Ryerson man named local Burk’s Falls champion in July for his volunteer work

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Bob Hall, who turns 76 in October, has been recognized for his volunteer work with several organizations, but most of all for his work over the years on the Santa Claus Parade Committee and the Winter Festival Committee.

A resident of Ryerson Township is the July Local Champion for the Burk’s Falls area.

Bob Hall, who turns 76 in October, has been recognized for his volunteer work with several organizations, but most of all for his work over the years on the Santa Claus Parade Committee and the Winter Festival Committee.

When contacted by the Burk’s Falls town hall office announcing him as the July winner, Hall told The Nugget he wasn’t totally surprised.

That’s not to say that he expected someone to name him for his work over the decades. His good friends Ken and Diane McIntyre, who also worked on the committees he served on, suggested they could nominate him for the local champion award.

“It was very nice,” Hall said.

“But like most volunteers, we don’t do these things to be recognized. We hope that what we are doing also encourages others to volunteer.

Hall encourages young people to volunteer their time for a group or cause and is a big supporter of the 40 hours of community service that high school students must complete to graduate. It also encourages students to go beyond the 40 hours of community service and continue their volunteer efforts into adulthood.

Young people in the community have benefited from Hall’s work because he has helped organize dances for teenagers for many years.

When new residents move to the Burk’s Falls area, Hall encourages them to get involved as well.

He says it’s pretty easy when adults have kids who play sports. In these cases, it is simply a matter of mum and dad getting involved in the sports organization in one way or another.

“So people won’t know you at first, but by getting involved they meet other parents and now you have a common interest,” he said.

“You get to know other people, they get to know you and you are part of the city. And it’s not just any city. This is your city. It is your house.

Hall is grateful to two longtime residents of Burk’s Falls who have interested him in volunteering and taking active roles.

One is Viola (Vi) Thomas and the other is Barb Marlowe.

Years ago, Thomas operated the first Visitor Center in Burk’s Falls and was instrumental in getting Hall involved in the Santa Claus Parade.

That involvement then spread to the Winter-fest, with Hall ultimately chairing that committee and getting a lot of help from Marlowe, who was a city councilor and also treasurer of the Santa Claus committee.

Hall says it’s very important to recognize volunteers for their work.

As chairman of the Santa Claus Parade and Winter Festival committees, he kept a record of all the volunteers who helped and every five years these people received Appreciation Awards signed by Hall and the treasurer of the committee.

“It could be something they could put on the wall,” he said.

“I said to people, ‘I know you might not want it, but do you know how much that means to your mother, your father, or your children? ” he said.

Hall speaks from personal experience on this point.

In 2012, he received the Diamond Jubilee Medal to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th birthday as monarch.

His father accompanied him to the ceremony.

“My dad was a WWII veteran in the Canadian Navy and the look on his face you could see the glow,” Hall said.

Hall is particularly fond of the volunteer work he did years ago at Ryerson, when the township was preparing to create civic addressing for the 911 response service in rural communities.

“Me and five other people measured the distance from house to house in Ryerson and all of this information we gathered was used to develop 911 emergency response and civic addressing,” he said. -he declares.

Hall was also involved with others in renaming township streets and their chosen direction was to name the streets after early settlers who were historically significant to the area.

Hall has stepped back from chairing committees and cites age as the main reason.

But he remains involved as a volunteer with the various helping groups where he can, including helping the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Hall also does historical research on the earliest families in the Burk’s Falls area and he was able to acquire artifacts which, after being displayed at the local library, will make their way to the museum for good.

He does the work on the early pioneers now before he and the older generation pass away, because at this point much of the information will be lost.

Although Hall no longer chairs committees, he remains very involved in volunteering in various groups and says that along the way and over the years he has “met some very wonderful people.”

The Local Champion program runs until the end of the year.

Residents of Burk’s Falls, Ryerson or Armor who are named Monthly Champions receive a $ 100 gift basket filled with items from local businesses.

Residents who wish to nominate an area volunteer can go to http://www.burksfalls.net/announcements/burks-falls-local-champion to complete the online form.

– Rocco Frangione is a reporter for the Local Journalism Initiative who works at the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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