Nine years ago today, on October 21, 2017, I was celebrated as one of Ottawa’s Amazing People. This is the story behind it.
Have you ever been sitting on the sofa, watching the news, and felt that little nudge that says, I need to do something? In the spring of 2017, as the floods rose around Ottawa, I felt it. That nudge is why I was later named one of Ottawa’s Amazing People, and why I still believe the small yes matters more than we think.
A few weeks before the Amazing People Gala, I sat down on Rogers tv with Brenda Hollingsworth of Auger Hollingsworth, the Ottawa personal injury law firm that led the selection of the Amazing People Award recipients that year. Here is the segment:
A complete surprise
When I was told I would be a recipient of the Amazing People Award, I honestly thought they had contacted the wrong person. Brenda explained on the show that there is no fixed set of criteria. Her firm, with three of their young lawyers making the decisions, was looking for people from all walks of life who had done something out of the ordinary for their community.
Reading the other recipients’ stories was completely humbling. One had taken the front line in the fight against fentanyl in our community. Others had raised funds for the community while facing a serious illness themselves. I was deeply honoured to be in that company.
Filling sandbags in the 2017 Ottawa floods
The floods rocked our community, from Constance Bay to Clarence-Rockland. My husband and I were sitting on the sofa watching the news, and I told him we had to go. It was getting dark, we packed up our own vehicle, and we did not know what to expect.
It was pouring rain that evening, as it had been for days. Our first job was simply to fill sandbags. The second was figuring out how to get those sandbags to where they needed to go. That is when we called in our team at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Ottawa, which was starting its 18th year: we need a truck, we need some help, we need to do this together.
There were seven or eight of us, my husband, myself and some of our staff. I was sharing what we were doing on Facebook Live, and people who saw it started coming out to help. Those who did not live in the east end headed out to Constance Bay instead. That was the part that moved me most.
Just an ordinary person saying yes
When the host asked whether being recognized made me want to do more, my answer was easy. Absolutely. And it is so wonderful to see others want to get involved.
As I said on the show: “I’m just an ordinary person doing what I feel called to do, and by doing that, it inspires others to say yes to stepping up and showing up and doing something.”
It does not have to be something big. It could be something small. When you feel that little nudge to do something, do it, because it really makes a difference.
The Amazing People Award gala
The award was celebrated at the Amazing People Gala on October 21, 2017, at the Westin Ottawa, where former Governor General Michaëlle Jean presented my award. The evening raised money for a number of charities and celebrated many of Ottawa’s unsung heroes. The theme was Disco Inferno, so yes, there was plenty of 70s style in the room.
Your nudge, this week
What has been nudging you lately? A neighbour who could use a hand, a cause you keep thinking about, a call you keep meaning to make? Choose one small way to say yes this week. If you are not sure where to start, my post on what you have been walking past is a gentle place to begin, and creating a vivid vision can help you decide which yes matters most.
Thank you
My thanks to Brenda Hollingsworth and the team at Auger Hollingsworth, to Rogers tv for sharing the story, and most of all to everyone who showed up in the rain to fill sandbags with us.
I continue these conversations every week on my YouTube channel. If you would like to join me, subscribe to At the Heart of It All on YouTube.
