The Rotary Club of Simcoe and the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise will host a reception to recognize these local citizens as Paul Harris Fellows on Thursday October 24,2024 at Lighthouse Festival Theatre. The purpose of the Paul Harris Society is to honor and thank individuals for their generous, ongoing support of The Rotary Foundation.
Ron Cripps’ primary passion has been the Norfolk County Fair. As a long serving director of both the Fair Board and Fair Foundation, Ron has chaired numerous committees including the very successful Fallfeast. A consummate volunteer for over 30 years he has been consistently the top ticket seller for the truck draws and fundraising dinners. He has been honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions and granted an Honorary Life Member by the Fair Foundation. Ron has also been a star volunteer at Norfolk General Hospital, accumulating over 2600 volunteer hours and was recognized with the Outstanding Service Award in 2011 and made a life Member in 2017.
Virginia Lucas is highly regarded in Norfolk as a community developer through her work with Church Out Serving. She played a key role in launching numerous poverty related programs and community food services that include community gardens, food hampers, frozen meals and a new initiative involving mobile food delivery. Virginia was key in the development of the Home For The Night out-of-the-cold shelter for the homeless and continues to advocate for year round support for the homeless in our community. Virginia was actively engaged in the evolution of Riversyde 83 and continues to provide leadership there daily.
Deacon Gerard Van Schyndel has served the community through the Knights of Columbus and played a key role in the St Vincent de Paul Community Kitchen in Simcoe since 2013. Gerard was instrumental during the pandemic in establishing the framework that fed over 100 people each day offering a hot meal and companionship. He was key in creating the Norfolk Refugee Committee in 2015 that welcomed and integrated Syrian families into the Norfolk area. Deacon Gerard has continued his humanitarian work by supporting recent Ukrainian refugees’ arrivals into our community.
Hadley Jackson has been an active volunteer in Norfolk County for over half a century. In 1980, he joined the Board of Directors of the newly established Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover and served on that board for over four decades. Hadley is also a well-known sailor and has been an enthusiastic volunteer with the Port Dover Yacht Club Sailing School since its inception over 16 years ago providing hundreds of youth and adults an opportunity to learn to sail. To promote sailboat racing, Hadley works with Port Dover Yacht Club, where he is a Past Commodore, to host U.S. and Canadian racing boats participating in the annual Lake Erie Interclub Cruise. Hadley has been a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Simcoe and contributes to the success of its many fund-raising efforts, particularly with his organization of the club’s popular Holiday House Tour.
Tickets at $25 are available through Rotarians or at the Lighthouse Box office in person, by phone (519) 583-2221, or on-line at lighthousetheatre.com.