The founder and chair of Sustainable Living Ottawa East won this year’s Volunteer Ottawa award for Best Volunteer in a Leading Role.
Rebecca Aird received the award Sept. 18 at the VOscars, an annual fun evening that honours those who advance volunteerism in their communities.Volunteer Ottawa, the organizer of the event, supports the not-for-profit sector by promoting volunteerism.
In addition to chairing SLOE and the Main Street Farmers Market, Aird is co-founder and Secretary of the Ottawa Eco-Talent Network.
She was on the founding boards of EnviroCentre and the Ottawa Sustainability Fund. She also served on the boards of the Centretown Community Health Centre and Friends of the Earth Canada.
“Rebecca clearly has leadership skills, as demonstrated by her role as founder and co-founder of numerous boards,” said Paula Coons, acting Executive Director of Volunteer Ottawa. “Also, her dedication over many years as a volunteer would have inspired others to volunteer in the community.”
A 12-person panel selects nominees for the VOscars.
“Rebecca leads by example,” said long-time SLOE member Mary Trudeau. “She delivers on tasks. She inspires ideas and motivates volunteers with her indefatigable belief in change through grassroots community engagement.”
Aird downplayed her role as a leader, saying credit for the success of her organization or the Ottawa East Community Association should go to many members.
“It’s good fortune to have such generous colleagues,” Aird said. “Volunteer Ottawa put on a great evening to celebrate volunteerism, and deserve huge credit for the work they do to support and boost it. But I have to say that the notion of ‘leading role’ is a stretch when leadership is so distributed in organizations like SLOE and OECA. The Deep Green project is an incredible recent example of shared dedication and talent. That’s one of the things I love about the work we do.”
