Paul Harris Fellow Community Awards recognized 8 amazing individuals

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Eight community members were recognized at the Annual Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Community Awards held at the Oakville Conference Centre on Jan. 26. The four Oakville Rotary Clubs announced this year’s recipients:

  • Robert (Bob) Elliot 
  • Gary O’Neill 
  • Herb Schroeder 
  • Rahul Singh 
  • John Sweeney
  • David and Louise Tetreault
  • Andrew Tyrrell 

Community recipients, who are not Rotarians, are recognized annually in this manner as club members believe the nominees’ choices to give back to the community reflect the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.”  

Marsha Smith, Halton Environmental Network’s new Board Chair, was the featured speaker. Rotary International has added the Environment as an area of service for Rotarians worldwide, making her topic timely for many reasons. Speaking about Achieving Social Change Through Community Service was her subject, resonating with attendees.

Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Community Award Recipients

Bob Elliot

A long-time resident in Halton (Oakville and Burlington), Bob Elliot started volunteering as a coach in minor hockey in Oakville. He has also volunteered with Ontario Special Olympics, coaching floor hockey and helping to establish an OSO golf program in Burlington. In addition, Bob is on the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army and sits on the Board of Directors of the Halton Learning Foundation.

An active member of the Halton Business Advisory Group and Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Bob believes in supporting small businesses in Halton.

Gary O'Neill

The Executive Director of Kerr Street Mission, Gary O’Neill, has led the Mission for the past ten years. Under his stewardship, it has evolved to become an essential organization in Oakville, focusing on three different fields that serve low-income and at-risk members of the Oakville community with best-in-class programming:

  • Children and Youth Development 
  • Family Care
  • Food Services  

In addition, Gary is Co-Chair of Halton’s Food Security Action Table and a member of the Housing and Homeless Action Table.

Herb Schroeder

Herb Schroeder is a very active community volunteer who brings his talent and treasures to everything he does, especially when carpentry and building skills are in demand. St. John’s United Church, the Oakville Historical Society and the Masonic Lodge have all benefited from his volunteer labour.  

Entertaining children as Santa Claus for 36 years, bringing laughter from Clown Ministry to children at Sick Children’s Hospital and seniors in nursing homes, along with building cabins at Tim Horton’s camps, Herb continues to make a difference everywhere he volunteers.

Rahul Singh

A professional emergency worker since 1988, Rahul Singh has created an incredible global organization that delivers efficient and cost-effective disaster relief in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe using professional emergency workers.  

The David McAntony Gibson Foundation (GlobalMedic), founded in 1999 by Rahul, was to honour the memory of his best friend, who tragically lost his life in 1998. GlobalMedic teams have since deployed on 246 missions in 81 countries.  

In 2022, he established a warehouse and food distribution centre in Oakville, hiring five summer works students and offering high school students volunteer hours to repackage food sent around the world. Kerr St Mission, Food For Life, and Fare Share Food Bank are three organizations that benefit locally from GlobalMedic. 

John Sweeny

Oakville Little League (OLL) and John Sweeney are synonymous. He has been an integral part of growing the league for over 20 years.  

John held various volunteer league positions until his appointment in 2006 as President. Since then, OLL has grown to over 1,000 house league players participating each year in baseball.

One of his many accomplishments included finishing the dream of building a clubhouse called Oakville Little League Headquarters.  

John also started a Challenger program that provides children and youth with cognitive and/or physical challenges the opportunity to participate in baseball at a level suited to their abilities.

Retiring as President this year, he steps away from OLL with confidence that the league has a strong foundation, a solid membership base and excellent baseball programs to continue to serve the youth of Oakville.

David and Louise Tetreault

Long-time residents of Oakville, David and Louise Tetreault, strongly believe in making a difference in the lives of children and families in Halton.  

Several years ago, they were original members of the Glen Abbey United Church building team, including designing the interior and teaching Sunday School.  

Since then, they have become huge supporters of Kerr Street Mission, donating necessities to several immigrant and other families. They are also supporting KSM’s Back to School Blitz, providing thousands of clothing items for families in need.

Andrew Tyrrell

As President of the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton, Andrew Tyrrell oversees many services for residents of Halton from his CCAH Oakville Headquarters.

During his four years leading the organization, its impactful social programs have grown and now touches the lives of tens of thousands of Halton residents annually. Andrew is also past Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Radius Child and Youth Services and served on the Halton Regional Police Services Board from 2006 to 2015.  

For the last 15 years, Andrew has served as President of the Oakville Renegades Track & Field Club. In addition, he sits on the Board of Directors for the Oakville Community Foundation as well as the Oakville Hospital Foundation Board of Directors.