Honour Roll

Heather Haliburton-Smith with her husband Bob,left
and son Devon at their Port Perry home.

Heather Haliburton-Smith points toward the photograph taken shortly after her nomination for the Mayor’s Honour Roll.

“It should’ve been all of us in that picture, our whole family,” she says, sending a serious look across the table. “My son, Devon, my husband, Bob, and me – we’re a team.”

Numerous adjectives might characterize Heather’s extensive resume of volunteer work in the Scugog area which earned the 2009 award: selfless, devoted, unassuming. Certainly any or all of those would fit.

Yet there’s an obvious measure of truth in Heather’s statement. In fact, Devon and Bob are absent during our time together, fulfilling a volunteer mission. Devon gives his time daily, mornings at Canadian Tire, later delivering mail to downtown stores, Bob accompanying the young man. As a threesome, they’ve been active in a long list of local charity events: Dragon Boats, a long-running annual yard sale for Sick Children’s Hospital, naming only a couple.

In her humility, Heather’s a reluctant interview subject, easy to talk to but equally anxious to deflect the spotlight.
“By putting (my profile) in print, I’ve done my job if it encourages the community and its citizens to participate and volunteer,” she sighs, demonstrating that continued reluctance. She pauses momentarily while gathering thoughts, then adds: “And please, make it clear that this award was a family affair.”
Point taken.

Heather’s story is remarkable on two levels. As a very young woman, events and circumstances inspired her which continue to resonate in the present.

The story she is more anxious to tell – her more recent work with son and husband alongside – is just as rich and textured. Both might merit consideration for Honour Roll recognition, so who should rightly be in that picture?
The story follows, the decision is yours...

* * * * *

Heather Haliburton-Smith

What inspires a person to dedicate her life to helping others? A complex question, but Heather Haliburton-Smith easily identifies her initial inspirations.

“I was close with my great-grandmother as a girl. Seniors teach you everything: how special people are, how to appreciate life. She died, at 99, when I was only 13. By then she’d made a profound impact on me.”

During the same period of her life, Heather gained insight from a series of experiences with young people. Her father, superintendent of North York’s schools, took her to visit disabled children in their classrooms, supplementing the experience with summertime volunteer work.

Heather flourished. She provided non-medical care: physical and motivational support, reading to groups, helping individuals speak through “Bliss” symbols, a form of non-verbal communication for those unable to talk aloud.

“When I finished high school, I wanted to be ‘teacher’ for those kids,” Heather remembers. “But the university discouraged teaching careers, so I switched schools and focus.”

She graduated as a Geriatric Activities Coordinator. The concept was trailblazing in the mid-1970s and Heather found herself on the ground floor.

“People new to institutional living often need help adapting to their environment, to carry on life as they’d known it. We helped with that transition, encouraged everyone to participate in the community, and organized onsite activities.”

Her success at one location led to a position overseeing similar programs throughout Ontario.

“The Nursing Home Association taught and inspected the staff at homes, as well as offering accreditation for their Activity Departments. We administered all non-nursing issues.”

With Devon’s arrival, Heather set aside her career, but not her enthusiasm for helping others.

Born with congenital hydrocephalus – a condition which affected multiple aspects of his development – Heather ensured Devon’s integration into the community right from birth. He got an early grounding in the satisfactions of volunteer work, often accompanying Heather, even as a baby.

Heather dove into multiple volunteer assignments – almost too numerous to list, but all deserving mention.

She founded the Therapeutic Riding Association for Challenged Kids. She became the North Durham Region Community Advisor to the Ministry of Community & Social Services for their “Special Services at Home” Program. She coordinated the North Durham Family Network’s support program for persons raising a family with special needs at home; served on the board of the Association of Community Living in Durham; was a member of the Port Perry Community Nursing Home’s steering committee in its “Needs Study for Increased Beds”; represented the area with the Durham District School Board on its Special Education Advisory Committee; sat as an Advisory Committee member, developing the “Making Services Work for People” document, eventually participating in the implementation of its plan for persons with developmental disabilities.

She became, and continues as, Chair of the Scugog Community Seniors’ Christmas Dinner; volunteers at the local Santa Claus Parade, Canada Day and Festival Days celebrations; and has served on the Rotary Club of Port Perry as its President and as a member of its executive.

Her involvement with the Rotary Club of Port Perry – led to a number of spinoff projects. In the early 1980s, she organized “Aquarama,” a popular August waterfront event at Palmer Park in support of Rotary’s Children’s Charities.

One role at Aquarama showed off a new talent.
“I don’t think of myself as a public speaker, but put a microphone in my hand and I just ‘go,’” she says.

Her flair for event announcing proved handy at the “Dragonflies Dragon Boat Race Festival,” which she helped coordinate as part of her Rotary work.

In the late 90s, she and Bob proved how big things can grow from humble beginnings.

“With another couple, we organized a yard sale in support of the Port Perry Hospital for Sick Children. It started out on our front lawn, and grew to the point where we held it at the Fairgrounds. We raised over $60,000 during the five years we ran it, $18,000 in the final year alone.”

In 1998, she was recognized as “Citizen of the Year” at the Annual Chamber of Commerce Canada Day celebration.
Then earlier this year she was nominated to the Mayor’s Honour Roll. As Mayor Pearce herself wrote: “How I missed recognizing this volunteer for so long is a mystery to me.”
Heather was characteristically reserved about the award, saying only that she was “humbled” by the honour.

Later this month, Heather will return behind the microphone at the Dragon Boat Race. Devon and Bob will help to man the parking lot. As a family, they continue to contribute unselfishly to the community through volunteer work.

Perhaps you could call Heather the “ringleader,” thanks to her extensive experience and unflagging drive, but all three participate. From an early age, she adopted a simple philosophy which her entire family now embraces.

“People need to look after people. That’s what makes the world go ‘round.”

Scott Mercer
Focus on Scugog