South Frontenac volunteers of the year

Jun 20, 2018

Mary-Jo Dowker
Mary-Jo Dowker is well-known in Verona, especially in the softball community, having been involved for 11 years, most as convenor. This is a time-consuming role that begins long before the softball season, usually in January or February, and continues until Fall. As convenor, Mary-Jo liaises with and represents Verona at the Frontenac County Minor Softball Association. She takes care of all the registration, recruiting of coaches, equipment and uniform maintenance, purchasing and organization. She also does all the scheduling for Verona/Hartington Softball and coordinates with the Frontenac County Minor Softball Association and the InterCommunity Softball Association to avoid conflicts.

Mary-Jo organizes umpires through the Limestone Umpire Association, acts as the treasurer and fundraises too! Field maintenance, washrooms and clubhouse are all taken care of by her, in coordination with the Lions Club, who owns the facilities. She has also been the treasurer and secretary of the Frontenac County Minor Softball Association. She has been a member of the Portland District Recreation Committee for 10 years and has been involved with minor hockey as well.

In addition to all her work in local sports, she has been a member of the Christmas for Kids Committee in the Verona area for 10 years. When her children were young, she was an active member of Parent Council, holding the positions of treasurer, secretary and vice-chair.

As any volunteer knows, time is a precious commodity. Volunteering with a young family as Mary-Jo has adds another layer to her commitment. It is with heartfelt thanks that the community relays their appreciation on behalf of the many children and families who have benefitted from her time and dedication.

Kerry Fox
Kerry started her volunteer work as a young high school student. Kerry volunteered at the local united church and taught Sunday School.

Recently, Kerry joined two other women in making over 250 pairs of warm mitts and slippers for a class in Betecheco, North West Territories, where her eldest daughter teaches.

Over the past 22 years, Kerry has been a member of the Storrington Minor Soccer Club Executive and has taken on the role of both secretary and registrar for the club. Kerry has coached numerous teams and developed an ingenious system for player substitution that ensured all her players were able to play the same amount of time.

Kerry has helped with organizing and conducting the fun day canteen for the soccer club. The proceeds from the fun day go to the Storrington Minor Soccer Club bursary fund that has helped over 175 kids play soccer in the community who might not have been able to participate otherwise.

Prior to the start of the soccer season, Kerry is there to install nets on their frames, coordinate the teams and answer the many calls about the soccer season.

Kerry has been married to Kevin for the past 37 years and is the mother of two grown children, Katelyn and Kortney.

Kim Deline
When it comes to being a South Frontenac citizen extremely involved in community service and an outstanding leader and role model for our children, one noteworthy citizen arises – Kim Deline. Kim has been extensively involved with community events over the years: As a member of Parent Council of Loughborough Public School, she hands out hot lunches and successfully champions her volunteer teams for Family Fun nights; she assists with Canada and Family Day celebrations, along with S&A Club events; and she coached soccer for five seasons. While she has excelled in these, in her true passion – Girl Guides of Canada – she has far exceeded.

Kim has had a tremendous impact on girls aged 5 to 17, working as the Contact Guider for the 1st Frontenac Guides and Pathfinders (2015–2018) and the 1st Sydenham Brownies (2012–2014). In 2017, while juggling the administration of Sparks, Brownies, Guides and Pathfinders, she founded the 1st Frontenac Extra Opportunities (‘Extra Ops’) unit for girls aged 12 to 17 in our area. Through weekly meetings and weekend events, Kim has been providing youth-centred programming, encouraging girls to learn, to make friends, to grow and discover the very best in themselves, and above all, to be a good citizen.

In 2017, Kim stepped up to organize and implement an incredible 90th Year Celebration of Carruthers Point Camp, the oldest Girl Guide camp in Ontario. This event was attended by approximately 200 Guides and Guiders of South Frontenac, Kingston and its surrounding area.

Kim approaches each task passionately, no matter how daunting. She multi-tasks all this volunteer work diligently around her demanding career as an Emergency Room nurse and while managing a busy family at home. As a result of her volunteer “career” and sincere dedication to community, Kim is truly making a difference in the lives of countless residents of our Township. Congratulations on this award, Kim. So justly deserved.

Boyd Goodberry
Boyd Goodberry, a lifetime resident of South Frontenac having recently retired from Kingston General Hospital, has spent quite a lot of time volunteering for the Social & Athletic Club. We are lucky that Boyd is so handy; his handyman skills were definitely an asset when we received the Trillium grant last year to renovate the club hall. Boyd was at the hall every day for very long days working tirelessly alongside the contractors, and even keeping up the momentum after the renovations were complete.

We are very proud to have him on our team of directors and members. Boyd’s volunteering did not just start when he retired. Boyd has been helping out with the Canada Day in the Park Celebrations for many years. His BBQ chicken over a fire was always the best around. Boyd is also known for his generosity and talents; always donating hand-crafted gifts for the Chinese Auction and graciously bringing down his trailer to the park for the Canada Day Celebrations to use as a headquarters.

When the going gets tough, Boyd is always there to lend a helping hand; setting up the hall for functions, picking up supplies, setting up and tearing down for events at the park, fixing a toilet or changing the locks on the cupboard doors. Boyd is one of the most reliable, hard-working volunteers we have ever had. He attends monthly meetings and is not afraid to ask the hard questions for the good of the club. He is also known for his excellent bartending skills at many functions such as Euchre nights, dances and Chinese Auctions. Boyd also was on the 150th Celebration Committee, attending meetings and helping out in any way that he could. Thank you for your dedication, and for volunteering many years of service to our community

Marilyn Goodberry
Marilyn has lived in the area for all of her life and is a proud, active member of our community. She has been a long-standing, invaluable and active member of the Harrowsmith Social and Athletic Club. Marilyn wears many hats for the club and the community. Marilyn is currently treasurer and hall rental manager as well as club director. She is also involved in marketing events, maintaining the club hall and supporting softball in Harrowsmith. Marilyn has also volunteered her time to support organizations such as The Children’s Wish Foundation.

Marilyn’s keen passion for helping develop new initiatives and expanding on existing initiatives has enabled the club to successfully offer such events as euchre fun nights, Canada Day in the Park, Santa Parade and Open House, Chinese Auctions, dances, children’s parties, babysitting courses and VON exercise classes, to name a few.

Marilyn is a very hard worker as well as team player. Running large events such as Canada Day and the Canada 150th Celebration & Road Rally is definitely a team effort and can be challenging at times. Keeping track of the many vendors, events and entertainment that must be paid, as well as managing the revenue and expenses involved with events and the club, is no small task. Marilyn has greeted these challenges with a positive and determined attitude. She is known for hunkering down and getting things done. Marilyn has spent countless hours dedicating her time to making sure that everything always runs as smoothly as possible.

To put it simply, the community and the Harrowsmith Social and Athletic Club are very lucky to have such a generous, hardworking volunteer. The successful running of many events and the S&A Club would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of volunteers like Marilyn. Marilyn is an asset that we simply could not do without.

Thank you for your endless years of service to our community.