National Volunteer Week: Belgrave award honours McGee's legacy
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Community volunteers have long been the lifeblood of small-town Canada, and in recent years the volunteer has become an ever-more-indispensable asset. The Jim McGee Community Volunteer of the Year Award has been the Belgrave Community Centre Board’s (BCCB) way of honouring its most selfless local residents since 2019.
The award is named in honour of its inaugural recipient Jim McGee - a man who was a tireless force for community improvement until his untimely death in 2018 at the age of 60. The awards are presented at the BCCB’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September. Nominations for the awards can be made by citizens of Belgrave, East Wawanosh or Morris Townships who feel they’ve noticed somebody serving as a role model for service in Belgrave.
How is the winner selected? The BCCB reviews all the nominees and judges each entry based on the degree to which the nominee’s activities have impacted those around them, the longevity of their service, and the value added to the community. Winners are presented with the award at the AGM by the BCCB and members of McGee’s family.
Ahead of this year’s June 30 deadline for nominees, The Citizen spoke with just two of the many people positively impacted by McGee’s community spirit: BCCB Member Ron Taylor and McGee’s daughter Courtney Brown.
Brown remembered growing up with her boundlessly enthusiastic father. “He was literally just the best. He was always so involved in everything we did.” McGee was always active in all the minor sports on offer, coaching and lending his time to anybody needing extra help. “The whole community just missed him when he was gone… that was a big void.” She thinks the Community Volunteer Award is a great way to honour her father. “He just had that ability to make other people feel really good…. It’s such a nice way to remember him, and there’s a lot of really key folks in the Belgrave community that do a lot, and it’s a way to recognize them.”
It wasn’t just organized assistance in which McGee took interest. According to Brown, “He would assemble a group of people to do something and just show up and help out… he was really motivated just by being kind of in-the-moment.”
Taylor is a few years older than McGee was, and spent over 30 of his younger years in St. John’s, Newfoundland before resettling in Belgrave in 2006. It wasn’t long before McGee’s name started cropping up. “The way I came to appreciate all the things Jim did around the community was, I became a member of the BCCB… it was brought to the Board’s attention on a number of occasions, the selfless volunteer things Jim did in the community,” Taylor related. “In many cases, the board was only made aware that it had been done weeks later. He never sought out any praise.”
This sentiment was echoed by Brown, who thinks she knows the secret to her father’s out-sized spirit. “He really thrived by being around others, and helping others, and that’s what fuelled him the most.”
McGee was known for spontaneously rallying community members around whatever task needed to be done, big or small. There were repairs to do to the community centre, and ice that needed to be put in for skating every winter. The Belgrave Community Centre uses natural ice and is not refrigerated, so installing its ice each year for the public to use requires a special degree of volunteer enthusiasm.
After McGee’s accidental death, it was Taylor who suggested the award be initiated. “We wanted to honour him, so I pitched to the board the formation of this award.” The first year’s award was posthumously given to McGee in recognition of his indefatigable efforts towards improving the lives of others, and his many spontaneous and unheralded deeds that resulted in Belgrave being a more enjoyable community in which to live.
Last year’s winner, Cam Cook, was a lifelong friend of McGee, and would often be found volunteering alongside him. He can be found installing the ice rink when the weather gets cold enough, serving chicken wings at functions, and doing whatever else needs to be done in Belgrave.
For generations, the community centre has played a key part in Belgrave’s history and continues to create modern memories for local families. It is almost entirely dependent on volunteers, and is always looking for the next Jim McGee. “We’re always looking for help at different functions and fundraisers… make yourself known to a board member or member of the community,” offered Taylor. “We rely on volunteers for a lot of it.” The community centre also has a Facebook page, and advertises upcoming events on the board in front of the building.
Taylor also feels that Belgrave’s volunteer spirit is still something special. Declining interest in community involvement seems to afflict many other towns. “It’s a problem that most communities are experiencing… Belgrave is still one of the better communities for finding people willing to volunteer and step up.” Brown also stressed the importance of continued support from caring citizens. “When something needs done and there’s no one to help out, you lose that piece of your community.”
The award is not just a way to recognize outstanding volunteers, it also inspires others to become more involved in the community. The Jim McGee Community Volunteer Award is meant to highlight those who never highlight their own accomplishments, and, in doing so, it illuminates the often invisible impact that just one dedicated person can have on the world around them.
A comment from Taylor summarized that singular impact. “I wish there were dozens of Jim McGees, not only in the community of Belgrave, but in the world… we’d be better off, all of us.” Perhaps the ripples of involvement this award can inspire can help bring that vision a little closer to reality.
If you know somebody who is passionate about helping others in the community, nominate them for the Jim McGee Community Volunteer of the Year Award by June 30, 2023. Contact Kendra Robinson at mandkrobinson@gmail.com or (519) 357-4040 to receive an information package.