Holly McFarlane honored for service
[ MAY 10, 2010 - CHRIS ISTACE ]
Holly Hamilton wasn’t planning to stay in Moosomin long when she applied for a position with the Rural Municipalities of Martin and Moosomin in 1991.
Hamilton’s intentions were to accept and hold the job as RM secretary for five years, the amount of time left before her daughter’s graduation from high school.
Nineteen years later, Holly McFarlane—she has since married Moosomin accountant Layne McFarlane and established firm roots in the community —has been recognized for her substantial contributions to the town that was supposed to only host her for the short-term.
McFarlane was handed the 2010 Moosomin Chamber of Commerce President’s Award at the Chamber’s annual Community Recognition Evening on May 1. The event was held in conjunction with the two-day Home, Farm and Leisure Show at the Moosomin Communiplex.
About 85 business and community leaders attended the Recognition Evening banquet at the Moosomin Community Hall. The Moosomin Kinsmen Club and the Moosomin Community Theatre were also among the 2010 honorees.
The President’s Award was handed to McFarlane for her work with the Moosomin and District Health Care Foundation and the organization’s efforts to raise funds for the $32 million Southeast Integrated Care Centre.
Her work included organizing and administrating those efforts as secretary for the foundation.
A total of $10.75 million was raised through the organization for the new hospital and long-term care centre. A further $1.2 million has been collected for furniture and equipment being used at the facility.
“It’s a big job to track all those donations and make sure everyone gets acknowledgment and a receipt,” Moosomin Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Weedmark said while introducing the award winner.
“To be the sole employee at the centre of such a massive project, Holly must be the most organized person in the world, because she never skips a beat.”
“The fundraising for the new $30 million hospital was one of the biggest projects in the history of Moosomin, and it took some excellent co-ordination at the centre to pull it off,” Weedmark continued.
“And no doubt the work of the foundation is going to be just as important in the future, because I think everyone agrees that that facility is going to have to be expanded in the future.”
Weedmark said McFarlane was at the centre of an organization that represents the entire area.
“This fundraising effort involved the whole community and the whole region and it’s something we can all be proud of,” he said. “Holly likes to work quietly in the background, but her efforts and her hard work helped this incredible project for our town become a reality.”
Moosomin Mayor Don Bradley said McFarlane’s contribution to the care centre project was a vital piece of the community’s effort in raising funds for it. He found it difficult to describe exactly how important her help was.
“Holly is one of the best community volunteers that I’ve known for a long-time,” he said. “You and your kind make our town and our country the greatest place in the world to live.”
Moosomin and District Health Care Foundation chair and RM of Martin reeve Mark Bateman agreed with that assessment.
“I have found her to be very dedicated and a pleasure to work with. She has volunteered countless hours over the years and was always there at our major fundraising events,” Bateman said.
McFarlane began volunteering for the care centre project in 1999 when she was asked to be recording secretary for the project’s Planning Advisory Committee.
Seven years later, she applied for and received the position of secretary-treasurer for the health care foundation.
“This has been an amazing experience for me,” McFarlane said during her acceptance speech. “I have witnessed over the years the generosity of individuals, businesses, various community organizations and many, many volunteers . . .
“There will always be a need for the health care foundation, whose mandate is to ensure that funds donated for health care are spent locally. The need for more services and newer equipment will direct the fundraising activities into the future.”
Besides recognizing the foundation’s board and other volunteers for their work, McFarlane also noted that her family was recruited on several occasions to help with various tasks, including to fold and stuff envelopes.
She also noted the accomplishments of former foundation secretary-treasurers Skuli Bjornson, Jan Gustafson and Lynne Hafner.
“Our family really appreciates all the wonderful services available locally,” she said in closing. “I would like to thank everyone here for making us feel welcome in this community. I am very humbled that you feel my contribution to the community is worthy of this recognition.”
Out of the $32 million cost of the Southeast Integrated Care Centre, $10.75 million was raised in the local area, and another $1.2 million was raised locally for furniture and non-medical equipment.
The Moosomin and District Health Care Foundation co-ordinated the local fundraising for the project.
More than 3,600 people donated to the health care foundation.
PotashCorp committed more than $600,000 and helped raise another $250,000 through a matching community donation campaign, and the Moose helped raise half a million dollars.
Conexus Credit Union and Moosomin Credit Union donated $300,000, Trans Canada Pipelines donated $200,000, Laurence Dennis from Wawota donated $200,000, the Kinsmen raised $135,000 and Borderland Co-op donated $100,000 over five years.