Donna Furneaux said her lifelong commitment to volunteering began when she moved to Qualicum Beach in 1968, and a neighbour offered to arrange a carpool for one of her daughters attending kindergarten.
It was a huge help at the time, she said. “We had 16 acres and two run-down houses and five kids.”
The gesture inspired Furneaux to give back, too, she said. “That was the beginning of doing that — to be involved in the community.”
Furneaux joined the Arrowsmith Agriculture Association and played a key role in revitalizing the Coombs Fairgrounds.
That initiative later spun into Coombs Fall Fair’s “Taste of the District” event and the Qualicum Beach Farmers’ Market, she said.
It involved a lot of kitchen meetings and going door-to-door to take stock of what was for sale at local farms, she said.
“We made a map of what they were selling and published it, so that people could go to the farms to get whatever things they wanted.”
Furneaux, now 85, still volunteers.
This year, her decades of service were recognized with a sa国际传媒 Medal of Good Citizenship for acting in a particularly generous, kind, or selfless manager for the common good “without expectation of reward.”
It was a bit of a surprise, said Furneaux, who doesn’t consider her achievements anything out of the ordinary.
“I’ve done it most of my life,” she said. “A group of us have always done a lot of catering out there, raising funds.”
Other Islanders who received a Medal of Good Citizenship include Helen Campbell and Bill Erving of Saanich, for their commitment to agriculture and youth development.
The couple own Thornhill Farm on the Saanich Peninsula and were deeply involved in the region’s 4-H program.
Dale Douglas and Murray Steward were also recognized for their quarter-century leadership with the Golf for Kids Charity Golf Tournament, which has raised more than $10.7 million for children’s charities.
