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We recognize John Roland Belanger as the first recipient of this award in 2022.


John Roland Belanger or “Roland” as he’s always been known, was born in Toronto in October 1934 and moved to Foxboro with his parents Jack and Irene, a younger sister Donna and two younger brothers, Karl and Terry, after WWII in 1945.


Jack purchased Harold Gardeners Service Station in Foxboro on December 28, 1945. The business came with fuel pumps out front, a service garage and a house for Jack and his family to live in. This was also the first business of many for the Belanger family in the Quinte area and the first of many businesses being involved in the fuel and repair/service business. 


One of these was Jack’s Electric Motor Sales and Service which Jack moved into Belleville in 1950.

Once there, the business expanded into a full service Single Phase and Three Phase Induction Motor sales and rewind shop, power transmission sales and service, industrial supplies such as fasteners (nuts & bolts, etc.), hydraulics, drive belts and pulley’s, bearings and hundreds of other items and industrial supplies.


As Belleville and the business grew, that growth led to the formation of an Electricians Department within EMSCO with qualified electricians to service the growing local industries and farming communities that were a new part of EMSCO’s service offering.


This also led to the formation of another company named Acme Electric, a unionized shop formed to provide unionized electricians in an effort to help build and service the local unionized industries.


While the family business was growing so too was Roland’s’ family. With a wife (Rosemary) a baby girl (Karen) and two boys following close behind in yearly succession (Richard & Jeffrey), plus another two boys in the early 60’s (John & Joseph), Roland soon found that with a wife, five kids, and a full time job in the family business, life was getting really busy.

Over the years Roland became a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Kinsmen Club and K-40 while being involved in the Chamber of Commerce, the Eastern Ontario Electrical Association, and the Belleville Curling Club. 

 

As the 1970s rolled in Roland was a big part of the second generation family business that his dad Jack started in Foxboro. Jack Belanger retired in 1973 and Roland purchased the family business (Electric Motor Sales & Service and Acme Electric) from his father and his two brothers. Roland, who had started working full time after completing 10th grade, was now the sole owner of the family business.


Roland became involved with a group of Belleville businessmen in the late 1960s and early 70 that formed the Development Assistance Association of Belleville which built buildings and developed properties for lease back to businesses.


Roland and Jack Ellis also built the ESSO Dundas St. Car Wash of Quinte Limited in 1969-70 as one of a number of business ventures the two took on over the years


Roland and Bill Galbraith (Roland’s brother in law) purchased a few 6 plex residential/apartment buildings in the late 60’s and in the early 1970’s and they also purchased the 9 Hole Executive golf course on Hwy 2 known as the Bayview Golfing Centre

The 1970s were a busy and productive time for Roland but the 1980’s proved to be just as busy and productive. It was during this time that the 3rd generation, his five boys -- Richard, Jeffrey, John, Joseph and adopted son and cousin to the boys Rob Jakes -- began to enter the family business.


In the early 1980s Roland became involved with the 10 Acre Truck Stop, partnering with the original owner Ed Hannafin. This business grew to be one of the largest truck stops in Canada.


There was also the acquisition of the “Bill” Sills property which become known as Jenland Properties. This land acquisition was over 400 acres envisioned to be the new and future western business development area for Belleville and Sidney Township.


The 1980s also proved to be an expansion period for new operating and real estate businesses Belsons Holdings and then Belshield Corporate Group. Belshield was created by integrating some of the existing businesses Roland had amassed such as EMSCO, Acme Electric, Dundas St. Car Wash, Bayview Golf Course, U-Store and Lock Mini Storage, Jenrob Developments, 10 Acre Truck Stop and Jenland.


There was also a new start-up business known as Quinte Warehousing which later became known as All-Can Distribution Centres and B-Line Transportation, a third party logistics company with multiple sites and with trucks and trailers servicing many of its own clients.


In the early 90s there was also a new business venture with his old friend and past business partner Max Haggerty in what became known as Freightmaster/Quinte. 

Not content with businesses in Ontario, Roland acquired two additional businesses, one in Calgary, named Star Electric and another smaller one in Sparwood, B.C. called Kootenay Rewind. Both businesses were similar to the business model of EMSCO and the services provided to customers of EMSCO.


In the 1990s the economy and the service area of the EMSCO’s of the world were changed forever. Yet having amassed or been involved in some 25 to 30 companies and having the responsibility of some 400 employees in three different provinces, by the early 2000s Roland gave up his office at the Cannifton Rd site. Although he continued to work from his home office in semi-retirement for more than a decade afterwards, he left the day to day running of the businesses to his five sons. 


This new retirement chapter provided Roland with the opportunity to become involved in some of his old interests and activities and even some new ones. It even allowed him the opportunity to spend time with his many grandchildren.


During this retirement period Roland also married again, to his longtime partner Margaret. This was by far his best partnership decision.

Connie Carson has been a well known realtor in the Quinte area for over 43 years and has housed more than 4,600 clients. With a stated population of 50,000 in Belleville, she’s helped about 10% of the people who live here Choose Belleville.



As a Community Partner, Connie has not only helped build our community with homeowners but has also given of her endless energy to numerous organizations including the Canadian Real Estate Association, Bay of Quinte Yacht Club, The Enrichment Centre For Mental Health, Three Oaks Foundation, Quinte Home Builders, 100 Women Who Care Quinte, Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, Children's Safety Village, Hastings County Historical Society, Belleville Chamber of Commerce Community Champion recipient and BGH Community Hero. 


She currently serves on The Belleville Heritage Committee and is a passionate advocate for sharing what she loves most about this beautiful city.

If that weren’t enough, Connie is also the founder and moderator of the 12,600+ member Facebook group "Sharing Belleville Memories" where people share their own stories and read her articles on the topic. The success of this collection of hers and others memories inspired her to write her very first book - "Memories of Belleville" which explores a few of the dozens of stories Connie has written on downtown Belleville. We witness the popularity of this venture with people coming in daily to pick up a copy – it’s a great way to have people come visit us at the Log Cabin.

She was inspired to write this book in March of 2020 with the start of the Pandemic. In her foreword she notes, “The world as we knew it was unravelling right before our eyes and we felt powerless and fearful… My thoughts turned inward and long forgotten memories bubbled to the surface of my consciousness and an idea formed.”


She connected with the Downtown District and offered to write her memories of Front Street in a series of blogs. She called it The Tin Box Memories in honour of her grandmother who saved news clippings, unique buttons, recipes and photos in a rustic tin box that she would spend countless hours sifting through when visiting her. The blogs turned into stories that grew into a book.


She credits her daughter Julie Carson, grandson John-Ross Parks and hubby Brian Holgate as having been EVERYTHING to her during this book writing journey. It wouldn't have happened without their encouragement, input and sense of humour at the end of every story! 


“Our memories are often fragments, brief moments or encounters, which together form the book of our life.” For anyone interested in learning more about Connie – because there’s no way to capture it all here, I encourage you to read her book. Not only are the stories an interesting look back into a history of our City that should not be forgotten, they remind us of how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful and friendly City. 

She still loves the community feel and energy vibe infusing the downtown area – all reasons why she continues to Choose Belleville.

Some of our past recipients are recognized for their philanthropic efforts which offer critical support to many of the community’s non-profits. This year, we have the opportunity to recognize an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, in every sense of the word, with her contributions of time and talent.


What makes our recipients human is at the essence of our award program – and how their humanity drives their actions is what we try to capture as inspiration for those we share these stories with.


For Sheri, giving back started at home... her mother led by example and she was volunteer-driven as well – whether it was as a Brownie leader or doing something in the community to raise money for a local initiative, she learned that giving back was about being a good neighbor. She also realized she was a small cog in a much bigger wheel.



Growing up in rural Ontario has advantages for those who have a little bit more and she noticed how she was blessed and knew somehow, she had it a little bit better and it motivated her to share from a very early age. She was always involved in extracurricular activities, president of the intramural committee, high school valedictorian and recipient of the Governor General’s Medal. She participated in a student exchange to France and realized once again she was a very small individual in a very big world. 

Of course, a second language is always an inspiration for post-secondary aspirations – but while on track to become a French teacher – she switched over to study sociology and law and through their co-op program was able to experiment as a probation officer at Jane & Finch and at a custody facility in downtown Toronto for young people. And that’s when she knew she was going to find her career somewhere in the field of justice. She continued with teacher’s college anyway, assured she would be able to use that knowledge regardless but within days of completing her B.Ed, applied at the Belleville Police Service through the recommendations of people she knew, enrolled in Police College on May 1st, and is now in her 26th year serving the citizens of Belleville.

In our interview, she remarked on her journey that typically, people join the police force as a family affair and the drive to serve is passed down. She also noted that her degree in education was not wasted. She has enjoyed part-time teaching roles at Loyalist College and how talking about the philosophy of justice helped her balance the minutiae of the day-to-day operations of her job.


She also realized that giving back gave her even more… “in a job where you are surrounded by people in the worst moments of their lives – we can become cynical – and need to be reminded why we do this and the people we’re protecting with our service” and that’s where it never ends for Sheri.


Initially one might see these as fun events, raising community awareness and a bit of money along the way and maybe even as a part of the job, such as the Torch Run, Pedal for Hope, Cops for Cancer, Cops and Cowboys, Polar Plunge, Dancing with the Stars, Ride to Remember, Children’s Safety Village, Kids Got Talent, Big Sisters, Women United, Cop Shop, 100 Women Who Care, fashion shows for charitable causes – just to name a few. She has delivered hundreds of presentations to community groups, students, and presentations on mental health and the justice system.


But then we get into some of the real work and how the value of her contributions were certainly never covered by “other duties as assigned” in a job description nor could any monetary value be measured. 


She was part of the team for Pedal for Hope and its second life as “Give Where you Live” to keep the program to support children with cancer fundraising dollars local. 

She has been a member of the Board for the Enrichment Centre for Mental Health for over 5 years. She has chaired the United Way Campaign Cabinet for the past two years through a pandemic and surpassed their goals; a role she has embraced because she sees first hand where the money is used.


Most recently, in 2021 and 2022, she led the revival of the Polar Plunge and challenged all three emergency service Chiefs and their respective services to participate – to the tune of over $7,000 and holding fourth place in the province (until the GTA stepped up) and was in the top ten for her personal fundraising efforts.


But there’s more behind the scenes that has really demonstrated Sheri’s commitment to our community. She’s involved with Quinte Health Care, she’s involved with Mental Health, she is an advocate for first responders at the provincial level on the Mental Health Collaborative Table.


She has been a catalyst for the Human Services Justice coordinating committee for over 15 years in the development of LEADS training that started in Belleville as a mechanism to provide additional training for all different sectors in the community – victim services, probation, paramedic, police – mental health training to reduce stigma and ensure members of the community, Youth Hab, Pathways can be treated with effective service when in an encounter with a police officer.   

She has been a catalyst for the recruitment of women to policing with the goal of moving the current representation of 21% to 30% by 2030 by creating an annual event that introduces girls to the force. The annual event takes place for one night in November where in 3 hours/3 segments – participants meet officers, try on equipment/uniform fitting, do a fitness test – branch off into forensic, detective departments where they get to talk to the women in these roles.


She was recognized with the Innovation Award in 2019/20 by Ontario Women in Law Enforcement for developing a recruit training manual to standardize the recruitment process. Twenty-five other Police Services have since taken it to use or assist with the development of their own programs.

She is most proud of her passion and tenacity to develop and implement the Impact team; once again beyond the call of duty fueled by a passion to find solutions and “being a pain in the ass with addictions and mental health and the hospital” to come up with a plan and get some leverage with stats that supported the anecdotal experience that police responders were dealing with health issues, not criminal issues. She believed they could become part of a bigger team to support first responders, health care and the citizens struggling. They launched the pilot for one year – in Belleville and Quinte West – and has obtained perpetual funding to support the program through the Ministry of Health; MPP Smith won’t say she was a nag but the funding for this service coming from the provincial government rather than police services is unprecedented. There were many that doubted the potential of the program but now thank her for its design.

And then there’s the Order of Merit from the Governor-General in 2019.  Of significance in that moment, Sheri notes that the photo capturing the moment was of three women in uniform. The Governor-General, the Commissioner of the RCMP and her. 


This is big stuff and is how one more person has put Belleville on the map.


Sheri has committed to serving her community as a police officer but how she has demonstrated her dedication to the community is why we are acknowledging her as a Cornerstone of Citizenship. 

We hope you find her story an inspiration to manage the work/life balance and take on a leadership role. She got into management to be the voice of change – not to sit back and complain – and to inspire others to embrace the role you have to play and the influence you’ll have when you perform in that role.

During the past year, the Chamber was granted a significant amount of money we could use to support the Choose Belleville campaign initiated by the City to encourage our community to “support local”.


In keeping with the theme of choosing Belleville and supporting local, no one fits both better than our 2022 Cornerstone Founder recipient than Jim Parkinson.


One might say that Belleville chose Jim first when his Uncle John Wettlaufer took him in for summers as a teenager – following the sudden loss of their own son, Billy when he was just 13. Jim loved coming from Tavistock in Western Ontario to spend time in the Bay of Quinte region.

Jim’s first round at adulthood started with a career in manufacturing, a marriage and two daughters in the Stratford area. When he later met Linda and they married, he was in production control as a supervisor and she was working with CKOC in Kitchener but his daughters had moved to the Belleville area – so he and Linda packed up their 24’ truck with everything they owned (which didn’t even stack higher than the sides) and they chose Belleville as their new home.


He had prospected a job to install car stereos back when cars didn’t have them built-in. Linda was pregnant and they lived in an apartment on Westmount Drive. Once he started working in Belleville, he found there wasn’t quite enough work to keep him busy at the shop on Station St (across from the train station that some remember as the store with the truck on the roof), so he went up to the Quinte Mall and started working afternoons at Circle TV. He quickly became their best salesperson.


And that’s where he met Jerry Dirocco. He credits many things that he knows about running a retail business to Jerry. The decision was made to open a new location on Station Street, selling ‘unclaimed freight”. The new store soon outsold TV sales at the Quinte Mall using fun gimmicks that spurred on sales. Circle Furniture later moved to 360 Pinnacle Street, and Jim spent seventeen years with Jerry and Circle TV.


Looking back, it would seem two things happened – furniture got into Jim’s blood and he was ready to venture out on his own. He’d found his groove, was never just on the floor but trusted with everything from the keys to the purchasing and decided that if he was running things anyway, he might as well own his own business. That became particularly obvious during a brief stint with Leons in Kingston, working for the McKerchers – and that’s when he decided it was time. 

He acknowledges now he had no real idea what he was getting into with the Master Bedroom franchise opportunity but it was easy enough to get into because he knew so many in the industry. In one of his first conversations with this new venture, King Koil’s representative said – in the same breath – “you must be out of your mind, but tell me how I can help” and so it began.


He opened Master Bedroom on April 11, 1994 on North Front St. (across from Benton Fry Ford) with one bedroom suite and 110 pieces; he had a bunch of friends come and unload the stock he had onto the floor of the upper portion of the building. 

While Jim may not have known it at the time, that may have been the moment when he did more than choose Belleville, but Belleville chose him. The small town was there to support him against the “big” guys and he was on his way.


He looks around the city and with what he knows about the industry now, he acknowledges his resilience as a locally owned business. While Master Bedroom may be a franchise that he thought he needed back in 1994 to give his venture brand recognition and credibility, he has found the support he really needed comes from the community. This is partly what inspired the launch of Layered Living and the addition of dining and living room furniture to the location he moved to in 2008.


Of course, there were a few other twists and turns along the way – the store in Napanee – the store in Kingston – 3000 square feet of futons - but the best was bringing his family in. Kris was managing deliveries as a teen, Marcey came on board in 1996 and Ryan took over the truck when Kris went off to school with intentions to pursue a career in policing. Kris came home, Marcey’s husband Jim is also a part of the business and their warehouse manager, Chris Thompson is like family.



The second best was the move to Hilden Square in 2008 where the break in taxes and rent have really helped the business thrive. His commitment to Canadian-made might be well known but deserves mention. While none of us probably needs convincing of this, to hear the inside scoop on how foreign manufacturers cut corners on quality to keep weight down to defray shipping costs, it’s a great reminder that an investment in quality furniture pays off in the long run. He’s also seeing the price of everything rise with the current supply chain crisis and where people might have seen cost savings before, the gap has narrowed. Serta is the primary mattress line he carries and it offers comparable quality to other brands. The technology is continuously improving as well. Of course, there’s no magic formula to finding your best mattress other than the more coils the better and they really do wear out in about 10 years. He does love his iComfort mattress though.

Layered Living was an inspiration created by Kris, Marcey and Jim Sopha. Layered Living draws on Marcey’s sense of interior design and he’s pretty proud of the Canadian product lines they carry here as well. 


The 13,000 square foot showroom features over 40 different mattress options, 200-300 fabric choices, beautiful accessories and the most comfortable couches. All of their advertising campaigns are produced by local marketing company, THEY Integrated, led by Shawn Patriquin.


Jim’s story isn’t complete without sharing his part in the Buy Locally Owned group launched by Tom Lafferty. Tom had seen something like this in the States and the small group – including Neil Ellis, Ken Harnden, Frank Hendry, Greg Johnson, Eric Lindenberg, Sal Longo and Tom Raycroft – registered the group as a non-profit organization and charged membership so they could develop the initiative, support local sports teams and they were responsible for the resurrection of the Canada Day event at one point (later taken over by the Barrett family). They had 65 members at one time, had a great deal of fun voicing commercials and loved the impact this had on the community.

As we have recognized the importance of supporting local this past couple of years through the pandemic, it serves us all to thank this group for being the first to champion Choosing Belleville.  

This year’s deserving winner is Marilyn Lawrie.

Perhaps the truest sign that Marilyn is, from the heart, a mentor, is her  response to the question – how do you feel you’ve helped others through mentorship? To which Marilyn said she felt she had been the one being mentored daily by those around her. 


She mentioned key people in her past who show up time and again at different places and times, so while she may not have said it, clearly her impact and engagement sustains lifetime relationships. 

People in Belleville will know Marilyn from Loyalist College, The Quinte Arts Council, the Quinte Symphony, Quinte Ballet School, the Stirling Festival Theatre and now, the Humane Society Hastings Prince-Edward.


From Sheridan College to the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, she has a reputation for theatre production, stage management, communications and marketing. 

Somewhere in there, she also owned and operated a destination retreat with her husband at Rivendell Herb farm for more than 20 years.

Marilyn is not simply a mentor of people, but also of organizations. She is the stage manager of whatever she gets involved with, pulling together elements and contributions to put on a first-class production. Whether it’s a floor being poured or a ribbon cutting, she loves every part of it. She’s been everything from the volunteer to the marketing plan developer, from plunging toilets to running lights – all the while sharing her knowledge and expertise with those around her. 

She acknowledges that life feels like one big show. And if you’ve met Marilyn, you’ll agree her enthusiasm and energy embraces you.

Jane Gardner, the newly retired General Manager of the Quinte Ballet School, has known Marilyn for two decades, first through her work as a Board Member and former President of Theatre Ontario and then at the Ballet School.


According to Jane, in high school Marilyn never knew of all of the possibilities in the performing arts until she got involved in extra-curricular musicals and plays. It wasn’t until she reached Sheridan College where she studied Media Arts that Sheridan’s production manager suggested she stage manage one of the class productions.


That ignited her interest in technical theatre and led to a summer job in stage management at a Montreal theatre, followed by school tours of Sheridan student productions in Ontario.

After graduation, she took the job of theatre manager for Sheridan’s newly opened theatre facility and for the next 18 years took various production, administrative and teaching roles, jobs that eventually helped prepare her to become Digital Media Manager for Stirling Festival Theatre.


Along the way she met her husband, Michael Rutland. In 1986, Michael hired Marilyn as production stage manager for the Variety Club’s Toronto Gala show at Harbour Castle, which involved five assistant stage managers and 130 performers including the National Ballet, Toronto Symphony, and the Canadian Opera Company. While the show was a success, the truly outstanding production was the relationship between Marilyn and Michael, which was truly epic.


While Marilyn’s career started in technical theatre, her work in the arts has since included leadership positions in dance, music, opera, digital media, special events, teaching and downtown development, among many other things.



In 2012, Marilyn became Executive Director of the Quinte Ballet School of Canada. At that time, the organization was experiencing serious financial challenges. Marilyn’s hard work over her five years at QBSC, together with artistic director Catherine Taylor, QBSC’s Board and the support of the John M. & Bernice Parrott Foundation, led to the elimination of QBSC’s long-term debt from 2002 and the purchase of the land on which the dance facility sits upon from the Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board.

One of Marilyn’s protégés – Teresa Allen -- met Marilyn through a mutual friend. At the time she had no idea the impact Marilyn would have on her life.

She said that whenever she has questions about a career in the arts, a message to Marilyn is returned with “Let’s meet for coffee and discuss your questions further.” A question about paperwork? Marilyn has examples she is happy to share. Need a connection with someone in the community? Marilyn will pass along your information to them.

 

“Being a mentor can be a difficult job,” Teresa says. “It takes a very special person to see the potential in someone, answer the many questions that come their way, and to give advice freely. A mentor takes on the role of a teacher and a friend.

 

“If it weren’t for Marilyn, I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today with the Quinte Ballet School.  It is a privilege to call Marilyn my teacher, mentor, and best of all, my friend.”


Jane also described Marilyn as a mentor, noting that her extensive experience as a volunteer and mentor “has provided a strong foundation and stability to many arts organizations in our community.”

Wherever Marilyn Lawrie has worked, her calm, positive and caring approach and love of the arts is clear. She not only understands the importance of the arts and community but its development and appreciation of it

“No matter how many years you’ve been working in the arts, you never stop learning,” Marilyn says. “I am deeply inspired by the people I’ve learned from, volunteered with and worked with throughout my career.”

With all that Marilyn has been involved with around Belleville, she has served the community as the quintessential teacher and mentor. All are better off for having worked with her and most will go back time and again to draw from the well of her knowledge and experience. 

 

A huge thank you to her for being willing to share. 

This year, we remember Richard Courneyea, a champion of all things Belleville and past-president of the Chamber, long-time business owner and most recently, the development of Signal Brewing Company in Corbyville. 


Richard was elected as a member of the Board of Directors in 2012 and served as President of the Chamber in 2015. He was an active voice for business, the downtown and his community. He deserved to be here to receive this honour but as always, it feels like there will be more time.


At this point, we defer to the words of Shawna Courneyea, Richard’s wife, as she reflects on his life well-lived and the journey they shared.


Master of All Visionaries …

 

A Visionary Leader - thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom.

 A person with original ideas about what the future will or could be like.

 

The Many Faces of Richard ….

It is hard to know where to begin. Many years ago, I started an album called the many faces of Richard. As I was going through pictures, newspaper clippings, his award trophies, his works of art, counsel notes, I could hardly believe all the things my amazing husband has done, created, negotiated, built, painted … he was an Einstein. 

 

The other day my friend said to me Richard was a Maverick!!! Perfect word. When I looked up the meaning it is so Richard “A person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way!” That was Richard!

 

Always wanting to achieve what’s never been achieved before. Liked to shake things up. Was the most innovative, influential, daring, creative, courageous man I know. Richard never believed in the impossible. I admired this the most about my husband. Everything was possible to Richard, even when everyone else was doubting and looking at the roadblocks including myself, my Richie never saw them, pushed them aside and went for it, seeing the end vision and masterpiece he was about to create and bring to life. Life for Richard was a blank canvas and with palette in hand he would see a vision, a dream, and start painting. He didn’t always know what he needed to paint, but with a stroke at a time his work of art and masterpiece would begin to come alive and our family, our friends and our community would begin to see what he was seeing and celebrate the beauty of his hard work, determined spirit and relentless energy to bring his masterpiece to fruition. Now we could jump in and be a part of this masterpiece so Richard could continue to create and paint more!

Richard has left a huge footprint in many people’s lives, and in our community. He had endless energy for inspiring people to see past the ordinary, to not be afraid to dream and then jump in with both feet! That was the fun of it. Richard was a force to be reckoned with. 


He was Chair of the BDIA, the President of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the City’s Façade Improvement Committee, President of the Bay of Quinte Tourism, Vice-Chair of the Agricultural Society. Was a Councillor for Tweed and ran for mayor in Belleville, husband, father, grandpa and friend. Ambitious fellow, that is for sure.

He received an award from the Ontario Government for restoring the former Corby Distillery properties which we now call “Signal Brewery and Henry’s Place”.

 

Richard was owner and operator of Richard Davis in Downtown Belleville for over 25 years. New opportunities in the face of challenging retail times but an unwavering commitment to the community were part of the decision to close the retail venture and move to something completely different.

 

He traveled the world always looking for new products to sell, to get inspiration, and to appreciate the world through not only his eyes but others too.

 

Richard was always thinking about or planning the future with imagination and fearless intentions. He was always dreaming and then “moved to action”, creating and working tirelessly to achieve what’s never been achieved before and what the future could like

 if …

He showed us the POWER OF LOVE IN ACTION!

 

Richard was a man of integrity, always following his heart everywhere he went. His mission field was to meet people where they were at, loving them unconditionally and bringing them into his family as if they were always meant to be there in the first place.


Richard’s heart and love for his family and community of Belleville was what always kept him inspired to do the things he did and were top of his mind. He immersed himself in the city, always wanting to help it expand, grow and blossom into something beautiful. Giving people a unique experience they would always remember and appreciate. 

His participation in many committees, teams, and counsels will be felt for years to come. His impact and footprint left in the City of Belleville will follow his legacy forever. 


A guy named Henry Corby founded Corbyville back around 1859. Henry homesteaded an alcohol behemoth with his bare hands and no power tools, alongside his local community thirsty for his product. His vision endured floods, prohibition, Spanish Flu, world wars and more...He never gave up!

 

We built Signal with inspiration believing our buildings would be a gathering place for our craft community to celebrate each other with love, inclusion and collaboration and it’s happened just like we dreamed.


Many thanks to Shawna for sharing this reflection. From her words, we add Richard’s signature good-bye saying “Thank you for being my friend” and know that his vision survives him.

 

As the recent campaign to shop local was promoted as Choose Belleville, it has also become a common theme for our recipients this evening… for this year’s Lifetime Achievement recipient, we recognize someone who did choose Belleville… Bob Doyle, owner and operator of four McDonald’s restaurants as Doyle Foods Services Ltd,


Bob was born in Sarnia Ontario, he received his BA from Western Ontario (Kings College) and started his business career at Sears, and worked through Loblaws (Super Centre), ROBINSONS (subsidiary of COMARK).


He started his career and lived in Burlington where he moved around to various positions in sales, merchandising and marketing. He can still remember paint SKUs from his time in paint and wallcoverings from Sears. While he originally thought he’d go into city planning, when the position came up at Sears, he decided why not… and that’s where it began though eventually, he started looking for his own business venture. 


He actually considered Canadian Tire, but when a friend suggested McDonald’s he found his fit. It’s certainly not as easy as that but he embraced the 1600 training program (that’s nearly a year long investment of time) and was awarded his first store in Caledonia in October, 1995. He immersed himself in that community and with the Chamber of Commerce there, but when the opportunity to buy in to the Belleville area came up, he was ready for it. 

 “What’s not to like?,” Bob says when asked why he chose Belleville. “Growing up in Sarnia, water was a part of the culture we knew, and it’s here! The climate is nice, it’s close to Toronto but not too close and close enough to the border. Fishing, hunting and skiing activities are all within a short drive.” 


He recalls from his university studies in geography that the best locations were ones that had water, rail and roads. When they saw Belleville, they decided to move here. On April 1st, (a date difficult to forget), he took over the North Front and Walmart McDonald’s locations. In 2002, he opened the McDonald’s on Dundas St. East and in 2012 expanded further into Madoc.  

The McDonald’s culture may not be for everyone, but it was a great fit for Bob’s experience with people. With their international brand recognition, he doesn’t have to do much to promote the product. His previous experience of managing people transferred specifically to the McDonald’s model and he considers their employees as their most valuable resource and opportunity in terms of local success.


As a testament to that focused skill, there are still a few of those employees still there that started with him in 2000 and there are now 295 employees across the four stores. He also noted anecdotally that he’d heard 40% of Royal Bank employees have McDonald’s background.

In the context of Lifetime Achievement, Bob has also been an active citizen and philanthropist. Most are familiar with Ronald McDonald House and he acknowledged it is always their first charity of choice within the franchise, but he also believes they should be giving locally first. 


He has certainly done this in terms of his time and talent: getting involved with the Belleville Chamber as soon as he arrived and by 2004, he had moved through the Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s Board to the role of President. He has also served as the President of the Early Years Initiative, Chairman and Board Member of the Quinte Children’s Foundation (and recognized as an Angel), and Board Member of the Children’s Aid Society as well as numerous boards with McDonald’s, including Vice Chair of the National Business Forum representing Ontario.  

In 2006, Bob became a member of the Board of Directors at the BGH Foundation and progressed to Chair in 2013, a position he held until 2016. He may move back into that role if necessary once the current chair’s term is complete. 


He also connected with what he refers to as an “impressive group of people” that came together to serve the Quinte Children’s Foundation among other contributions no one ever hears about.

Local organizations that have benefited from fundraising efforts at McDonald’s also include the Alzheimer’s Society, who come in once a year to set up coin boxes and canvas at the drive-thru while he offers a percentage of sales. 


And there are quite a few other donations, whether it’s through McHappy Day, vouchers, or significant contributions to hospital equipment. Bob mentions about $10,000 a year, but that sounds a bit modest.


As with most of the prior recipients, Bob is not preparing to sit back and take it easy. He still spends about 50 per cent of his day in or around a store, whether it’s the 21 minute drive to Madoc or stepping in for a coffee on North Front Street. Seeing good customer service makes him smile and he still enjoys the routine of going in every morning, reading the paper, exercising and sitting down to paperwork at 1 pm.


Through his contributions to founding and building multiple businesses, contributing to the community through his time, talent, fundraising and donations and the mentorship that comes from being present with his employees on a daily basis, Bob Doyle is true representative of the people we hope will choose Belleville as their home.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTO BOOTH PICTURES!

Check out presentation photos and some candid shots!