Ian Brumell Receives June Callwood Award

Carolyn McCullough | Apr 16, 2014

The Board of Directors of the Cloyne & District Historical Society is pleased to announce that Ian Brumell has been awarded The June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism. After a unanimous motion by the directors, Ian was nominated last fall. The award was made in Toronto on Thursday, April 10 by the Honourable Michael Coteau, Minister of Immigration and Citizenship.

From his university days at radio station CFRC at Queens in Kingston, Ian contributed his talent and time wherever he lived. In Burlington, Sault Ste. Marie, and Toronto he was an active member of The Jaycees, The Big Brother Association, The Central YMCA and The Canadian Red Cross.

On moving to this area, he brought voluntarism to a new level. He became a founding attendant and board member of the Northbrook Area Volunteer Ambulance Service. He was on the board of the Friends of Bon Echo. With the need for Internet service, Ian was a founding member of the Internet service provider Mazinaw On-Line, becoming the manager, treasurer & board member and webmaster. He worked with the Land O' Lakes Community Services as a fitness instructor and volunteer. Because of his familiarity with the grant system, for the last four years he has been a peer review specialist for the Federal Young Canada Works Application Programme.

Ian has been involved with the Cloyne and District Historical Society for the last fourteen years, both on its board and as its treasurer. He was involved with the Cloyne Pioneer Museum and Archives from its birth in 1982, and again with its first addition in 2002. As a victim of its own success, it became obvious in 2011 that space was needed yet again and Ian became part of the fundraising committee. He was instrumental in the costing for the application to the Ontario Trillium Foundation. He planned and supervised the construction of the new addition completed in 2013. This in itself is remarkable, but in the latter period, Ian did it with both a broken leg and while being treated for cancer.

The June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism is named after Canada's author, journalist and social activist who was a Companion of the Order of Canada. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. It is given to individuals in Ontario who are selected by an independent selection committee that review each nomination and recommend the recipients. We are thrilled that our own Ian Brumell has been thus honoured.