Shelly Voth was celebrated Sunday afternoon with a ceremony to present her with the Citizen of Distinction Award.
The Morden Area Foundation honoured Voth with an event at the Morden Activity Centre where she was cited for having contributed immensely to the development and diversity of the community for over two decades now.
“Shelly typically doesn’t like the spotlight too much. She works in the background, doesn’t like a lot of fuss,” said Morden economic development officer Jason Dyck, who was involved in nominating Voth for the award.
“Shelly really is a tireless champion for Morden. She’s contributed immensely to both the diversity and the development of this community over decades,” he continued. “She sits on multiple volunteer boards … and she is an active member of every one of those boards … both high-level strategy and boots on the ground getting stuff done.”
“It blows my mind that people would take time to come out,” said Voth, who was entertained by three cultural dance groups as part of the ceremony. “It was a really interesting afternoon … a lot of people from different parts of my life and different parts of the community.
“There were a lot of newcomers there and groups that were dancing and singing and were newcomer groups … I wasn’t expecting that at all. It was such a great surprise to see those community groups out.”
Voth sits on multiple volunteer boards including Regional Connections, 500 Stephen Street Community Centre, and Winterfest, and she can regularly be found welcoming newcomers to the community during monthly welcome night events.
Voth has served the community in many ways over the years, however, never has her impact been more apparent than last year with a number of signature charitable volunteer initiatives that she spearheaded, nominators shared. She led two significant efforts to support those in need in the community, the Ukraine to Morden committee and 500 Stephen Street Community Centre.
The first committee helped settle 75 families with emergency travel permits, nominators said, and this work could not have happened without the leadership, professional attention to detail, and industry-specific knowledge of Voth.
The second major effort Voth led was the creation of the 500 Stephen Street Community Centre from thin air. While the idea was supported by a committee consisting of a large group of volunteers from Westside Community Church, she was the unofficial champion of the project.
For her part, Voth was reluctant to single out any one particular highlight from the many things she’s been involved in through the years.
“The thing that I enjoy is having a lot of things going on at the same time and just the synergy that works between things when you know different people between different projects and then just bringing them on board for something else,” she said.
“A lot of people who are here are really involved in the community, that’s why they are here, but I would really like to see everybody step up, become part of a board … just use their talents and lead something.”
Voth commented on how it’s kind of been “a wild ride. It’s a very interesting thing to happen to someone.
“I’ve been thinking about how to say there are so very many people in Morden who should also be celebrated … but also be gracious and thankful for such an honour,” she said. “My encouragement to all of you this afternoon is to not be afraid of joining a board or committee or council of any community organization. I know you all have such great experience and connections that are unique to your story.”
Morden Mayor Nancy Penner cited Voth as “one of those rare individuals who quietly goes about her work without really seeking the spotlight, yet she manages to touch countless lives and leaves a lasting impact.”
“She has a big heart for the community. She loves people, and there’s nothing that she wouldn’t do for anyone,” said Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert.
As part of the award, Voth was presented with $1,000 to donate to the charity of her choice. She handed those funds over to 500 Stephen Community Centre.
