COMMUNITY LEADERS RECEIVE PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPS

SACKVILLE, N.B. – Six local volunteers who have dedicated their lives to making Sackville a better place to live were honoured last week with the Rotary Club’s highest award.

Pat Estabrooks, Kathleen McMullen, Michael Fox, Ray Dixon, Lou Lambe and Marg Hicks, all described as “unsung heroes” in their community, were awarded Paul Harris Fellowships during a formal dinner celebration hosted by the Sackville Rotary Club last Tuesday evening that paid tribute to the spirit of community service.

•Pat Estabrooks, a native Sackvillian and former mayor, has been involved in community service in a number of ways over the years, starting out on education boards and school associations when her daughter was young, then moving into municipal politics later on, first elected to town council as a councillor then taking on the top post as Sackville’s first female mayor. She has also served on the Sackville Memorial Hospital Foundation, chairing the fundraising committee for the last four years.

•Kathleen McMullen, a long-time resident of Sackville, has been continuously active over the years in both professional and community activities. She is past president of the local Playschool Inc., a former director with Live Bait Theatre, and a past chair of the school and parent advisory committees. She has also volunteered as a literacy tutor at the high school, was a board member with the former South East Regional Health Authority, and is a past chair of the Sackville Memorial Hospital Foundation Board. She is currently an elected member and vice-chair of Horizon Health Network.

•Ray Dixon’s volunteer activities are also numerous. The long-time Sackville resident has been a driver for the Meals on Wheels program, helped organize the successful Yorkshire 2000 celebrations, and served on the board of the Tantramar Heritage Trust. Dixon had spent countless hours at the Boultenhouse Heritage Centre where he has worn many hats including rental manager, janitor, repair supervisor and a go-to guy. In 2000, he helped shingle the east side of Campbell Carriage Factory and then assembled a crew of a volunteers to install the rough-sawn floor, build two decks, reroof the blacksmith’s shop, install new windows and put up walls in the display area. He currently serves on the board of the Tantramar Seniors College.

•Lou Lambe, volunteer extraordinaire, has had his presence felt in nearly every aspect of the community. His efforts have been devoted to a range of activities including driving seniors to medical appointments to helping out with events at the local schools. Lambe, named Sackville’s citizen of the year in 2009, has provided leadership for the local Honda Walk, helps out with the annual farm field day, and has served as chair of the Relay for Life, treasurer of the National Conference of the Celiac Association and has worked as a member of the Sackville police advisory and recreation advisory committees.

•Marg Hicks has devoted her life to helping others, jumping in whenever she is needed for fundraisers – for a person who is ill, for a church group, for a seniors’ group, etc.; she’ll play music, fill a basket to be raffled, cook meals, baking desserts, working at the door, selling tickets, or making cakes. Hicks is regularly found in the homes of local seniors, cooking, doing household chores, grocery shopping, gardening, supervising medication, offering personal care, and more. She also taxis seniors to card parties, breakfasts and teas, while also offering them care and compassion. She also visits the local hospitals and nursing homes regularly and often sits with terminally ill patients.

•Michael Fox, a geography and environment professor at Mount Allison University, volunteers his time teaching a geography course at Tantramar high school and offers an advanced standing course so students can obtain university credits. Fox’s research is in social geography and community planning and he stresses the importance of community-based learning. He has connected dozens of his students directly with the Sackville community and focuses on the importance of university-community relations. He has served as chair of the Tantramar planning commission as well as a board member of Renaissance Sackville, the downtown revitalization committee, and Transportation for Tantramar.

Fox served as guest speaker for last week’s event, bringing his ideas to the table on how the ‘town-gown’ relationship can be enhanced. He said an improved relationship between the university and the community can be a win-win situation for all.

“There’s lots of evidence of good things going on in this community, great success stories . . . we can make them even better,” he told the full house who came out for the dinner at the Lions Club.

Fox said there needs to be ongoing talks and more open communication between the two parties and he proposed they should look at partnering on a “shared strategic direction for our community.” Working collaboratively, they can achieve much better results than working separately, he said. For example, the town and the university both need an economic development director and a communications officer, and they could perhaps look at joining forces to share these and other services.

“Imagine the phenomenal stuff that can happen when the town and the university are working together,” said Fox.

Story reprinted from the Sackville Tribune Post files, by Katie Holmes