DanceScottish.ca

Volunteer Awards 2015

 

Stella Henderson

Stella, along with her husband, Andy, started beginner classes taught by Carole Skinner at St. Leonard’s in September 2007 and attended Petronella as her first social group.  She learned about SCD and the classes from dancers who were volunteers at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Currently she dances at the Hillcrest and Aurora social groups.

Stella acted as a class representative at Eastminster United Church for Level One and Two Association Classes from 2012 to 2014.

She has been an active member of the Toronto Association Demo Pool from 2012 and in the summer of 2014 volunteered to coordinate all the TA Demo Pool bookings.

From 2009 to 2014, Stella has been a very involved member of the Toronto Workshop Committee. In addition to contributing prep work for afternoon snacks until 2013, she also acted as committee secretary under Valerie Fisher, who was the convenor until 2012. Stella continued as secretary on her husband Andy’s committee when he assumed the Workshop convenor position. Up until the November 2014 Toronto Workshop, she was a member of Mike Morris’ Workshop committee, completing assorted tasks, such as brochure distribution and, on the day of the workshop, posting signs and being a lunch monitor.

During the candidate teaching and exam sessions in 2012-2013, she volunteered as a stooge; in 2013, she danced two sessions for the Book 49 tryouts; and occasionally she has done outreach, assisting a teacher at helping children learn SCD basics in preschool and grade school.

In the summer of 2014 Stella, with Andy, completed the distribution of 600 TA promotional postcards in the Don Mills north area.

She has been on the Toronto Association Nominations Committee since 2013-14.

Stella is always cheerful and willing to help. She’s a loyal supporter of Toronto Association events and a wonderful ambassador for Scottish Country Dancing.

Evelyn & John Holmberg

A welcome smile, a helping hand, an impish grin—both John and Evelyn easily put partners and other dancers, whether beginners or experienced, at ease. They are always ready to help, lend a hand, and volunteer willingly to do whatever is asked of them to make dancing enjoyable for everyone around them.

Evelyn and John are among the founding team members of the annual Gently Used Clothing Sale, a great place for dancers to find bargains and treasures at the Toronto Association Workshop.  They have cheerfully collected, sorted, and priced donations, then transported them to the Workshop, set up displays, and have been part of the professional selling team of the day. Their time, effort, ingenuity, and resources have ensured the ongoing fun and success of this once-a-year sale. Afterwards, they have judiciously distributed the remains to charities around Toronto. No task is too little or too daunting to tackle.

Their same spirit could be seen at Dancing in the Park, where John, along with Jean Noble, ran the show. Evelyn was always there for back-up and support. The Toronto Association enjoys ongoing good relationships with the park personnel as a result of the efforts of our convenors and volunteer.

As long-time dancers, they have been helpful volunteers at Association classes as well as dancing at a variety of social groups. Wherever they go, they are eager to assist, even taking coat racks to the Whistler Room at the Royal York so that there was a place for elegant coats at the Tartan Ball.

Their favourite Friday night pastime is attending the Woodglen Social Group.  Evelyn’s knowledge of tea, from black to exotic, and her love of cooking have contributed to the highly successful, sold-out Woodglen Scottish Afternoon Teas. John, along with the other Woodglen fellows, has added his smile and waitering skills and clean-up talents to the event, as all together the group happily has raised funds for the Annual Youth Ball.

In their enjoyment of Scottish Country Dancing, their willingness to take on new adventures and travel, and their generous sharing of their talents and time, John and Evelyn enrich the dance for everyone who comes in contact with them, here in Toronto and beyond. They well deserve recognition by the Toronto Association with a Volunteer Award.

Douglas Worling

The Scottish Country Dancing community thrives because of a solid foundation of dedicated dancers, willing to give quietly of their time, energy, and talents to support the activities we all enjoy.  Douglas Worling is one of these dancers.

Dancing has been a long-time passion of Douglas.  Always willing to help novice and unsure dancers, he holds himself to high standards of dancing and expects others to dance their best.  He passed his Preliminary  SCD Teacher’s exams, and also danced for many years with Jean Hamilton’s Ceilidh Demonstration Dance group.

Robin Wood remembers Douglas as a member of the very welcoming Aurora SCD group when he and Sharon started dancing in the late seventies.  As a former student at St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, he was one of the driving forces behind the highly popular Heather Ball that for twenty years was the northern counterpart to the West End Ball.  Many after-ball gatherings took place at his home.  When Sam Sniderman retired from kilt making, Douglas obtained tartan swatches from him. People donated to have their tartan included in a banner, with the hope that the SCD community could use it for decoration. Douglas undertook all the work involved in planning and getting the banner made.

During the late seventies, Douglas served as the Branch Class Convenor.  In his thorough and organized way, he was a great help and facilitator to both the beginner dancers and the Branch Teachers, smoothing the way and ensuring the success of the classes, according to Jean Hamilton and Jean Noble. 

Douglas has served the Toronto Association on many of our key committees.  He is a long standing member of the Monthly Dance Committee; for several years has generously participated in the Demo Pool of dancers; has served on the Tartan Ball Committee, and, most recently, for the past two years, has been the Media Contact person on the Marketing Committee where his organizational skills have been much valued.

A regular dancer at Hillcrest, Glenview, Trinity, St. Clement’s, and Erin Mills Social Groups, Douglas has generously supported SCD groups both here and in Scotland.  His contributions demonstrate a long-standing commitment to Scottish Country Dancing and especially to the Toronto Association. With unsung volunteers like Douglas Worling, our dancing future is in safe hands.