Volunteer Awards 2016

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Carole Bell

Carole, along with her husband, Ron, started dancing in the late 1980s at Board of Education SCD classes and then at Branch Classes (as they were then called) in 1992/3. They joined Jean Hamilton’s Erin Mills group in the Fall of 1992 and later danced in Jean’s Ceilidh Scottish Country Dance Demo group.

Along with Ron, Carole has been a member of the Hillcrest social group since the late 80’s where she has been a faithful attendee and offered hospitality on many occasions.

Carole has always been a strong supporter of Toronto Association activities (monthly dances, workshops, Tartan Ball, Dancing in the Park, etc) as well as working with outreach to promote dancing to others at many such events. She served as Communications Director from 2006 to 2012 and has been Newsletter Editor from 2006 to the present day. Ten years of Newsletter Committee meetings have been made both productive and enjoyable by Carole’s leadership as well as her hospitality (no trivial matter). She was Association Class Convenor from the late 90’s until 2006 and was instrumental in securing three venues serving the east, west, and north of the city for Level 1 classes.

She has always been committed to outreach activities; among others, helping with the Ceilidh dances at St Leonard’s church, and delivering postcards promoting SCD in neighbourhoods near beginners’ classes.

She was also involved in the creation of our promotional
T- shirts and is often seen helping at the gently used clothing sale and the T shirt table at monthly dances.

Carole’s creative imagination, her ideas for promotion and lateral thinking in order to see possibilities and connections that might not occur to many of us, and her skills with people are a real asset to the Toronto Association. All of us lucky enough to know and work alongside her appreciate her helpfulness and enthusiasm and even more important, her sense of humour and joy in dancing. All of these contributions are well deserving of recognition.

Forbes Duncan

Forbes, along with his wife Marie, started Branch Classes in 2001. He has been a strong supporter of the Toronto Association and a generous volunteer at many events ever since. He and Marie are active dancers, often dancing five times a week, or more if they can. Forbes regularly dances at Scarborough, Hillcrest, Glenview, Trinity, and Erin Mills, supporting them with his enthusiastic dancing, and kindly chauffeuring other dancers to the groups as well.

Forbes started volunteering early in his Scottish country dance career and hasn't stopped yet. He spent many years on the Demo team as a dancer and coordinator. He also performed in the Seniors’ Jubilee at Roy Thompson Hall. He has been on the workshop committee, assisted at the youth ball, and been a marshal at the Tartan Ball.

For the past 10 years, Forbes has been Monthly Dance Convenor, in charge of managing the monthly dances and the AGM. He is the friendly face that welcomes you to the dance. As Monthly Dance Convenor, Forbes’ duties are numerous. He and his team ensure that we all have an enjoyable evening by arriving early to set up, making sure we have social group hosts to assist with refreshments, and briefers and brief sheets. He makes sure the dance programme and host groups are included in the newsletter and posted to the website, and ensures that the musicians and the refreshment ladies are paid. He is the last one to leave the dance, making sure all is in order, and gathering up any lost and found items.

Our events do not run themselves. Rather, their success and our enjoyment of them is a direct result of hardworking, dedicated people, like Forbes. Always in good humour, Forbes is a generous volunteer, a gentleman, and a wonderful ambassador for Scottish Country dancing.