Seven years ago this summer, some idiot who shares not only my name but also my face wrote a rude and mean-spirited column bashing the work of Communities In Bloom.
"A desperate plea for recognition," I wrote, adding "it smacks of mousy small-town boosterism."
Anne Martin, the chair of Communities In Bloom, wrote a letter politely disagreeing with my crankiness, pointing out the peer review nature of Communities In Bloom and stressing the positives of the program in the community.
Martin and another passionate supporter of Communities In Bloom, Shirley Gratton, were still nice to me, even after that, but their friends sure let me have it with both barrels.
I was slow to recognize how personal my snide remarks were taken. In many quarters, my criticism was interpreted not as a questioning of the merits of a civic pride initiative but as a direct attack against Martin and Gratton, two of Prince George's great treasures.
Four years later, Martin was named a Freeman of the City, the 12th recipient of the the highest civic honour for "exceptional merit and contribution" to Prince George.
And this past long weekend, Gratton joined that illustrious list, a well-deserved recognition for her decades of service to Prince George. Here's what a summary of her previous accolades looks like:
- Citizen of the Year
- Governor General's Confederation Medal
- Queen Elizabeth 11 Diamond Jubilee Medal
- City of Prince George Award of Merit
- Prince George Sports Hall of Fame
- Jeanne Clarke Award for contributions to the preservation of local history
Last summer, Gratton was recognized with a lifetime membership in the B.C. Northern Exhbition for her 65 years of service and activism, which started when 12-year-old Shirley Campbell entered her first chicken in the Prince George Fall Fair and continued through seven years as a director of the PGX.
The list of associations and service groups she has belonged to in Prince George is literally too long to fit into this space. And if there wasn't a group for her to join to help the community, then she helped found a new group to get the job done, as she did the Prince George Spinners and Weavers Guild and the Nechako Babe Ruth League.
When at work, I rarely pick up the phone when it rings, even when I'm sitting at my desk. I prefer to grab messages a couple of times a day, rather than let the phone interrupt my train of thought and the flow of those many empty boxcars between my ears.
I make an exception for Shirley Gratton.
I have memorized her home number and when it appears on the call display, I always answer because when she calls, it's always something important, something The Citizen and its readers should know about.
I have met many passionate advocates of Prince George but not a single one of them hold a candle to Gratton's devotion to this city. She doesn't just say Prince George is great, she goes out and does everything she can to make it happen. Her positive energy radiates from her. When the library and the community arts council released its 2013 calendar showcasing the work of local artists on the faces of Prince George residents, Gratton's face, vibrantly painted by Crystal Desharnais, her brilliant white hair and her laughing eyes added warmth to the month of January.
She refuses to be discouraged by nattering, negative nutjobs like the moron who wrote that column seven years ago. Instead, she soldiers on, getting results and making positive things happen, often accompanied by the other two musketeers in her band of merry ladies - B.J. Gair and Laura Sandberg.
Her leadership in Prince George has been one of example and she made a believer out of me, both in the beauty of this rugged northern city and in the power of one tireless person to change the community and the world.
Congratulations, Shirley. You're an inspiration to me, to everyone who knows you and to the residents of the city you love so much.
We're all so fortunate to have a soul as giving and as caring as yours in our midst.
