Well know Prince George volunteer Ginny (Johnson) Parsons was born in 1943 in the former coal-mining town of Nordegg, Alta.
Ginny said, "I am proud to say that I was a coal miners' daughter. I went to school in Red Deer, Alberta and got my Grade 12 here in Prince George when I was 52. I worked as a waitress at the A&W and the Chuck Wagon Caf and in my spare time I volunteered at the rodeo. I was part of the reserve army in Red Deer from the age of 10 to 23. The reserve army was meant to prepare young people for the regular army.
"When I was 18, I met and married Del Allen; we separated in 1979."
Ginny arrived in Prince George in 1967 and has been here ever since. She married Don Parsons, in 1989. Don was born in Pine River, Man. in 1930. He worked as an engineer for CN and Via Rail Canada for 45 years. His work career took him from coal powered trains to diesel engines and later he operated the formerly electrified spur line in and out of Tumbler Ridge.
Ginny said, "Don loved the farm at Salmon Valley. I remember when we moved there; at first the kids were unhappy that we moved so far out of town. Eventually we told them that if we moved back to town that there would be no more horses or chickens. That settled everything and they were happy to stay. I was a stay-at-home mom until the kids grew up. I started a neighborhood day care, took in foster children and billeted hockey players. There were many children who passed through our home and I loved all of it.
"I volunteered for Brownies, Girl Guides, Rangers, Pee Wee Baseball for Highglen Elementary and anything else to do with the children.
"Don enjoyed volunteering and together we volunteered at gymkhanas and started the Salmon Valley rodeo as a fund raiser for the Salmon Valley Recreational Centre. Sadly, Don passed away in 1998."
Ginny has three daughters; Debbie (Dwayne) Thompson lives in Fort Nelson, Tina (David) Shields lives in Salmon Valley and Jody (Brad) Chimera lives in Alberta who in turn gave them six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren who are perfect in every way - which of course they always are.
Ginny worked for School District 57 for 30 years. She started out as a teaching assistant for special needs children, then went into the custodial division for the next 22 years and worked as a supervisor's assistant over 275 custodians until she retired in 2003.
Ginny said, "I was proud to receive my retirement bell - a genuine school bell - with my years of service engraved on it. When I retired, I had more time to volunteer and I was happy about that. Now I realize that as a volunteer, if I want vacation days, I would have to go back to work at a paying job to be eligible for vacation days."
Ginny is nearly a full-time volunteer and has accomplished much for her community over the years. She worked, along with many others, on the Save the Pine Valley Golf Course fund raising projects and she is a volunteer at the Hart Pioneer Centre.
She has been volunteering at the Prince George Council of Seniors since 2003 serving on their board, working the front desk, assisting in their denture program, the Christmas hampers and many of their fund raisers just to name a few.
Ginny and Lola Dawn, the PGCS executive director, are currently working on Pioneer Day for the next B. C. Northern Exhibition (BCNE). Year after year and at the end of each annual Pioneer Day event they ask one another if they have enough steam to commit for the next year's event and of course Ginny always responds with a laugh and a high energized and positive confirmation.
It was Ginny's idea to start a Salmon Valley volunteer fire department. She checked all the facts with an insurance agent to verify the expected house insurance savings if a fire department was nearby. Then she knocked on the doors of her neighbors to see if they wanted it. They did, so Ginny took the required training through the Justice Institute of BC fire protection agency and became a qualified first responder trainer for all volunteer fire departments. She trained junior volunteer fire fighters and was please to see many of them go into a career as a fire fighter.
They did medical call outs and saved many lives over the years and assisted along the highways and byways as needed. Ginny said, "The Salmon Valley volunteer fire department members were on hand to help out during the Wright Creek flooding that took out the bridge that was the only road access in and out of Salmon Valley. There was a stranded south bound Greyhound bus load of people that we fed and housed over night until another north bound bus could come and pick them up to get them to their destinations. I was proud to be a part of such a great community and all those volunteers. I received many hugs over the years and I can tell you - thank you hugs are always welcomed by a volunteer."
Ginny is active in her church and volunteers at the Hartland Baptist Church. She said, "My life is full. I value my time with family and friends, I enjoy fishing and a bit of golfing. I am no Tiger Woods by any stretch of the imagination but I have a good time and I love it.
"I have never been a couch potato and I don't intend to start now. I am proud to do volunteer work - I don't know of any other way. My reward is that it brings me personal satisfaction and makes my heart feel good. I have a few more miles left in me so I intend to just keep on going."
