8 people who made a difference in our communities in 2013
stories by Janet Lees, people photography by Christa Galloway & Richard Galloway
People are the cornerstone of our communities in Southern Georgian Bay, and we can lay claim to having some of the best within our midst – people who quietly but persistently make a positive impact. On The Bay presents our annual salute to eight of these ‘Grassroots Heroes’ – extraordinary people from various walks of life, age groups and localities who have gone ‘above and beyond’ to make a difference that will be felt in our communities for years to come. Each of these remarkable individuals humbly denies being a local hero, but their achievements speak for themselves. We should all be proud to call them our neighbours and friends.
Culture Crusaders
Richard & Anke Lex
Collingwood’s downtown has become a thriving centre of arts, culture and heritage, thanks largely to the tireless efforts of Richard and Anke Lex. Rick, former president of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario’s Collingwood branch, and Anke, a local artist, have long championed heritage restoration, arts and culture in Collingwood. When they purchased the decrepit Tremont Hotel from the town in 2009, few could envision that it would become the cornerstone and catalyst for transforming Simcoe Street from a neglected side street into the town’s creative hub. Without grants or subsidies, the Lexes meticulously restored and refurbished the historic Tremont to house a café/restaurant, an art school (now a music school), and nine studio galleries featuring 14 local artists. “These older buildings definitely act as incubators for artists,” explains Rick. “Artists wouldn’t be able to afford space in a fancy new building. We had restored a couple of other buildings on Hurontario Street and put galleries in them, so we knew that artists like to be together while being able to put their own stamp on their space.”
The project was such a success, the couple expanded their vision. They purchased a boarded-up building across the street at 65 Simcoe, and once again set about creating usable and affordable spaces for local business and culture. The former dilapidated duplex is now home to Theatre Collingwood’s production centre and box office, the Enterprise-Bulletin newspaper, a spinning and knitting shop, a dance studio, a naturopathic doctor’s office, and a funky fair trade coffee shop. Anchored by the Collingwood Museum and the new library, the revitalized area now boasts more than 25 small, independent, creative and culinary businesses, earning the Lexes the affectionate nickname, ‘Saviours of Simcoe Street.’ “It turned out a lot better than we had even hoped,” enthuses Anke, adding, “It’s been a privilege. There is such a strong arts community in our area, it’s a pleasure to be able to support it.” With this vibrant cultural oasis now the linchpin in a flourishing downtown core, the pleasure is all ours.
Angel for Autism
Sheri Bulfon
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – it’s a devastating diagnosis that can leave parents feeling overwhelmed, isolated, terrified and alone. Thankfully, there is a beacon of hope for local families of ASD children. Her name is Sheri Bulfon. “Support is what’s most important,” says Bulfon, whose son, Andrew, now 19, was diagnosed with severe autism at age four and is non verbal. “It’s about offering hope; sharing information on what’s new, what’s out there. It’s really awful when you get the diagnosis. It’s like, ‘now what?’” Helping families answer that question has become Bulfon’s life mission.
After attending an ASD group in Barrie for years, Bulfon decided it was high time area families had a resource closer to home. More than 40 families of children on the autism spectrum can now meet monthly at the Collingwood YMCA to share information and support. Bulfon also brings in guest speakers, including experts and specialists such as speech therapists and behavioural therapists, many of whom often have long waiting lists that keep them out of reach, particularly for families dealing with a recent diagnosis. Parents of many ASD kids must provide round-the-clock care, as children on the autism spectrum often don’t keep a regular schedule. So Bulfon has put together a list of capable people who understand the issues and can babysit or take a teenager out for an evening to give parents a much-needed break.
Bulfon keeps in touch with ‘her families’ through regular email blasts detailing the latest research, telling stories of hope, or extending an invitation. ASD behaviours can make it difficult to socialize as a family, and Bulfon offers regular opportunities to share the larger world through special events, perhaps a film, a skating or tobogganing outing, or a swim for kids with challenges. Recognizing that dads need support, too, Bulfon recently organized pizza and beer evenings for fathers of ASD children to interact. As if all this weren’t enough, Bulfon also uses her outreach and organizational skills to raise funds for the cause. A singer in a local band called Highway 26, she recently held a Rockin’ for Autism event that raised $5,000 for Autism Ontario’s Simcoe County chapter. “We were sold out a month before the event,” she says. “The donations poured in. I could cry.” True to form, she is already planning Rockin’ for Autism 2014, to be held October 4 at the Collingwood Legion. Bulfon will be front and centre, singing her heart out for children with ASDs and the families who love and care for them.
Water Warrior
Joe Hayward
“There are water wars coming,” says Joe Hayward, “and they’re going to be bigger than the oil wars.” That concern has spurred Hayward into action over the past several years, getting the word out in Southern Georgian Bay that we have a duty to fight to restore our water levels. From his home on the water in Craigleith, Hayward has seen first-hand how dredging and erosion in the St. Clair River has drained our water from Georgian Bay. While others were still citing “normal fluctuation cycles,” Hayward could see that there was nothing normal about the record-low water levels. “Back in 2003, I could see there was something wrong with the levels. I had never seen the Bay act like that – it didn’t seem right.” He connected with Mary Muter, then the Georgian Baykeeper for the Georgian Bay Association, and has supported Muter’s efforts locally ever since. In 2004, he publicized and held a meeting in Collingwood at the Gayety Theatre. “I got about 90 people to come out, and quickly found out that nobody on this side of the Bay knew anything about water levels; no one was concerned about water levels.”
He started going on radio talk shows, writing letters to local newspapers, and doing whatever he could to raise the alarm. He’s now a member of Restore Our Water International (ROWI), of which Muter is vice chair, and he was instrumental in publicizing and organizing a series of public meetings throughout our area last summer in which ROWI explained its efforts to restore water levels lost through dredging and erosion in the St. Clair River. Hayward continues to support ROWI’s efforts and to educate the public locally. His overriding message is simple: “We are the custodians of this amazing resource, and it’s being lost under our stewardship.” After almost a decade of frustration born of apathy, Hayward is optimistic that there is finally some traction on the issue. However, he warns, “We need to really be careful to keep pushing, to keep people’s focus on this. There are challenges coming that we don’t know about yet, so as custodians of the lakes, we need to be vigilant.” Why does he continue to soldier on? “I’m not in this for positions or glory or whatever; I’m in this to save this wonderful lake of ours.”
Wasaga Wonder
Sylvia Bray
“You build your community as you build your business.” Wasaga Beach business owner Sylvia Bray is putting that long-held belief into action, lending her small business – and her own enthusiasm – to local, national and international causes. Bray is former secretary and incoming president of the Wasaga Beach Rotary chapter, and for the past three years has opened her store, Grandma’s Beach Treats, to Rotarians for the annual Popcorn for Polio fundraiser. “We all get together and pop and bag popcorn at Grandma’s Beach Treats, then sell the sleeves of popcorn all over town for a $5 donation,” she explains. Each $5 donation saves seven lives by providing much-needed polio vaccines in developing countries. “The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation triples every donation, so for every dollar we raise, it becomes $3. We raised well over $1,000 this year, which becomes $3,000 with the foundation grant.”
Bray also lends Grandma’s Beach Treats’ ‘spare’ equipment to schools, church groups and non-profits for use at their fund-raising events (“We have a popcorn popper and Sno-Kone machine that we loan and usually send along the supplies no charge, and if they want cotton candy we invite them into the store to help make it themselves before the event, which usually turns into a fun evening!”). She supports the local food bank as well as Hospice Georgian Triangle and the Canadian Diabetes Foundation. And she is tireless in her work with the Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach, which raised more than $90,000 in 2013 for local charities through its Corvette lottery and annual gala. “Wish it, dream it, do it” is Bray’s mantra. Her optimism is infectious, proving that no person, business or town is too small to make a difference. “We can do anything,” says Bray. “You just have to think big and work a little bit at a time.”
Pathfinder
Stewart Hilts
Environmental stewardship has been Stewart Hilts’ life work, and now, in retirement, he’s using his significant expertise to protect, conserve and expand our Bruce Trail. For 31 years, Hilts was an award-winning professor in the University of Guelph’s Department of Land Resource Science, serving as chair of that department for seven of those years and a former director of the university’s Centre for Land & Water Stewardship. He is chair of the Ontario Farmland Trust, which he established in 2001 to promote the conservation of farmland for farming in Southern Ontario. He has written numerous books and publications on natural heritage protection, conservation, land stewardship, pond and woodlot management, and has conducted stewardship workshops across the country. Hilts now volunteers his extensive knowledge to the Beaver Valley Bruce Trail Club, as the club’s land stewardship director, making sure that newly purchased properties are managed sustainably. “You have to be fairly careful with how you route the trail to make sure that it’s not having an impact in terms of erosion and other factors,” he explains. “Once a property is actually owned, I get involved, to make sure it’s cleaned up and cared for. We need to take all that science about how to care for land and make sure that when we purchase a property for a trail corridor, we’re also looking after that land – making sure that we’re managing it with care.
To celebrate this year’s 50th anniversary of the Bruce Trail Club, Hilts also invented the Anniversary Challenge to celebrate the conservation side of the club’s important work. “We do 12 short hikes to specific sites and identify features, helping people appreciate what we’re protecting through the stewardship program,” explains Hilts. “I also promote the idea of slowpoke nature walks, where you go really slowly and stop and look at everything and understand what you’re seeing – wildflowers, ferns, trees, geology. It’s great for people who need to go slower, or who just want to take some time to really understand what we’re protecting.”
Hilts is quick to point out that he is just one of an army of volunteers who preserve, protect and care for our local Bruce Trail system. “I’m a relatively new volunteer and it’s absolutely amazing to me when you see the volunteers who have been involved for 20 or 30 years and the work that they’ve done,” he marvels. “It’s very inspiring to be part of that group and join the effort.”
Children’s Champion
Laurie Copeland
Southern Georgian Bay is such a four-season playground for adults, it can be easy to forget that there are children in our midst. Laurie Copeland is making sure that children of all ages get a chance to play, with her wildly successful Creemore Children’s Festival. The biennial festival in downtown Creemore offers free, fun, grassroots activities for children and families. The 2013 festival, held in August, drew close to 7,000 people, doubling the attendance of the first event held in 2011. Copeland, owner of Creemore children’s store Cardboard Castles, says her vision for the festival is “to offer families a unique, creative and thoughtful event that is free of charge. By enlisting the talents of local artists and family enthusiasts, we are able to bring together volunteer-driven activities, sponsored live performances and professional demonstrations and workshops. We try to get back to some of the real basics of play and pure, physical, old-fashioned fun.”
This year’s extravaganza featured a dress-up booth, bubble-blowing booth, drumming and percussion booth, arts and crafts galore, musical performances, a magic show, ‘mad science’ demonstrations, and even brought in construction, farm and fire vehicles for children to explore. “We had all these wide-eyed children, but also wide-eyed adults,” laughs Copeland, adding, “We’re not only inviting children to participate; we’re inviting people to let the child within come out to play and explore. It’s about people coming together to celebrate childhood.” The next Creemore Children’s Festival will be held in Summer, 2015, if not before – Copeland says there is talk of making it an annual event. “There’s nothing like this in our area – nothing that’s just about kids.” In addition to being the driving force behind the Children’s Festival, Copeland is also chair of Ray’s Place, Creemore’s youth resource centre. “Children are at the core of what I do, what I believe in, and what I wish to inspire,” she says. “It all comes down to a shared passion for youth and a belief in the generous spirit that children encourage.”
Community Builders
David & Joan Black
The fabric of every community is its people, and the thread that runs through the fabric of Creemore always comes back to one dynamic couple: David and Joan Black. The Blacks have had a hand in most of the village’s major milestones over the past 20-plus years, from reviving the Purple Hills Arts & Heritage Society in the mid-’90s and reorganizing the financial structure of the Creemore Curling Club, to supporting Creemore’s Log Cabin and Medical Centre projects. But perhaps their greatest accomplishment for the village was the creation of The Station on the Green – a multi-purpose activity/event centre and community focal point that has become the heart and soul of Creemore. “Some of the people I was working with on Purple Hills had this idea of a Millennium Project, somewhat focused on building a replica of the old train station,” recalls David. “We applied for some grant money and didn’t get it, but by then we were committed to the idea.” David became chair of the effort, and over the next four years the Blacks and a committee of like-minded Creemorites “literally begged, borrowed and stole” to make the Station on the Green a reality. (“Well, maybe we didn’t steal,” laughs David. “But we probably would have, if it had come to that.”). Committee meetings were held at the Black’s farmhouse, with Joan’s home-made chocolate chip cookies as the highlight of every meeting.
“The committee was exceptional,” says David. With $400,000 in financial donations and hundreds of thousands more in donated materials, supplies, services and workmanship, The Station on the Green was valued at close to $1 million when it was finally unveiled in 2002. Since then, “The Station,” as it’s now known locally, has been at the heart of every major community event, festival, or gathering.
“When we go to any event at The Station and we see how widely it’s used for so many different purposes, we really just kind of grin and say, ‘this wasn’t a bad idea,’” chuckles David. While they play down their indelible impact on the community, the Blacks say their “true cause” has been their financial support of the Collingwood General & Marine Hospital. “We’re just very close to it,” says Joan “It’s something that will help everyone.” Explains David, “We had the greatest admiration and respect for our doctor, Scott Houston, and we wanted to do something to show Scott how much we appreciated his services.” “We asked him and he said, ‘give to the hospital.’ Over the next 16 years we made significant donations every year.”
The Blacks recently left Creemore for “the next stage of life” closer to their children in Toronto. They were sad to leave a whole town full of friends, but their lasting legacies to Creemore – and indeed, to the entire region – will be felt for years to come.
Hospice Hero
Rebecca Wall
“It’s been a big dream and a long journey,” says Rebecca Wall of the establishment of a hospice home in Southern Georgian Bay. Our new end-of-life care home, to be called Campbell House, has already broken ground and is slated to open next summer, thanks largely to Wall’s hard work and dedication. Located behind Collingwood’s Sunset Manor nursing home and close to the General & Marine Hospital, Campbell House will initially provide six palliative care beds for those at the end of life who can no longer stay at home, but also don’t want or need to be hospitalized. The plan is to expand to 10 beds down the road. “It is so exciting,” says Wall, herself a registered nurse. “We’re really focusing on maintaining a home-like atmosphere. There will be professional care there, but the atmosphere is going to be as home-like as possible.”
Wall has been involved with Hospice Georgian Triangle (HGT) since its inception in 1987. “I was on that first board, and even back then we said that what we really wanted was a hospice home.” While HGT has done incredible work over the years, including home visits, bereavement support, children’s grief support and the provision of two respite care suites at Sunset Manor, the dream of having an end-of-life hospice home was never forgotten. “In a way, having a hospice home in our community completes our community,” says Wall. “It’s been said that how we treat our dying reflects our community. It completes that circle of life. When someone has a baby, the mom can choose whoever she wants to be there. It should be the same at the end of life – you should be able to choose where you want to be and who you want to be with you.” Wall, now past-chair of HGT, credits many other volunteers, as well as donors and service clubs, for “easing the dream forward each year … I have just been the lucky one to be sitting in the driver’s seat when it all came to fruition.” Southern Georgian Bay’s aging demographic means Campbell House will be able to provide a much-needed service to our community. “It’s a fact of life – we’re all going to die, and we should all have some dignity and comfort at the end.”
