Paul Harris Community Service Awards

The Rotary Club of Picton Community Awards

“Service above self”, that’s our motto. Rotarians around the world, and here in Prince Edward County engage in public service. Generosity of time and money goes into all of the club’s activities, which makes it possible for us to help individuals and community groups.
There are many non-Rotarians who share our priorities for our service to the community (eg literacy and youth) . They help with our fundraisers or help with our service projects. While not members, they work with us, side by side. They are also individuals who work on community projects we support.

One way in which the Club can recognize such individuals is by awarding our Community Partners with a Paul Harris Fellow. The Paul Harris award, named after one of Rotary’s founders has been given to people from all around the world, such as Jimmy Carter and Mother Teresa. The award is Rotary’s way of recognizing our Community Partners and thank them for making the County a better place to live, so that no one is left behind.

Presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow to John Kelly March 2, 2021

The Rotary Club of Picton has been k the outstanding volunteer service achievements of several members of our community over the past 8 months. John was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario but his family soon moved to Kincardine where his lived until his early teens. His father, John Sr. took the job as the Head Cheesemaker at the Black River Cheese factory in Milford and the Kelly’s moved to Prince Edward County. John settled into life at PECI and the county very seamlessly as he was heavily involved in local sports. He met his high school sweetheart Tracey Bond and they are now married with two boys Ryan and Braeden.

John attended Carlton University and graduated with a degree in History. He moved back home to the county after University working his way into management positions in manufacturing firms in Belleville such as Unilever, Streamline Foods, and Redpath. Today, John is a Foreman at the Lehigh Cement Plant here in Picton.

One of Rotary’s focus areas has always been centered around the youth of our communities. John is being recognized for his Outstanding Achievement in his commitment to kids in Prince Edward County. Most people on this Zoom Call today were probably involved in some type of Community activity as a child. For some it could have been sports such as Hockey, Baseball, Gymnastics, Dance, or golf. For others it may have been Scouts, Girl Guides, or Air Cadets. All of these organizations have the goal of keeping our youth off the streets, away from video games and cell phones, and building qualities that will help lead them to success later in life.

John Kelly has been a major part in the successful operation of minor sports in our community. Some of his accomplishments are:

For 17 years straight he has coached youth hockey teams in Prince Edward county and in several of those years he was on the staff of multiple teams
For the past 16 years he has been a Minor Hockey Executive member with his main duties being the Ice Scheduler
His sits on the Arena Board and has for several years
He assisted with the fundraising and the planning for the new Wellington Arena
He is the Ice Scheduler and a Volunteer for the Annual Milk Tournament which is a large Hockey Tournament hosted by Prince Edward County Minor Hockey with over 30 out of town teams participating
He is responsible for getting the Timekeepers for all Prince Edward County Kings Minor Hockey games
He volunteers as a Wellington Dukes PRS advisor
He volunteered for the Dudley Hewitt Cup as a team host
He volunteered for the Central Junior A Showcase tournament as a team host
He coached baseball teams in both Prince Edward County and the Belleville Royals for 15 years straight again usually coaching multiple teams each year
He played a major role in the construction and organization of the new Hardball Diamond in Wellington

The Rotary Club of Picton can not think of a more fitting community member to be recognized with a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow than John Kelly.

Read More from The Picton Gazette

Presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow to Judy Kent December 1, 2020

David Burn stated that the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellowship is the Rotary Foundation's way of expressing it ' s appreciation for a substantial contribution to it's humanitarian and educational ideals. He noted that it was named after Rotary's founder Paul Harris who started Rotary in 1905. Judy Kent's life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives of the Rotary Foundation so today you join the ranks of Mother Therasa, Nelson Mandella, Kofi Anana, Prince Charles, Indira Gandhi, Luciano Pavarotti, Prince Hussain of Jordan, Pope John Paul II and millions of other notables, including Jonas Salk, as a Paul Harris Fellow. You relate to Rotary Foundation's programs to achieve beneficial changes in the world such as support for the disabled, better education and peace initiatives. He divided Judy's achievements into 3 segments noting that any one of which would have merited a PHF. In May you were inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, at age 11 you learned to swim and in 1967 you were a member of the Royal Life Saving Society's demonstration team, you were President of that Organization in 1989, you have been awarded the Queen's Silver and Gold Jubilee medals. During the 90's you were on the Faculty at McMaster University and improved their swim team. He quoted from the Sports Hall of Fame announcement: "A powerful vision of Sport as a vehicle for social change guided Judy Kent through her distinguished career as an athlete, as a coach, a prolific author, consultant and organizational leader”.

You started working with Commonwealth Games Canada in 1987 and became It's first female President from 1994 to 1998. You were the first female Chef de Mission for the 1994 Games in Victoria. Determined to clear a path for others to follow, you established a program to recruit and train more female leaders for the organization ensuring equity in selecting athletes for competition at the Commonwealth Games. You were instrumental in having athletes with disabilities included in the Games and worked for opportunities for indigenous athletes at the Artic Winter Games. You were named one of the most influential women in Sport by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women in Sports. In 2006 you received the Commonwealth Games Award of Merit. In 2016 you became the first recipient of the order of merit from the Commonwealth Games Federation. Her collaborative approach to leadership has made her able to bring together people with different ideas to share common goals. She has reframed Sport as a tool for social and community development in Canada and around the world. Five years ago you spoke to Picton Rotary about your experience in Lebanon as part of Generation for Peace. With that organization, you trained leaders in the Middle East to develop peace in their communities. You also ensured there were future leaders for Generations for Peace and acted as a trainer for that organization for seven years. As a resident of the County since 1999, you chaired the Prince Edward Arts Council from 2008 to 2013 and your art has been widely shown and acclaimed around the County. You helped the Festival of Trees to grow and in 2015 National Easter Seals named you "Philanthropist'' of the year. In summary, you smashed the glass ceiling in Sport, ensured the inclusion of disabled athletes in world competition, worked for world peace and are an outstanding member of our community. If you were a Rotarian you might have become the first female President of Rotary International.

After noting how pleased she was to hear of Judy's accomplishments, Irene Harris then held up Judy's certificate as a PHF and noted that she would personally deliver her pin and certificate.

Judy thanked the Club for this great honour and stated that it was only after doing some research on Rotary International and Picton Rotary that she recognized how much of her life and career involved that same values and objectives as Rotary. She noted that Generations for Peace centered in Aman Jordan had become recognized as number 26 in non-government organizations in the world for it's peace initiatives. It had tens of thousands of trained volunteers working in conflict zones in the world. Many of its volunteers are young Rotary members. She further stated that Generations for Peace and Rotary both had clear objectives and visionary leadership. Each organization works at what can be accomplished whereas some other organizations fail because they try to do too much. It is important to deal with the root causes like poverty and education when acting benevolently as Rotary does. She concluded by thanking the Club for their "Service above Self' local community activities, the exchanges and projects it has supported.

Bob Bird thanked Judy for coming and stated that there was a 15 minute video put together by Sport Canada outlining Judy's accomplishments which he would post on Club Runner for the information of the membership.

Presentation of Paul Harris Fellow to Norah Connell November 23, 2020

Courtesy of the Picton Gazette, November 25, 2020.

“Rotarians not only around the world, and also here in Prince Edward County engage in service to their community. Generosity of time and money goes into all of the club’s activities, which makes it possible for Rotarians to help individuals and community groups,” Picton Club Past President Bob Bird said. “There are many non-Rotarians who share our passion and priorities for service to their community-for example literacy and youth.They help with our fundraisers or assist with our service projects. While not members, they work with us, side by side. They share our motto of service above self.”

Connell was described by presenter Bob Bird and club member Libby Crombie as someone who has helped to make Prince Edward County a vibrant community as a physician, businesswoman, trailblazer, visionary, and arts supporter, Crombie explained Connell’s generosity has touched so many in the community in a myriad of many ways including the physician’s extensive health care achievements as well as triumphs in the business world.

“The Businesswoman in Norah led to a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Prince Edward Heritage Advisory Committee for conserving historic properties,” Crombie said. “The list of these restored properties is impressive and significant, and led to many other community awards: The Waring House, the Picton Harbour Inn; 100 Main st., an 1835 historic building and the Claramount Inn. But as we know, preservation of buildings is one achievement, but the other part is the generous use of those buildings for the community. Countless community organizations continually make use of the Waring Hall for charitable fundraising.”

Crombie parroted Connell’s words about Prince Edward County and the connection the Waring House has to the community.

“This is such an amazing community and it is a pleasure to do business here. We have such great local support and we believe in giving back whenever we can. We love the fact that people consider the Waring House as a local gathering place and we try to make it a place the community can be proud of and a place that gives visitors a true sampling of what PEC is about.”

Connell’s Love of the Arts has generated educational opportunities and economic development for residents in the County and Crombie said her involvement in the arts community came about because of her love of music and belief in the importance of the arts to the fabric of a community.

“Initially Norah volunteered with the Prince Edward Arts Council as well as The Regent Theatre Foundation which eventually presented Quinte Summer Music – a professional summer festival which she led as President for three years,” Crombie added.

In 1986 Connell received the Prince Edward County Citizen of the Year award for community volunteer work- an award she truly treasures- and Crombie mentioned Connell’s leadership that led to the creation of the transformative Taste the County organization.

“Rotary speaks to the importance of “service above self” by volunteers and community leaders to meet the needs communities have for growing local economies, education and building peace and good will. We thank Norah for all the work she does to make our County a better place for all of us,” Crombie said.