Volunteer Awards 2020

 
Ann Campbell

Ann Campbell has been a member of the St. Andrew’s of Brampton Scottish  country dance group since the late 1970s. She also danced regularly at Erin Mills and Trinity.

Besides serving many terms as Chairman of St. Andrew’s of Brampton, Ann has been a member of the Executive of the RSCDS’s Toronto Branch (now called the RSCDS Toronto Association).  She was the Convenor for the 2001-2005 Tartan Balls.  At the April 2006 Annual General Meeting of the Toronto Branch, she was elected to the Board of Directors, as the Program Director. She completed her term in April 2012.

Ann is known primarily as a Scottish dance devisor and has written more than 190 dances.  Her first dance, Mrs. Marjorie Coulter, honours the founder of the St Andrew’s of Brampton social group. The dance was premiered on November 5, 1986, at the celebration of St Andrew’s of Brampton’s twentieth anniversary.

Throughout her career, she published three volumes of dances:   St. Andrew’s of Brampton:  A Collection of Scottish Country Dances,
St. Andrew’s of Brampton, Book II: A Collection of Scottish Country Dances, and Who’s Who in Toronto.

Her West Toronto Ball Welcome was selected from eleven jigs as the winner of a competition to celebrate the twenty-fifth West Toronto Ball.  It was the first dance on the programme and was published in West Toronto Ball Jigs (1994).

St. Andrew’s of Brampton was published by the RSCDS in Book 37: Frae A’ The Airts, Volume 2 (1992).   Five sets of music have been written for this dance by four bands:  Fiddlers Three Plus Two, Iain MacPhail, Alastair Hunter, and David Cunningham.  This well-known dance is  deserving of its world-wide popularity and can be considered a crowning achievement. ◼︎

Video of the dance



 

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Joanne Racic

Joanne had only been dancing for two years when she became a member of Jean Hamilton’s demo team from 1993 to 1996, and since then she has totally immersed herself helping with social group and Association activities.

    As a long-time member of Trinity social group, she has organized the summer dance programme, acted as teacher liaison for five years, and followed that by organizing the end-of-year celebration known as Trinity Assembly until 2013. 

Her involvement since 1996 in the organization of the Tartan Ball has seen her acting as a committee member or willingly assisting with many of the vital details, not least of which was repainting at least thirty-one shields to be displayed at the Ball.  For the last four years, she has been the ticket convenor for the unenviable task of ensuring that all attendees are happily seated with their chosen dining companions.

The dance wear bazaar held each year at the Association workshop has been an important fund raiser to defray Workshop expenses.  Not only has Joanne’s contribution been as a member of the committee since 2016, but she has also used her creative talents and time to make articles such as shoe bags for inclusion in the sale.  Joanne now chairs that committee.

Joanne’s 29 years of involvement in the dancing community and her contribution to the activities of the association make her a long overdue recipient of this award. ◼︎