At the Madawaska Valley Council meeting of February 19, Mayor Kim Love awarded the 2018 Mayor’s Appreciation Award to the Wilno Heritage Society. In her address, Mayor Love gave a brief history of the Wilno Heritage Society since its inception in 1998 to commemorate and celebrate Canada’s unique Polish Kashub cultural heritage. She said,
The Wilno Heritage Society stands out as deserving special recognition in 2018 primarily because that recognition is long overdue and also because the renewal of their lease with the municipality shows a steadfast commitment to preserving and sharing their heritage and culture for a very long time to come. It will be exciting to see what the energy, drive and passion of this amazing group of volunteers produces as they continue their mission over the next twenty years… It is an honour and a privilege to present the 2018 Mayor’s Appreciation Award to the Wilno Heritage Society.
In accepting the Award, Wilno Heritage Society President Peter Glofcheskie thanked the Mayor and said,
You hit the nail right on the head when you talked about why this Society has done so well. It has done so well because of the dedication and the numbers of people involved…. Often when you build something, when you have an idea, there’s enthusiasm– and enthusiasm builds it and gets it going. But you must have the same enthusiasm to keep it going, or else it goes into disrepair. You’re not relevant anymore and things don’t happen anymore.
Glofcheskie said that in his eight years as President, membership of the Wilno Heritage Society has stayed at almost four hundred. He pointed out that at least six or seven thousand people visit Wilno Heritage Park every year. He complimented the volunteers and said,
It’s not one person, it’s not an executive, it’s the community, our Polish Kashub Canadian community.
Previous winners of the Mayor’s Appreciation Award include the Madawaska Valley Food Bank (2017), the Madawaska Valley Horticultural Society (2016) and the Madawaska Valley Hospice Palliative Care.
Featured photo: (From left) Ed Chippior, Ursula Jeffrey, Bev Glofcheskie, Mayor Kim Love, Larry Serran, Peter Glofcheskie, Councillor David Shulist
Congratulations on a job well done . Gratulaceje. We are now learning the rest of the story thanks to all the work put into reviving the Kashubian History .
Thank you very much Mayor Love for recognizing the Wilno Heritage Society. As founding president and a life time member of the Society I am proud to be part of the team. President Glofcheskie said it the best. It is not about one person, but about many. I want to take this opportunity to mention a few names that need to be recognized which could not make it to the presentation. Founding Directors Mike Coulas, Teena Mask, Andrew Yantha, Diane Malone, and Christine Recoskie ( Ed Chippior still on board). Later to join our team were Phil Biernaskie, Diane Pecarskie, Rachel Etmanskie, Mike Palubeskie and Shirley Mask Connolly. These people along with the current board of directors under the leadership of President Glofcheskie have put thousands of hours to this project. Thank you to all the volunteers who have helped the directors to built a beautiful Heritage Park and Museum to recognize our Kashubian and Polish pioneers.
In reply to Jerry Prince, The Current’s report was written after attending the meeting and included a brief summary of the Mayor’s presentation. Given the many contributors since 1998 to the Wilno Heritage Park, we focussed on volunteerism rather than singling out any particular individuals. For your information in her address Mayor Love said: “During their first twenty-year lease the Wilno Heritage Society continued to expand the Park along the rail line and added the former Prince property to the footprint.”
I wish you would give Ambrose V. Prince and Mary Omalley some recognition for expanding your land area by about 50%.
I was one of the original executive members and I am still very active in volunteering. Hard working, passionate
People are what make this group successful. Our ancestors would be Proud of us. Thank you to Mayor Love for
the recognition and to Madawaska Valley Current for the coverage.
Thank you to the Madawaska Valley Current for your coverage. Most appreciated.
Peter Glofcheskie, WHS