The 2007 Recipients of the Lanark County Awards of Excellence
for Business/Agriculture/Industry/Tourism
Ann and Gordon Munroe




Warden’s Address

On behalf of Council I welcome our Awards recipients, their families, friends & members of the public. Thank you for being here for our 3^rd Lanark County Awards of Excellence Presentations.

The Awards were developed in 2005 to recognize those in our County, who we probably are unaware of, who are doing wonderful things and making extraordinary contributions and making this County a better place for us all.

Their names are placed on a plaque of honour in the LanarkCountyAdministrationBuilding, on our website and in the local papers.

I’m pleased to see that once again this year we have an award which will be presented, not just to an outstanding individual but to an outstanding couple; Ann and Gordon Munroe. My wife Jeri would agree with Groucho Marx who once said that “Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men - the other 999 follow women.”

Ann and Gordon Munroe are renowned for pulling together one of the largest events LanarkCounty has seen, since the Giant Cheese was sent to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. I am of course referring to Rural Expo 2003 - The International Plowing Match.

The Munro’s put together a spectacular showcase for the County of Lanark, which not only featured our agricultural foundation but served to highlight a vibrant business and industrial community and the fact that on the whole, we are great neighbours - with an awesome back yard.

This couple led a team of 1000 volunteers to make it happen. Their efforts raised more than half a million dollars which was donated to local health care facilities and projects throughout LanarkCounty. They may recognize the motto; “From the land … comes a dream”.

Many of the County’s residents may already know Ann and Gordon from their careers as educators. Well, they have gone on to teach us all a thing or two by example. They have both been (and continue to be) the personification of community involvement.

Ann and Gordon Munro have given their time and dedication to a myriad of organizations and events including: The Lanark County Plowmen’s Association, 4-H Club, The Lanark Federation of Agriculture, Relay for Life, Friends of the Tay Watershed, Perth Rotary Club, Children’s Aid Society, Perth Community Foundation - and no doubt the PDCI smoking area.

The Awards of Excellence serve to highlight the achievements of those who have had a positive impact on many of our lives, those whose actions leave a legacy for us to share and those who may have not otherwise received the praise they deserve. So I ask you now to join in a round of applause for the 2007 recipients of the Lanark County Awards of Excellence, Ann and Gordon Munroe.