City of Brantford held its annual Volunteer Recognition Celebration on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
The event was held in partnership with the Brant Regional Association of Volunteer Administrators (BRAVA), and honoured the hardworking volunteers who dedicate their time to the greater community.
“The contributions of our volunteers is evident and it’s lasting, and the efforts of volunteers from the past and from the present are foundational to our community,” said Michael Bradley, CAO for the City of Brantford. “Some volunteers have led and continue to lead ambitious and transformative projects and initiatives, driving a simple concept to completion. Other volunteers stay in the background; they do the endless small tasks that continually make our city a great place. All of you as volunteers make our community a better, more vibrant and more connected community in which to live, work and play.”
Given that the theme of National Volunteer Week 2025 is “Volunteers Make Waves,” David McKee, the City’s Town Crier, and his declaration described just that.
“Volunteers make waves that disturb the doldrums of inaction. A single volunteer may create a ripple that is barely felt, or stimulate other volunteers to create more ripples that build until they are a tidal wave of success,” he said. “The fair City of Brantford is fortunate to have you, our volunteers, who are there when needed to make waves so that all that must be done, gets done.”
Kari Astles, BRAVA president, then took to the stage to announce the winner of the BRAVA Impact Award to Joanne Murray, a longtime volunteer with the Kiwanis Club of Brantford.
“This truly is a very special honour, but it’s made even more special tonight because I’m in this beautiful theatre with all of the wonderful volunteers who are here celebrating tonight,” said Murray. “I think of my role with the Kiwanis Club of Brantford and what I have learned about volunteerism, and that the key is to do it through altruistic service… doing something for others without expecting anything in return. I can’t imagine the City of Brantford without all of the volunteers that make this a very special place to live. So again, I sincerely thank you. This is a treasure, and I will share it with my members of the Kiwanis Club of Brantford.”
Davis then announced Tracey Adrain, a member of the Branlyn Neighbourhood Association, as the winner of the City of Brantford’s Impact Award.
“Thank you very much for this award, it means a lot,” said Adrain. “I couldn’t do it without our team at Branlyn, they’ve been a great support and they are a wonderful team to work with… most of them are like family now. Our events mean everything to me, and I hope they continue for many years. Thank you very much.”
Finally, Lori-Dawn Cavin, Brantford’s Manager of Community Recreation and Events, and Kim Wyskiel, the City’s Director of Parks and Recreation, stood to award Chris Tolhurst with the Long Term Volunteer Service Award.
Tolhurst, an active member of the Prince Charles Neighbourhood Association, is known for, among many other things, his dedication to his neighbourhood rink program and the City’s International Villages Festival.
“The one thing that I can say is that we’re in the presence of some really special people. There’s so many volunteers in this room that do so much in our community, so much more than myself, but the one thing that I know is that we’re all dedicated to what we do,” said Tolhurst. “The only thing that I can ask everybody in this room to do is encourage people to volunteer… your friends, your family, your kids, and your grandkids, because this is the sort of thing that helps organizations grow. It’s also the sort of thing that helps our community stay rolling because without volunteers, you wouldn’t have things like our rink program or the Branford International Villages Festival. …I feel like I’m in the presence of greatness here and I have to say thank you to all the volunteers that are in the room, and thank you to the people who support us as volunteers.”
Following the award ceremony, guests were then treated with a host of entertainment including a cyr wheel performance from Selah Bishop, and three comedy acts from Steve Dylan, Fraser Young and Brantford’s own, Graham Chittenden.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
