Tell us a bit about yourself. Where were you born and raised? Can you tell us a bit how the region has evolved over the years? I was born in Winchester, Ontario and raised on a family dairy farm south east of Kemptville, in North Grenville. The farm is still operated by the fourth and fifth generation of our family. Our community in the 60’s was very close knit with much of the focus revolving around church and long established family farms. Over the last 40 years the farm focus has remained but a greater number of residents in the area are commuters to jobs in larger centres. As a retired elementary and secondary teacher, Vice Principal and Principal, with over 30 years’ experience with the Upper Canada District School Board, can you give us some examples of how newcomer children and their families bring both positive experiences as well as challenges to classrooms and schools? While attending school in the 60’s and 70’s most schools in our rural region were usually 100% from white European lineage. At that time, urban schools would see more immigrants from non-European countries. While working in the school system for 30 years, till 2012, as well as today, more newcomers from all around the world, arrived in our communities. They were the face of more religions and customs that were new to our area. As our communities grew and valued our global reality, schools and staff supported, valued and celebrated what newcomers could share, creating a more global understanding in classrooms. As educators and parents, our biggest challenge was to try and not make assumptions in our schools about newcomers needs. We learned we must ask for leadership from newcomers and be inclusive in our school communities. In 2014, you joined the Volunteer Centre of St. Lawrence-Rideau as the manager. What advice can you give to a newcomer wanting to volunteer in Leeds Grenville? Newcomers must feel confident in stepping up and sharing their skills to our non-profits and business community. They can start to do this by volunteering. They must understand it is ok to ask for support and see that reaching out as a volunteer is a great way to network. Volunteering is a great way to meet people and feel included. How to you like to spend your free time? I enjoy volunteering and meeting people. I enjoy the arts and am involved in community theatre where I love to see youth and newcomers welcomed to our community events. I love to see their leadership skills and confidence while they are making community contributions. I value the opportunity to volunteer with the local YMCA and Children’s Mental Health and other organizations that value inclusion as an operational mandate. What do you love about living in Leeds Grenville? It is a wonderful blend of rural and urban communities who all show a community pride. A great place to live and grow with family and friends.
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In previous Campaign posts we’ve met some of the MacKay kids from Merrickville including Fae and Hal, this week meet their brother, Neil! Neil is 11 years old and like his sister Fae, was born in the United States. Neil says he enjoys living and growing up in a small town where everyone knows each other. We learnt in Fae’s story, that the MacKay family hosts “wwoofers” (a worldwide movement linking volunteers with organic farmers and growers) on their family farm. Neil’s favourite part about hosting exchange students and “woofers” from different parts of the world is learning new languages. When asked what advice he would give to a newcomer moving to Merrickville, he said “Everyone is nice in Merrickville, don’t be afraid to go up and talk to people”. Neil likes to play soccer with his friends. One of his favourite places to visit in the summertime is the local ice cream shop. His favourite ice cream flavour is chocolate mint! Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you born and raised? I was born at Brockville General Hospital and raised on Caintown Road north of Mallorytown. I lived my whole childhood in the same old stone house with my parents and a younger sister and brother. I went to high school at Brockville Collegiate Institute and then continued my education at Dalhousie University (Halifax) and then at Queen's University (Kingston). Do you have any personal/family traditions that you love to celebrate? My family has a number of traditions that we like to celebrate but I think the biggest tradition is that we spend a lot of time together. We have all settled within a hour and a half of our childhood home and my sister and I are within 10 minutes of our parents. We spend all holidays together and usually have dinner about once a week. Christmas contains the traditions that I miss the most when I am away...Christmas Eve candlelight service at St Paul's Presbyterian Church followed by a party at my parent's house, Christmas morning breakfast of cinnamon rolls and present opening followed by a wonderful Christmas dinner in the afternoon. What advice would you give to somebody moving to Leeds Grenville from another country? Leeds Grenville has an unbelievable number of attractions available to everyone but you need to search them out! To those who have lived here our whole lives I think we sometimes struggle to see everything this area has to offer. I was away at school and working elsewhere for 10 years and it was only when I returned that I fully realized what we have here. Whether you love sports, the arts, the outdoors, history or small town life you can find it here. Many people think that our community restricts the possibilities of what we can achieve but I firmly believe that all doors are open for people of all ages and backgrounds. I'm proud of how welcoming our small towns are to families from all corners of the world. What do you love about living in Leeds Grenville? I am a country girl at heart and Leeds Grenville has allowed me to live in the country while still doing the job I love. I had always dreamed of travelling the world and had ambitions to do that as a physiotherapist. I have been lucky enough to have had that opportunity while still being able to come home to my quiet house in the middle of nowhere! I love our lakes and woods and most of all, the friendly faces of people I have known my whole life. How do you like to spend your spare time? My husband and my young son are my priorities when I am not working at my clinic. We love to travel and spend as much time as possible with our families. I have always been obsessed with sports so I also spend a lot of time either playing or watching sports or being a physiotherapist at various sporting venues across the country. Where were you born and raised? Born in Ottawa and Lanark County, Bill and Sarah have deep roots in Eastern Ontario. At the age of 21, Bill moved from Ottawa into Lanark County where he stayed until 1975. He then relocated to the Frankville property that currently hosts Gibbons Family Farm. An old stone farmhouse was his and Sarah’s first home on the property. In 2010 Bill built and moved into another house where he currently lives. Sarah has remained true to her country roots and now lives in Mallorytown with her husband. Bill: Before opening Gibbons Family Farm as a business, you were a dairy farmer. What made you turn your hobby of maple syrup, into a business? Bill explained that he worked with dairy cows for 20 years but always dabbled in maple syrup production. He made a living from the cows but eventually, wanted a change. He began putting more time and effort into maple syrup production, making it into what he calls a ‘glorified hobby’ that he affectionately says ‘just got out of control’. Bill never expected the business to blossom into what it is today! Sarah: How did you get involved in the family business? Sarah’s first memories of involvement with the family business were from a young age when she would take time off from school to help with sap collection. After a long hiatus from sap collection that spanned through university, overseas travel and various social work jobs, Sarah began helping on the farm during the 2001 season, working the off-season on local cruise ships. She alternated between farm and tourism work until 2005 when she was asked to manage the business while Bill cared for aging parents. Weeks morphed into months and eventually, Sarah became a full-time fixture of Gibbons Family Farm. This was very unexpected. When Sarah left Frankville to study at the University of Guelph, she did so with little intention of returning to Leeds Grenville. Sarah exclaims with a smile that, “By no means did I think I would be the one staying on the farm!” What’s the best /most challenging part of running a family owned business? Both Bill and Sarah agree that not having a boss is a big perk of running a family owned business. But with that perk comes significant responsibility. As Sarah explains, ‘being self-employed means being solely responsible for your own pay cheque.’ As the maple syrup season is very weather dependent and only occurs for a short period of time, challenges also include hiring staff. Bill and Sarah explained that it is hard to find people who can essentially be on-call and willing to work extremely long hours until Mother Nature says that sap season is done. They continued by saying that it can also be hard to remember that as business owners they can’t expect employees to have the same level of commitment to the business that they do. If you were sitting down and having a conversation with a newcomer/immigrant who was thinking about starting their own business, what is the best piece of advice you would offer? As English is the primary language of Leeds & Grenville customers, Sarah feels that having strong English skills is an important contributing factor to a newcomer entrepreneur’s success. Bill agreed with Sarah but went on to say that one needs to be friendly too and “probably personality is even more important than good English.” Finding a business that is needed in this area would also contribute to success or if planning to be home or web-based, ensuring the product or service is needed in Ontario or Canada. Bill and Sarah recommend ‘starting small’ and not borrowing more money than you are comfortable with. Maple syrup is symbolic of Canada and trips to the sugar bush are a spring-time tradition for many Canadian families. Do you have any personal, cultural or family traditions you love to celebrate? Maple treats in the springtime are a Gibbons family tradition but instead of driving to Lanark County to buy them, like the Gibbons family did when Sarah was young, the Gibbons now produce their own sweet goodies! Christmas crackers on the holiday table have also been a longtime Gibbons family tradition and Sarah tries to carry this on from her Grandmother. Members of the Gibbons family can also expect Polish treats at each family gathering as Sarah’s mother hails from Poland. |