For Immediate Release - April 25, 2007

BURLINGTON, ON - Mayor Cam Jackson and award sponsors presented Civic Recognition Awards at the annual awards celebration held Tuesday April 24, 2007 in the Emerald Room at the Burlington Convention Centre. The event was attended by over 170 guests, including a number of previous winners of the Citizen of the Year award.

Nominees

Each of the individuals nominated for Civic Recognition Awards was recognized for their contributions and presented with a certificate of congratulations, in a unique frame from the Burlington Art Centre:

David McKay, Doris Coderre, Ellen Wilkes Irmisch, Ena Hordyk, Grace Fewster, Leslie Bullock, Ruth Urbasik, Sound of Music Green Team, Syja Hughes, Wayne Moore, Beverley Jacobs, Sally Romanowski, Sheila Cassidy, Ian Wilkes Irmisch, Senior Performance Team (Academy of Film & Performing Arts) and MM Robinson High School.

Citizen of the Year

Jim Baker, Chair of the Inter Service Council, presented Leslie Bullock with a framed certificate and gold City lapel pin for her devoted and energetic service to worthy causes. Leslie’s award recognizes her efforts and leadership in a variety of ways. She has been a 10-year member and past President of the Burlington Art Centre Board of Directors and currently sits on the Permanent Collection Committee.

While President, she was very busy and effective and helped develop a major Millennium exhibition, featuring the works of Robert Bateman, Ken Danby and many international and regional artists. As Chair, Leslie also oversaw the Centre’s renovation and expansion project.

Leslie has also done outstanding things for Aldershot. She helped found the “Plains Road Vision”, a community-based initiative that put together a vision of what Aldershot could be. She helped raise funds for such projects as the parkette at King and Plains Roads. Leslie has also applied her impressive leadership to support the Carpenter Hospice through community fundraising. This past February, she chaired the 2007 Gala, which raised more than $200,000.

Junior Citizen of the Year

Daniela Roque, on behalf of B’Nai Brith, presented a watch to Sheila Cassidy, from MM Robinson High School. The Junior Citizen of the Year is a Burlington secondary school student, 18 years of age or younger, who has contributed to the school and wider community.

Sheila spearheaded MM Robinson’s drive to collect canned goods for the Burlington Food Bank and has helped plan and lead fundraisers for the Terry Fox Run, the Gula Walk, the Red Cross Hurricane relief, as well as contributing within her school.

Sheila was recognized as Junior Citizen of the Year for her role in raising awareness and funds to support the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which supports grassroots projects in Africa that help women, children, grandmothers and others living with HIV and AIDS. It currently funds over 100 projects in 14 African countries. Fundraising efforts were so remarkable that Stephen Lewis visited the school to thank them for their support. Sheila showed herself to be a leader who believes in the value of the team and in the importance of modelling what you want to see in others.

Community Service Award

Frank Myers, Manager, Programming and Community Relations, Cogeco Cable Inc. presented Syja Hughes with a metal sculpture by Boris Kramer, called Mentor.

Syja has been a volunteer at the RBG for 10 years, where she has performed many roles behind the scenes with the RBG Auxiliary. The Auxiliary has more than 300 volunteers, who have been delivering a wide range of volunteer services for more than three decades. Syja handles the accounting, payment of bills and donations to the RBG. She has also recruited, interviewed and placed new volunteers and is known for making these new recruits feel excited about their role at the RBG. Recently, she stepped up to the challenge of publishing the annual report. As a volunteer, Syja spent many hours learning the publishing program, taking pictures, editing articles and doing layout.

While much of her contributions may not be visible to the public, she is a loyal, professional and giving volunteer who is committed to the RBG and her community.

Arts Person of the Year

Ellen Wilkes-Irmisch presented Ruth Urbasik with a blown glass sculpture by Jan Beda, called Dancing Souls. Ruth is the dance captain of the Burlington Footnotes, an enthusiastic troupe of senior dance performers who specialize in various styles. Since its inception in 2000, the Footnotes have grown from six to over 100 members. The group entertains at hospitals, senior residences, conventions and variety shows throughout the year.

As Burlington’s ambassadors, this group has performed twice in Itabashi, Japan. While in Japan, Ruth has shown her talents to organize, lead, help and entertain in any situation. As dance captain, she has taken new members under her wing and made them feel accepted within the group. She is extremely talented: she can sing, dance, and play the banjo and guitar.

She is also a member of a senior quartet called Side-by-Side, who entertain shut-ins and seniors in the community. Ruth is also the “heart and soul” of the group the Singing Strummers. She makes sure that hundreds of residents in nursing homes and retirement residences get to enjoy the group’s engaging entertainment.

As one nominator wrote, “I feel she deserves the award not only because of her talent but her caring and unselfishness in dealing with all ages.”

Environmental Award

Past District Governor John Stairs presented David McKay with carved stained glass by Bruce Hall, called Wildwood, sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Burlington, Burlington Central, Burlington Lakeshore and Burlington North. This award is presented to an individual or group who, through dedicated efforts to improve and/or protect Burlington’s environment, has been an example to the community. In 1971, before environmental activism was in vogue, David joined the Citizen’s Committee for Pollution Control. Four years later, he was the coordinator of this group, which developed an early example of the blue box program.

In 1982, he organized a conference for students with Jacques Cousteau. Following his retirement from teaching, David joined the Burlington Sustainable Development Committee (in 2001), a citizen’s advisory group on sustainable development issues.

While on the committee, David always volunteered to raise public awareness on how to make Burlington a more sustainable community, through local events, including Halton EcoFest in Oakville and the Canada Day celebrations at Spencer Smith Park, and at local libraries holding workshops on gardening and energy conservation. He has also championed the Battery Recycling program, which diverted more than twenty-five hundred kilograms of batteries from the landfill.

Dave’s most significant accomplishment was to coordinate the State of the Environment Report for the City of Burlington in 2004. Currently, he is volunteering his time to finish writing and editing the 2007 edition of this report.

For more information, please contact Kim Phillips at phillipsk@burlington.ca or by phone at
905-335-7702.

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Communications Contact:
Janine Westera
Communications Advisor
Tel. 905-335-7600 ext. 7885
Fax. 905-632-9082
E-mail. westeraj@burlington.ca

Media Contact:
Kim Phillips
City Clerk
Tel. 905-335-7702
Fax. 905-335-7881
E-mail. phillipsk@burlington.ca