HomeMy WebLinkAboutCS-11-91 .-"'"'~..-x,,, TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
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GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION
DATE: MARCH 4, 1991
REPORT #: CS-11-91 FILE #:
SUBJECT: ONTARIO SENIOR ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 1991
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose &
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:-
1. That Report No. CS-11-91 be received;
2 . That Mr. Andrew M. Thompson of, 17 Concession Street West,
Bowmanville, be recommended as the Town of Newcastle's
nomination for the 1991 Ontario Senior Achievement Awards
program; and
3 . That Mr. Andrew M. Thompson be advised of Council's decision.
1.0 BACKGROUND
1. 1 The Ontario Senior Achievement Awards program is sponsored by
the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship. The program is intended
to honour individuals of 65 years of age and over who have
made outstanding contributions to their community during their
senior years . Nominations for this Award, from across
Ontario, are reviewed by an impartial Selection Committee who
select that year's recipients . The Awards are then presented
. ./2
REPORT NO. CS-11-91 - 2 - MARCH 4, 1991
to the recipients at a special ceremony held at Queen's Park
during Senior Citizen's Month in June.
1 .2 At the meeting held on January 28, 1991, Council passed the
following resolution:
"THAT the correspondence received from Elaine Ziemba, Minister
of Citizenship, requesting nominations for the 1991 Ontario
Senior Achievement Awards Program be received; and
THAT the correspondence be referred to the Director of
Community Services for review and recommendation. "
2.0 NOMINATION
2 . 1 In 1990, the Council appointed Striking Committee recommended
the submission of Mr. Andrew Thompson's name as the Town of
Newcastle's nomination for the 1990 Ontario Senior Achievement
Award. Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson was not successful in this
nomination.
2 .2 After reviewing the attached circum vitae (Attachment #1) , it
is our recommendation that Mr. Andrew Thompson's name be
renominated for this award. A copy of Mr. Thompson's
biography as it relates to this award is attached for your
review.
Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation
to the Committee,
( i /- I 411 f
,-1, t
Joseph P. Caruana, Director Lawrenc Kotseff
Dep tment of Community Services Chief A . , nistrative Officer
JPC:JJC:sa
r i 7
ANDREW M. THOMPSON
AWARDS
Presentation by the Town of Newcastle in 1981 for dedication and
service to the community.
Recipient of presentation from Premier Davis in 1981 in
recognition of Valuable Service to Education in Ontario.
Recipient of presentation by the Town of Newcastle of the Citizen
of the Year Award in recognition of the significant and valuable
contribution made to the community in 1985.
Recipient of presentation by the Town of Newcastle as a
competitor for a prize in the Ontario competition for Senior
Citizens in 1990.
Recipient of presentation by the Town of Newcastle of the Melvin
Jones Fellowship Plaque for dedicated Humanitarian Services,
Lions Clubs International Foundation in February 1991.
1 !
Page 2
ANDREW M. THOMPSON BORN JUNE 24, 1908
Andrew Thompson moved to Bowmanville in 1936 to accept the
position of Supervising Principal of Bowmanville Public Schools,
a position he held for thirty-four years .
During the following years he accepted many positions on local
Committees, both inside and outside the Town. Many of these
choices were made by the Bowmanville Town Council of the time;
others by the various organizations then in existence.
Soon after his arrival, he was requested by the Town Library
Board to become the Secretary of the Board. He volunteered his
services and remained in that position during the next twenty-
five years .
In the fall of 1936 Mr. Thompson joined two local associations .
One was St. Andrews Presbyterian Church; the other, the Lions
Club of Bowmanville. He is still a member of each and has been
deeply involved in the activities of both since then, serving as
Secretary of the Lions Club and later as Chairman of various
committees . He was President of the Lions Club in 1943-1944 . In
the church he has served in the following positions over the
years, and on the following committees for a time period of six
to eight years :
( 1) Chairman of the Board of Managers
(2) Clerk of Session
( 3) Member of the Trust Fund and Finance Committee through
ten years .
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Page 3
During his early years in the Bowmanville Lions Club which were
also the earliest years of the club itself, he was appointed as
Chairman of a Committee to draft a constitution and by-laws which
were to become a future guide to the Club's operation and
activities . Only minor changes and additions have been made
since that time.
He served as Secretary for three years . During his early years
he served as a member and was elected President of the Club for
the years 1943 - 1944 .
In 1945 the Club was made aware of the future sale of a valuable
property which was then held under the control of the Provincial
Government. It was a large property with a large beautiful home,
which would be just right as a Lion's Den, surrounded by a park
area suitable for a children's play area and for tennis courts
and recreation activities .
Mr. Thompson was appointed by the club to meet with Provincial
Officials to discuss with them the possible purchase of the
property. It became the Lions property in 1945 . Two years later
he created the two golden lions at the front of the building.
In 1945 Mr. Thompson was appointed by Town Council as Chairman of
the first Bowmanville Recreation and Parks Committee. His eight-
year tenure in this role ended when a Recreation Director was
hired by the Town to plan and supervise activities in the Town's
parks .
Page 4
In the forties, Mr. Thompson was Chairman of the Bowmanville
Planning Board for approximately six years during the Town's
expansion in the first development of the Waverley area.
He was a member of C.L.O.C.A. - The Lake Ontario Conservation
Area Commission for three years until he became a member of the
new Town of Newcastle Council in 1974 .
Mr. Thompson was a member of the Robert McLaughlin Art Gallery
Board in Oshawa for four years during the fifties .
In 1960 Mr. Thompson was appointed to the committee to plan for
the purchase of the Jury property as a museum and park for the
Town.
The following year he was elected Chairman of the new Museum
Board. Since then he served as Chairman during seventeen of
those years and after twenty-seven years as a member, he resigned
in 1988 from the Board.
Mr. Thompson was transferred from the position of Supervising
Principal of Bowmanville Public Schools in 1969 to the office of
the Board of Education in Cobourg where he was employed for five
years . There his duties were enlarged to encompass the
elementary schools of the entire western area on a consulting
basis . He retired in 1974 .
He decided in late 1974 to stand for election as a Trustee on the
Board of Education and was successful in winning.
19
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Page 5
Mr. Thompson remained on the Board for six years, 1975 through
1980 .
In 1979, Mr. Thompson was elected Chairman of the Board for the
year. That year proved to be a very memorable one, since the
Board came into being (memorable for him as Chairman, for all
Board members, for teachers, students and parents) . The reason
was the Board's first strike in the history of the Board. It was
initiated by the caretakers of the schools and lasted for seven
weeks. For the duration of the strike the period was really
memorable since the schools, all the schools, were kept open.
Teachers and students were in attendance, and learning continued
in all classes satisfactorily. With some outside janitorial
help, the schools continued to operate daily with no days lost
because of the strike.
All appointments received by Mr. Thompson were not financially
remunerated other than his employment as an employee of the Board
of Education.