed connected with each other and were supported. Darlene works hard to reduce barriers to participation and is always encouraging athletes, coaches and parents to live their best lives.

Ancilla Ho-Young
Ancilla worked as a nurse and provided compassionate and non-judgmental care. She is heavily involved in the community on the Halton Equity and Diversity Roundtable, she leads the Burlington Caribbean Connection, was a part of the Burlington Inclusivity Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Board of Community Development Halton and North Burlington Baptist Church. Ancilla has been instrumental in sharing Caribbean culture with our community.

Beverly Jacobs
Beverly has volunteered at the Carpenter Hospice, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and the Juravinski Centre. She has spent 30 years as a peer counsellor for breast cancer patients and was also on the board of directors for the Breast Cancer Network of Canada. Beverly also found time to volunteer at Freeman Station and in local and provincial politics.

Bozena Jokel
Bozena is very involved with the Polish National Union of Canada, volunteering her expertise as a CPA to help with accounting, taxes, grant applications, and budgeting. She was instrumental to ensuring that the Polish Centre in Burlington was able to make it through the pandemic, as well as a dedicated leader on the board and hardworking secretary.

Imran Kamal
Imran is an active community volunteer and organizer. He established Hamilton Lawyers Feed the Hungry, volunteers at a Men’s Live-In Addition Treatment Centre, serves on the Mission Services of Hamilton, the AIDS Network, the Burlington Housing Strategy Working Group, and numerous other organizations. Through his work, he is a strong advocate for the LGBTQ2+ community and Indigenous child welfare.

Ed Keenleyside
Ed is a dedicated Burlington community member, giving his time to Scouts Canada, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Legion, the Bruce Trail Association, the Historical Society, the Friends of Freeman Station, the Burlington Teen Tour Band, and more. He is committed to preserving Burlington’s history and played a role in repairing and recognizing the Burlington Cenotaph on its 100th anniversary.

Mikael Kingo
Mikael is a young leader, actively supporting the hockey community. He raises funds and supports hockey players with new equipment, “Day on the Ice “events with NHL players, scholarships, and mentorship opportunities. He also volunteers at local hospitals and collects donation items for patients. He is a true role model in our community.

Joseph Daniel Lauzon
Dan has proudly served our country with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment and also with the Airborne Regiment. He has served in the Gulf War as well as in Somalia. Now retired, he volunteers with the Royal Canadian Legion Brach 60. Dan has held positions as the Colour Guard Commander, the Veteran’s Affairs Officer, and is now the Vice President.

The balance of the recipient are identified in part 2