So, six County residents have received a King Charles III Coronation Medal – with more to come.
Ken Mott, Brenda Boomhouer, Fay Martin, Rev. Canon Joan Cavanaugh-Clark, Dick Schell, and Lynda Litwin were all honoured on Tuesday of this week.
Is it a big deal? Yes, it is.
The medal commemorates the Coronation of King Charles III as King of Canada, and is administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall. To get one, you have to have made a significant contribution to Canada, or to a particular province, territory, region, or community, or done something great overseas on behalf of our nation.
Some 30,000 medals were up for grabs, with 4,000 going to Canadian Armed Forces personnel. MP Jamie Schmale said there are more than 40 million Canadians. Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock is home to 122,401 of them. There were more than 100 applications for medals and the riding is giving out 30.
Mott, Boomhouer, Martin, Cavanaugh-Clark, Schell and Litwin got 32 mm, silver, circular medals designed by Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority at the Chancellery of Honours, Rideau Hall.
The medal is struck in nickel-silver and lacquered to prevent tarnishing. It is manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint.
The medal program was first announced three days before the Coronation, on May, 3, 2023, by the prime minister. The design of the medal and the details of the program were announced by Rideau Hall on May 6, 2024, the first anniversary of the Coronation. The inaugural ceremony took place that day.
We don’t know how many Highlanders were nominated for this particular honour. But we do know the winners are deserving.
Let’s take Ken, for example. He started out as the volunteer manager of the then Wilberforce Food Bank. He got Highlands East backing and Ontario Trillium Foundation funding to create the Highlands East Food Hub and Central Food Network. He co-founded Heat Bank Haliburton County. It’s believed he volunteers 30 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, drives 25,000 kilometres, and manages a team of 22 volunteers at the food hub. He picks up, splits and delivers firewood.
Fay has worked as a community organizer since the 1960’s. She’s done social work across the country. Through her business, she helped grassroots organizations push for change. She was founding executive director of today’s Point in Time Centre for Children. In 2007, Fay created Places for People. She’s also been on the board of Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Housing Corporation; founded the Minden Hills housing task force; and is a director for Habitat for Humanity. And we haven’t even talked about her involvement in the arts over the years.
Rev. Joan doesn’t just lead a congregation. She helps oversee a thrift shop, with proceeds going towards operating the church. They also donate money to local charity. Every year, they give to the Bishop McAllister Anglican Church School in Africa, an orphanage for kids who have lost their parents to AIDS.
She has a unique ability to see a problem and find a solution. She’s great in a crisis, helping people experiencing physical or mental abuse, not having food or housing, addiction issues, or being suicidal. She and her helpers have bought gas cards for people, driven patients to appointments and the pharmacy for medicine, helped people out of financial jams and made important connections.
Dick and Lynda could be Mr. and Mrs. Minden. Schell has been a staple in the community for years and his resume of public service unparalleled. Litwin is on a fast track to the same kind of community service.
Brenda has brightened many lives in the County, bringing people together through a Vet-to-Vet fishing program that inspires camaraderie and companionship.
No doubt about it – they are all changemakers in our County and very deserving of the medals they now have around their necks. We are a better place because of them.
