Glenda Clayton is the recipient of the 2023 Order of Parry Sound.
A dedicated Harvest Share volunteer and one of the founders of Parry Sound Community Gardens, Clayton was given the award over the weekend by Mayor Jamie McGarvey at the Town’s Levee.
In recommending the recipient for the 2023 Order of Parry Sound, McGarvey says something that came through about Clayton from the Awards Advisory Council was “multifaceted and well-rounded”.
A Parry Sound resident since 1999, Clayton has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education from Queens.
“She worked for three decades in the outdoor environmental education field, including time with Ontario Parks, private outdoor education centers, a school board, conservation authorities, and locally with Georgian Bay Biosphere. She supported people with developmental disabilities at Community Living Parry Sound for the last three years of her working career,” he says.
McGarvey says Clayton has been a vital part of Parry Sound Nature Club for over 20 years, acting as either president or vice president for the club. In addition, he says she is also a representative of the Huronia region of Ontario Nature.
“She’s driven many miles to participate in turtle surveys and gardening projects. She’s been a keen fundraiser for the Outer Islands Project, getting sponsors and paddling the Franklin Challenge. She has volunteered an annual fundraising efforts for Global Medic, a Canadian volunteer disaster relief group. Her efforts, combined with others, have led to significant annual community donations,” he says.
As for Clayton’s work with Harvest Share, McGarvey says she packs food hampers, does food rescue, prepares kids bags, and participates in food drives and other fundraising activities.
“She helps with serving and cleaning up twice monthly, community dinners, delivers food hampers to clients within Parry Sound and food inventory to the North and the east side of the district, where communities including Britt, Callander, Powassan, South River and Burks Falls, all supported by Parry Sounds Food Bank,” he says.
In her acceptance speech, Clayton thanked the mayor, the selection committee for taking the time to review the applications and whoever was responsible for her nomination.
“To say I was surprised when I got the call is an understatement. There are so many things that go into making this such a wonderful community,” she said.
Clayton said there are just so many ways that people contribute to making this a great community, adding Parry Sound is one of the most beautiful spots on Georgian Bay but there’s an opportunity to explore.
“To the folks that are out there volunteering and getting connections made to the community. I encourage you to reach out to some people, people who recently moved to the area, people who maybe just retired and maybe have some extra time and help connect them to the things in this town. So maybe they could put some of their time because of course, it’s rewarding for them to make those connections and meet other people. But of course, the real benefit is for our community and the residents here,” she said.