Oshawa has named this year’s Community Legends and Oshawa Culture Counts Awards recipients who are being celebrated for their significant contributions to the community.
The Community Legends Award recognizes individuals and organizations whose everyday actions make a positive impact on Oshawa.
Selected by Oshawa City Council based on nominations from the community, Jim Fergusson is the recipient of this year’s Community Legend Award in recognition for his work as the head of Food for Clothing, a local charity that has been providing support to the community for over 30 years.
Volunteering with his wife Verna, their children and a host of volunteers, this program provides donated clothing in exchange for non-perishable food items that are transferred to local food banks. In 2019, more than 530 community members took part in this program.
Oshawa Culture Counts Awards: The Oshawa Culture Counts Awards were created to support Culture Counts: Oshawa’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Plan that recommended, “the creation of a civic arts, culture and heritage award program.” In collaboration with the Cultural Leadership Council, the Oshawa Culture Counts Awards recognize individuals in three categories. A jury comprised of members of the Cultural Leadership Council selected this year’s awards recipients.
The Oshawa Culture Counts Professional Artist Award recipient is Dani Crosby. This award recognizes an established artist of any arts discipline who has demonstrated creativity, originality, professional maturity and artistic leadership in the community.
Meaghan Kehoe is the recipient of the Oshawa Culture Counts Emerging Artist Award, which recognizes emerging artists between the ages of 12 and 30 or those who are in the early stages of their career. This award encompasses all arts disciplines and showcases artists that are skilled and determined to advance their artistic capabilities and leverage these skills to inspire and enrich the lives of fellow residents.
The Innovation and Creation Champion Award recipient is the Oshawa Public Libraries. This award recognizes individuals, collectives and/ or organizations in the creative and cultural industries who have created or enhanced an event, product, program or partnership in the past year.
“Oshawa has a rich, broad, and deep artistic community as well as a wide variety of citizens who give freely of their time and energy for the betterment of others. I think you will agree with this year’s recipients – especially when their bios are read out when they receive their much deserved recognition,” said Councillor Rick Kerr, Chair of the Community Services Committee and Regional and City Councillor for Ward 4.