Celebrating Volunteerism on the Bruce Peninsula
By Kelly Burgess, Bruce Peninsula Press
Honoured and humbled is how Sharron Colter describes being awarded the 2022 Senior of the Year Award for her volunteer work in the Northern Bruce Peninsula. Mayor Milt McIver presented her with the award on June 27, on behalf the NBP Council and the Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility. “Sharron is very active ensuring seniors’ issues are advanced to all levels of Government,” announced McIver when presenting the award.
Sharron explained, “The award signifies that the NBP Council members and administrative staff were aware of the volunteer hours that I have put forward for the health, wellbeing and safety of the community during the COVID-19 restrictions to keep seniors connected, active and safe.” As a member of the Council on Aging Grey Bruce, and the Northern Bruce Peninsula Community Support Advisory Committee, Sharron helped create Senior Centre Without Walls (SCWW) which provided telephone-based activities and speakers during Covid. This is one of the many volunteer experiences Sharron has had throughout the years.
Prior to her extensive volunteer work, Sharron had a fulfilling career as an elementary school teacher. Ever since Sharron was in kindergarten, she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. “I wanted to make learning fun and enjoyable for students,” she explained. Her teaching career began in North York then London, Winnipeg, and then back to Southwestern Ontario. She spent many years teaching and raising her blended family of two girls and two boys with her husband Don in Exeter, Ontario, just north of London.
Giving Back to the Community
Sharron found it challenging to retire from teaching in the classroom. After retiring, she began volunteering at the Exeter thrift store, “The Dove’s Nest” for 13 years. “When I retired, I wanted to give back to the community through volunteer work,” she stated. She also joined the Exeter Legion Branch 164 with her husband Don and the Exeter Legion Ladies Auxiliary where she was President for three years.
It was in 2010 when Sharron and her husband Don moved permanently to the Northern Bruce Peninsula. She continued her volunteer work at the Lion’s Head Legion Branch 202. During her eight years as Secretary for the branch, she planned senior bus trips with grants from the Ontario Ministry of Seniors. It was after one of the bus trips where she had a fall that kept her off her feet for six weeks. This didn’t stop Sharron from being productive. “It was during this time that I read the minute books from the Legion from 1931 to 2020 which became a published book entitled, “A Historical Review of the Lion’s Head Legion Branch 202 Minute Books from 1931-2020,” she explained.
Now a published author, Sharron still continued her volunteer work as Secretary and as President of the Retired Women Teachers Wiarton Branch and Area 1 Director. For a year she served as President and visited 46 RWTO/OREO branches throughout Ontario.
Sharron continues her volunteer work today with the SCWW and also continues to volunteer with the Retired Women Teachers of Ontario where she wrote applications for Community Grants for 2020-2022.
She was just informed by Alex Ruff, MP of Owen Sound-Grey-Bruce, that he will be presenting the Platinum Jubilee Coin in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee to Sharron on Sunday, July 24 in Chesley, in recognition of her volunteer work.
Sharron will continue her incredible volunteer work into the future. “I must say that the more I have given to the community the more I have received from the community. Volunteers are needed to keep our communities safe, strong and age friendly.”
