Brockville Chamber Announces First Ever 2024 Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award Recipient, Linda Eyre

Brockville – The Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce Ms. Linda Eyre as the recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award. Ms. Eyre is the first ever to receive this new form of long overdue and most important recognition.

The new annual award is intended to celebrate lifelong volunteers who have made significant contributions to Brockville and the surrounding area. It will complement the Lifetime Business Achievement Award which is presented annually to recognize excellence in business. Individuals are only eligible to receive one of these awards.

The new Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award is sponsored by the 1000 Islands Community Development Corporation and the Volunteer Centre of St. Lawrence Rideau. Recipients are chosen by an independent committee of judges following a review and assessment of multiple criteria including volunteer history, years of service, community impact, mentorship, and personal generosity.

Ms. Eyre is a well-known and highly respected member of our community who has contributed thousands of hours of volunteer time in support of many important causes and fundraising campaigns.

A professional training consultant by trade, she was the first woman in a “non-traditional” employment position at St. Lawrence College where she helped countless local businesses access the expertise and financing necessary to better ensure a well-trained workforce. This helped to strengthen our economy and prepare our community to address the unique challenges of the day.

Ms. Eyre is a fearless trailblazer who was Brockville’s Centennial Queen in 1967. She was one of the first women ever elected to Brockville municipal council, serving four consecutive terms from 1991 to 2006. In the 1990s, she became one of the very first female Brockville Rotarians, opening the door for all those who followed.

Among her many prominent positions, Ms. Eyre was the first female president of the Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce (1988-1991) where she was an early innovator helping to resurrect the Awards of Excellence Gala which now welcomes hundreds annually to celebrate the very best of our community.

Her extensive volunteerism reaches every corner of our community with her having held various leadership roles for dozens of organizations and initiatives over the years. These include her time serving with the Heritage Brockville Committee, St. Lawrence Lodge Family Council, St. Lawrence Lodge Building Committee, Brockville Museum, Brockville Tourism Committee, 1000 Islands Community Development Corporation, Brockville Arts Centre, Brockville Public Library, and Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee, among a long list of others.

Ms. Eyre has worked tirelessly to raise millions of dollars for many major fundraising campaigns, including restoration of the Brockville Railway Tunnel, expansion of the Brockville Public Library, and renovations to the Brockville Arts Centre, to name but a few. Her decades-long service and her open encouragement of broader, more inclusive, public participation have very much helped to shape and grow our community.

Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce President, Mr. Steve Latimer, expressed his sincere appreciation. “Ms. Eyre is the perfect choice to receive this first-ever Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award. She has been a steadying presence and a force for good over many decades. Her impact and her influence are broad and wide. Her fingerprints are on every corner.”

As one of the award sponsors, the 1000 Islands Community Development Corporation is actively involved in the recipient selection process. Executive Director, Mr. Tom Russell, offered his congratulations. “Linda very much deserves this recognition. She is an iconic figure and an inspiration to us all. She continues to be a kind, compassionate, hard-working, and extremely effective volunteer. She’s the exact type of person we had in mind when creating this award and I’m thrilled she is the first to be honoured.”

Ms. Eyre will be celebrated as the first ever Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award recipient during a special ceremony following the Chamber’s Annual General Meeting at the Brockville Country Club on Wednesday, March 27th.

It was announced earlier that Mr. George Tackaberry is this year’s Lifetime Business Achievement Award winner. Mr. Tackaberry will also be celebrated following the Chamber’s AGM.

Those interested in attending can RSVP at the Chamber of Commerce website www.brockvillechamber.com or call 613-342-6553 by March 18th.