Susan YoungTaymouth Community Association
Burgess Volunteerism Award recipient April 2014 Ruth I met this person through the Home and School Association for Nashwaak Valley School many years ago. She was very involved in school activities and volunteering, as she has been with the community center. This person was a huge supporter of the school expansion committee as well, and I believe a large part of the committee's success is due to her. Since I started volunteering at the TCC, I've seen this person working at numerous events here. She has donated her time and her wonderful cooking over and over again. When I came into the community center as a new volunteer it was comforting to see a familiar face. This person’s friendly manner puts everyone at ease and makes whatever task we are faced with evermore enjoyable! Sandra When I think of this person, first of all, I smile. She has that effect on people. I have known this person for years, enjoyed her company socially, caught her laugh over the din of market, watched as her positive energy infected those around her. In recent years I have admired her serenity. No matter how many challenges may have come her way, there is a peace about her that inspires me. There is a quiet strength that carries her through her roles of daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. This person has been involved with the TCA since the “let’s make it happen” days some 12 years ago. Her contribution to the Taymouth Chronicle Gazette is immeasurable. Many fund raising events have featured this person in the middle of things, in the kitchen or on stage helping to make the work fun. It has been said that we can find our heroes in everyday life. This person is one of mine. Rhona When this person walks into a room, the place lights up! Her cheery smile and infectious laughter just make you feel happier. When she says “Hi” you know she means it. She has a wonderful sense of humour. Her culinary art has dished out mouth-watering fiddlehead chowder with lemon and biscuits for our May markets and she was the first to introduce us to curly fries. When she brings food to a potluck it’s always an ample amount. She’s just a fun person to be around! She always worked diligently to get the final draft of our bi-monthly “Gazette” to print. Various co-workers helped her by submitting information, re-writing and proof reading. A copy of the Gazette was an “in-hand” source of information about all the activities of the TCA Thanks for your hard work. Barb If I was asked to describe this person I would have to say she is a very hard working family woman with a heart of gold. My first volunteering experience with this person was in the 80's when our kids were in Elementary School; she was very involved with the Home & School program. Then when the TCC was formed this person was there from the beginning. She is always there to help at various functions, giving of her time, and when asked for donations we can always count on her to give generously. This person has a way of putting you in a good mood whether it is first thing in the morning at Market or last thing at night at a party. This person is famous for her Shooting Star Photography, Fiddlehead Chowder & Biscuits, Young's Burgers and Curly Fries, which we all have enjoyed at the Market and are very thankful for. Although volunteering is very important to this person, and we all know that when she believes in something she gives 110%, there is something more important and that is her Family. It's not often that you find 4 generations of one Family all living in the same Farm house. When this person talks about her family she glows. We all know this person has had some hardships in her life but she continues to be a strong and positive woman. This person is the type of person who would think nothing of giving a speech to a room full of people or being out in the barn helping her husband deliver a calf or driving the Hay Truck. This is a person who I am pleased to call my friend and neighbour. Ene The first word that comes to mind when I think of this person is generous, generous in spirit and in kind, generosity with a smile. She is generous with me, her other neighbors and her community through our community centre activities and particularly our newsletter Even when she can’t be present she is always supportive. Whenever I have asked for a contribution to our fundraising activities she has always been ready to bake, donate beef, pitch in with time and organizing, and always with a smile or a laugh. That is her other thing. She seems to always be in a good mood whether she is or not. I am sure she has down days but you would never know it, even if she is hurting. She always has a positive outlook - on life in general. This person also has an adventuresome spirit. She is willing to try all kinds of things, including new foods – such as the chanterelles I introduced her to. Her openness to adventure is combined with a wonderful appreciation of beauty and nature. I have enjoyed sharing this with her through photography and from the times I have gone hunting wild mushrooms with her in their woods – taking pictures together along the way. Even when she hasn’t had time to go to the woods she has welcomed me to go on my own. A personal experience of the depth of this person’s generosity is how she has let my granddaughter Kitty live on their farm for half the summer, in the company of her daughter. My grandson Matthew has also enjoyed time at this person’s home, in the company of her grandson. Connie This person and I go way back to those teenage years when she was my best friend’s little sister. Yes there are lots of memories to draw on then but let’s just leave them in the bathtub where they belong (private joke) because we’ve all come a long way since then. Even though we lived in the same community all these years, I didn’t get to really know this person well as an adult, until we both became involved with the TCA. Market in the early days was a ball with this person’s quick wit and great sense of humour. One day I said out loud to whoever was listening ‘we need a slogan for our market t-shirts”. This person responded quite quickly with “how about – If you can’t find it at the Taymouth Market, we ain’t got it. So this is what was printed on the back of our Taymouth market shirts. Young’s burgers were the best and I always looked forward to one every Saturday. This person moved on in later years to selling curly fries and everyone looked forward to her annual pot of fiddlehead chowder and her homemade biscuits. After my many years of organizing the annual community yard sale, this person was generous enough to take this over from me for a few years. I appreciated that so much and she did an amazing job too. Ten years ago, this person, Jean Burgess, Genevieve MacRae and I created the Taymouth Chronicle Gazette newsletter. We all had our areas of expertise but this person took on the role of Publisher which meant every other month she spent hours and hours compiling and later also formatting 12-18 pages of jam packed information, reviews, ads, notices, write-ups and other articles into a newsy and attractive newsletter. Everyone on the Nashwaak enjoyed receiving this newsletter and it was the talk of the town. Good job! Life happens and through all the ups and downs this person still maintains that great sense of humour. She is caring and compassionate and somehow makes even the hardest tasks seem easy. I admire her and she is very deserving of this award. David I think of this person as being happy in life. This is easy to see with her cheerfulness and interactions with others around her, while participating at market or the community suppers or other events. Through her photography, she does have an eye for the beauty around her. And a real appreciation for nature. This person has been and is a great asset to the community through her involvement with the TCA as well as the work she put into the Taymouth Gazette. This is a well deserved award for this person. Thank you. Jean This person has a strong vision of healthy, caring community and acts on her vision with passion and practicality. When the community was struggling with whether to accept the responsibility of owning the old Taymouth School, this person helped research the cost of maintaining similar buildings. When our community had to consider environmental risk issues this person did her research and wrote letters to the media expressing her perspective as a mother and farmer. She created a poster calling for protection of our water that has travelled far and wide. For instance Minister Northrup hung the poster in his constituency office and nursing faculty in Fredericton displayed it in their offices. This person has made an outstanding contribution to the community through her work as our newsletter publisher. Each bimonthly newsletter issue required days to put together, in the midst of a busy farm schedule. This person used her artistic gifts, her secretarial skills, and her knowledge and love of her community to create a newsletter, the quality of which has been recognized well beyond our valley. Gisele Got to thinking about the volunteerism this person has done. Of course I knew there was lots but didn't really realize how much until I got to thinking. Guess it’s because she just doesn't treat it as anything but just something she does. Before the Taymouth Community Association she was always at the school helping with the lunch program, reading program, Thumbody Program, whatever was needed. She worked tirelessly to save the school. But most memorable for me was an event where she was one of the coordinators and workers for a teacher appreciation lunch. The teachers were happily finishing the main course of their lovely meal when she came out of the kitchen announcing dessert and asked who wanted sex in the pan. Many hands went up. She put a large roast pan on the floor and stood in it. So besides working without complaint and just forging ahead, you could say that she does it with a sense of humor - oh and that she gets away with it. You can always count on something to make you laugh and more importantly, to put you at ease when you are with her. People look forward to having her in the room and sharing her space. She has contributed so much to the TCA over the years that I wouldn't dare to try and list it all. I am sure that others have already mentioned much of it. But I bet we missed some of it. I know that for ten years, the newsletter was an enormous effort. For days leading up to the deadline, almost all of her time was devoted to the newsletter. I miss it. The newsletter truly helped make Taymouth and the Nashwaak Valley feel like one big family and a great place to live. And although Taymouth Environmental Action is now a separate entity, it was part of the TCA until recently and I believe it is important to recognize her for the many, many hours she devoted to this group as she loves this province and this valley and believes it is important to protect it from environmental degradation. You know, I am writing about one of my dearest friends. If I could only explain to all of you, how much she has contributed to my life. She is never afraid to try something new and I have to say, I have had many adventures and learning experiences by hanging out with Susan Young. And when I think back, much of it was just "let’s do it" and often involved her donating so much to the community. Thank you Susan for all that you have done for this community and thank you for all that you have given to me. |
photo by Connie Campbell