A magnificent 2025 Volunteer Recognition Evening!

On May 2, the Town of Sutton held its Volunteer Recognition Eveningan annual event held, this time, at the Sutton Art School. The grandeur of the venue reflected the grandeur of the evening: festive, friendly, warm and elegant. The six Council members and the new Director General were particularly proud to present a certificate and a gift to each of the honoured volunteers present.

Nearly 105 people attended the celebration, which was graciously orchestrated and humorously hosted by the Recreation, Community Life and Culture Department. The evening, which was marked by deep gratitude and humility, enabled the Town to recognize the commitment of people who give generously of their time and energy to contribute to the well-being of our close-knit community.

New this year

This year, a few changes were made to the event. The aim was no longer to choose a winner in each of the categories (recreation and sports, community life, culture and youth), but rather to give equal recognition to the involvement and volunteer work of all the people nominated by the organizations. Last March, organizations were invited to nominate a volunteer who had distinguished themselves during the year 2024: in all, 23 organizations nominated 29 volunteers (one organization nominated a total of 6 people).

In addition to these nominations, the general management was keen to highlight the contribution of volunteers working on the town’s various advisory committees: seven people, members of two advisory committees, were present and were therefore honoured.

Evening program

Mayor Robert Benoît opened the evening with a word of gratitude: “For me, the theme of this evening is: Between the shadows and the light. Without our volunteers who work in the shadows, our town would not be what it is today. The discreet but fundamental work of the people who offer their support in every activity – spring clean-up, exhibitions, workshops or any other – enables our organizations to contribute to the animation and well-being of our community.”

After the speeches, the evening’s hosts presented a warm description of each nominee’s volunteer involvement before inviting them to the front to receive an official certificate recognizing their volunteerism and a small gift.

Finally, for a fourth consecutive year, Mayor Robert Benoît honored a citizen in the “Mayor’s Tribute” category, which recognizes a person’s volunteer achievements over a long period of time. Louise Comtois received this honor this year, in recognition of her involvement in a number of organizations and committees, including homework assistance and the follow-up committee for the Family and Seniors Policy. The second person to receive this tribute is Reverend Tim Smart, who, throughout his long career at Grace Church, has shared the values of mutual aid and kindness, as well as enabling many parishioners to forge bonds.

List of all honored volunteers

• Youth category (young people under 30)
  • Racine pop named the 6 girls involved in the Sutton School cafeteria committee: Stella Cyr, Kaëla Hosteing, Marguerite Luppens, Abygail Maigar, Émilie Morel and Esmé Poitra.

• Category Leisure and sport
  • Brome-Missisquoi Birdwatchers Club: Jason Campbell
  • La Coop Gym Santé: Gilles Charbonneau
  • Plein air Sutton/MTB : Gilles Lahaie
  • Loisirs Sutton : Susan Schmid
  • Parc d’environnement naturel de Sutton (PENS) : Louis Robitaille

• Community Life Category
  • La Maison des jeunes de Sutton : Julie Lavallée
  • Sutton Royal Canadian Legion: Terry O’Regan
  • Sutton School : Dominique Boucher
  • FADOQ Les Deux Monts : François Cusson
  • Sutton Economic Development Corporation : Lou-Anne Daoust-Filiatrault
  • Center d’action bénévole de Sutton (CAB) : Meredith Mackeen
  • La Paroisse Saint-André: Christine Maurice – Absent (Michel Tournay received the certificate on her behalf)
  • Grace Anglican Church: John Dinsmore

• Culture category
  • Sutton Library : Louise Hawley
  • D’Arts et de rêves : Pierre Surprenant
  • Sutton School of Art : Roger Gervais
  • Espace Sutton : Hélène Cabana
  • Sutton Jazz Festival and Le Tour des arts : Stanley Lake
  • Sutton Museum of Communications and History: Charles Constantin
  • Musique et Traditions, promoter of the Sutton Traditional Fiddle Festival: Simon Beauvais

• Sutton Municipal and School Library
  • Liliane Lessard
  • Marjolaine Vallée
  • Yannick Wolley

• Planning and Sustainable Development Advisory Committee
  • Stéphane Lessard
  • Renée D’Amours
  • Nathalie Thifault

• Quality of Life Advisory Committee
  • Sylvie Grégoire
  • Lori Hoey
  • Thérèse Leclerc
  • Kelly Lechasseur

• Mayor’s tribute
  • Louise Comtois, for her involvement in a number of organizations and committees, including the Centre d’aide aux bénévoles, homework assistance, the Comité de suivi de la Politique des familles et des aînés, etc.
  • Reverend Tim Smart, for his nearly 30 years of involvement with parishioners through Grace Church Anglican.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the volunteers who are involved in local organizations and municipal activities. Through their involvement and the many hours they devote, they enable our organizations, advisory committees and other groups to actively contribute to the well-being and development of our community. Their commitment and altruism deserve to be recognized. Many thanks to each and every one of them!

Thank you to the great team
from the Recreation, Community Life and Culture Department
who organized the Evening!

And thanks to photographer Tristan Corbeil Lapointe
who took all the photos of the evening!