Stephen Vance, Editor
This weekend Meaford’s businesses, organizations, and community-minded residents will be showcased at the annual Community Awards hosted by the Meaford Chamber of Commerce. The event will also feature the awarding of the Rotary Club’s annual Citizen of the Year (and new this year, the Jr. Citizen of the Year).
Generally I’m not a very big fan of awards (after The Independent won our first community award in 2010 it was many months, and after much pestering from others, before I even hung it on a wall), but the annual community awards event is more than an opportunity to hand out some plaques, it is an event that brings many layers and strands of this community together for an evening where a positive light is pointed squarely at some of the most involved and engaged members of our community.
While the event is often thought of as one that honours local businesses, we must remember that it is a ‘community awards’ banquet, and not just a ‘business awards’ event.
In addition to the ‘most improved business’ and ‘customer service’ awards, there will be recognition on Saturday night for Meaford’s ‘farmer of the year’, there’s a ‘special merit’ award that is presented to a volunteer organization or service club for exceptional effort over the past year that has enhanced the quality of life within our community, and there’s the ‘Peter Francis Memorial’ award that is presented to an individual who has demonstrated exemplary volunteer leadership over many years and who has made a significant contribution to community development in the Municipality of Meaford.
Top it off with the Rotary ‘citizen of the year’ awards, and you’ve got a night to honour some very special people in our community.
How often do you have a huge room filled with an all encompassing cross-section of our community, from business owners and food bank volunteers to political leaders and community activists, all enjoying an evening of celebration – of our community and those who help make it tick?
Those who leave the event with a plaque for their wall will do so knowing that they were nominated for their award by their fellow community members, and that is a pretty special feeling. My favourite part of this event is hearing the reasons that various people (or businesses) have been nominated. It is sometimes amazing to learn about the initiatives and activities that members of our community are involved with, and it is comforting to know that we live in a community where our friends and neighbours give so much of their own time and energy to help make this a better place to live – whether because they help out with community gardens, or coach kids’ sports, or build scarecrows, or have a fantastic business that people appreciate and support.
It is for good reason that I exclude this event from my general dislike of awards events. The annual community awards are more of a celebration of many of the reasons we love living in this municipality. When I scour the list of nominees, there are many names I recognize, and a few that I might not, but my initial thought upon reading the list of nominees each year is “good for you”, “oh and good for you too”.
Some award events are more like popularity contests, and some of them even seem to divide rather than bring folks together, but this one is a true celebration, and who doesn’t like a good celebration? My only real complaint about the annual community awards banquet has nothing to do with the awards themselves – it is that it is so darned long. To arrive at an event at 6 pm, and to not leave until pushing 11 pm, for me at least is far too long to dedicate to anything – heck, I don’t think hockey games are even that long, and they seem to go on forever. From past experience, there are some pretty tired-looking folks leaving the awards banquet each year. Maybe I’m getting old and cranky, but two to three hours of my life is about all I really want to give up for any event.
To all of this year’s nominees, whether you leave the banquet hall on Saturday night having received an award or not, know that the community as a whole appreciates your contribution to this fine corner of the world. The Meaford Independent congratulates all of the nominees and eventual award winners, and we thank you for helping make Meaford a vibrant, interesting, safe, fun place to live, work, and play.
