May 22 – The time has once again come to celebrate the people and groups that make Norfolk County a special place to live.
The 2019 Norfolk Heritage and Culture Dogwood Awards will be held at the Delhi Tobacco Museum & Heritage Centre on May 29. The event (which begins at 7 p.m.) will highlight the efforts of a number of residents, most notably Youth Award Winner Abi Boatright, Individual Award winners Mary Caughill and Mary Jane Kekes, Group Award recipient, the Norfolk Remembers Committee and John B. Lee, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I am overwhelmed that our committee has been honoured with the 2019 Norfolk County Heritage and Culture Dogwood Group Award,” said Grant Smith of the Norfolk Remembers Committee. “I can remember sitting in a Grade 1 class in Delhi in 1946 and learning that the Trillium was our provincial flower and that the dogwood was our county flower, and now we can place a dogwood pin beside the poppy and the lapel pin of the 133rd Norfolk Battalion.”
Norfolk Remembers has published a series of books telling the stories of the brave Norfolk natives who served their country with distinction. Their offerings are available for purchase at the Norfolk County Public Library Simcoe Branch and Waterford Heritage Agricultural Museum.
“We have an amazing group of dedicated members who have lifted the act of remembering our Norfolk men and women who served and died in wars to a new level,” said Smith. “It has been a great privilege to work with each and every one of them. The Norfolk Remembers Committee is truly greater than the sum of our individual parts.”
Established by the Heritage and Culture Division and named after the County’s official flower, these awards were created to honour individuals and groups for their outstanding achievements and contributions to heritage and culture in Norfolk.
“So many people do so much in Norfolk County, and with little to no recognition,” said Melissa Collver, director of heritage and culture for Norfolk County. “We love that a night like this gives these folks the acknowledgment they deserve. Norfolk County would be a very different place without them.”
Since inception in April 2007, individuals and organizations have submitted nominations of individuals and groups who creatively and constructively celebrate and promote events, exhibitions, publications, and other heritage and cultural activities to enrich the experience of Norfolk County residents.
