Evening of Appreciation 2009

Last night we celebrated our staff, volunteers, employers and donors at our annual Evening of Appreciation at Monora Park. With a guest list of 178 people it promised to be a wonderful evening full of celebration.

We were honoured to welcome Dianne Garrels-Munro, President of Community Living Ontario who made a presentation to Community Living Dufferin of a plaque.

Sylvia Jones and David Tilson, MPP and MP for Dufferin County respectively were both in attendance to make certificate presentations to our two nominated volunteers, Kim Bailey and Sylvia Cheuy.

We had the honour of presenting to Sylvia Jones a plaque on behalf of Community Living Ontario to commemorate the closure of the last institutions in Ontario housing people with developmental disabilities.

Wade of Catering Designs offered a delicious and varied selection of hor's doeurves which were served by 8 hard working student volunteers. Kudos to servers extraordinaire: Jessie Sawyer, Samantha Ryan, Caitlin Fritz, Conner Fritz, Scott Slater, Zacharie Hopkins, Mitch Hopkins and working hard in the kitchen to ensure each plate was perfectly presented was Lizz VanOmmen.

Thanks to our greeters Mizue Mori, Glen Evans and Todd Matthews.

We offer congratulations and thanks to:

Staff who where nominated for and winning recipients of Staff Merit Awards

Staff who this year celebrate 5, 10, 15, 20 year anniversaries with CLD

Chris Gardiner who celebrates 25 years and thinks it has gone by in the "blink of an eye"

Brenda Stephenson and Huda Scott Scholarship recipients, Shannon McGrady, Karenda Carpenter, Sharon Coyle

Mason Matson for being nominated by his peers for the Ron Jordan Memorial Committment to Work Award

• 
  
  

Frank Guzzo of Gayla Canada Inc., recipient of the Employers Challenging Work Award for QPAC

• 
  
  

Mary Ann Lancaster who shared with all of us her experiences as a volunteer with Bethsaida Retirement Home and the Alzheimer's Society of Dufferin

Our very own CLD Quartet consisting of Rick Hopkins, Andree Ross, Judee Dyke and Eleanor Matte who closed the evening with some fantastic tunes bringing the guests to their feet and the hall echoing with lots of hand clapping and toe tapping

Thanks also to each and every one who assisted in the success of this great evening with your attendance and support. Given the ever increasing numbers of guests at our Evening of Appreciation each year, we are confident that next year we will need to find a new, bigger venue for us to celebrate in.