Our Top Citizens of the Year

Paul Roumeliotis
As he sits on the Provincial Public Health Measures Table, that’s the folks who provide recommendations to the chief medical officer of health, who then creates formal recommendations for cabinet, Dr. Paul has been making sure, among other thing, that our area is handling the pandemic in a proper way, that strong measures are implemented and enforced, and that testing & contact tracing are done in a timely fashion.

Bernadette Clement
Our mayor was thrown in the Covid Mix early. It was back in February, when the Federal Government chose Cornwall’s NAV Centre as the quarantine spot for repatriated cruise ship passengers that Clement got a taste of things to come. She has shown strong leadership, compassion and decisiveness in her dealings with the pandemic.

Eric Duncan
Eric is a powerful voice as a representative for the area. As an active volunteer himself, Eric has been involved with nearly 50 organizations, groups and events, raising millions of dollars for charity and important causes in the area. During the pandemic, he has been working to advocate for all people of this riding

Jim McDonell
Jim McDonell has always been a staunch advocate for Eastern Ontario, and during this pandemic, Jim has been working with Federal and Municipal levels of government to ensure that our area receives the attention it needs.

Greg Pietersma
We just love what we’ve been seeing coming out of the Cornwall Chamber since Greg has taken over as Executive Director. Whether it is the weekly council meeting wrap-ups, the awesome videos featuring our downtown core, or the new “Shop Local” website, we are totally impressed. No, we weren’t able to have pub nights this year, but you know what? The chamber found different ways to keep everybody connected. Ant that’s awesome!

Terry Muir
Do we really have to say anything about Mr. Muir? Recipient of the Chamber Awards’ Citizen of the Year, the man who saved this year’s Ribfest, gave us a Drive Through Halloween and made the Santa Reverse Parade happen, Terry didn’t let Covid ruin 2020. Instead, he and his team found new innovative ways to adapt, ways that landed Cornwall on national news more than once over the past 10 months. Kudos!

John Lucio
When Covid hit and the community was told to hunker down, John saw a need arise. He knew people at risk, quarantining and/or their caregivers, would need a way to get groceries without leaving the house. GOFEEDME was born. In partnership with the United Way and the Optimist Club of Cornwall, John built a network of volunteers to shop for the most vulnerable, and did a lot of the shopping and delivering himself. Thank you John! www.gofeedme.ca

Maureen Adams
The Chief Administrative Officer of the City led Cornwall’s emergency pandemic response with efficiency, and coordinated resources both internally and externally to make sure the residents were kept informed and that administrative functions kept running smoothly.

Lisa Duprau
The Agape Centre’s new executive director, as well as the whole team there! Lisa started shortly before the pandemic and was able to pivot to make sure we kept feeding people even during scary and uncertain times. She continues to develop partnerships and work creatively to ensure our clients are fed with dignity.

AND MOST OF ALL…
FRONTLINE WORKERS
From doctors to PSW, from cashiers to truckers to warehouse workers, from journalists to teachers to postal workers, without forgetting police officers, delivery drivers, and volunteers, our thanks go to you, the true heroes of the pandemic. You kept us fed, healthy, informed, safe, often sacrificing your own well-being for the greater good of society. Many of you went to work scared, but did it anyway because we needed you. Words cannot express how appreciated you are, how needed you are, how ESSENTIAL you are.
From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Dishonourable mention…

Covid aka “infamous” 19
Shame on you. You know, Covid, you really wanted your 15 minutes of fame and wouldn’t stop at anything to get it, even if it meant that the entire wold was going to suffer.
You’ve killed almost 2 million people in your short 9 months of existence, making you a destructive, vindictive little being, with no morals.
But we’re on to you, Covid. We’ve studied how you operate. We know your weak spots. And we’re coming for you. 2021 won’t be good to you. We’re got vaccines and therapeutics.

We don’t like you, Covid. We don’t like you one bit. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid…