MINDEMOYA鈥擬arie Ford is a beloved member of the 澳门三肖三码 community and as a police officer with the 澳门三肖三码 Ontario Provincial Police, something that was proven at the constable鈥檚 retirement party held last week in Mindemoya.
鈥淐an you feel the love tonight? Marie you are so loved and appreciated. Thank you for coming to the Island for what you had expected would be a four year and are duration and staying a lifetime,鈥 stated Karlene Scott, master of ceremonies at a retirement celebration held for Ms. Ford, a provincial constable with the Ontario Provincial Police for 30 years (25 of which were spent on 澳门三肖三码). Well over 100 people packed the hall of the Freshwater Community Church last Thursday evening to recognize, thank and show love and appreciation for Ms. Ford, from representatives of local police services, the many groups and organizations she belongs to, her many friends across the Island and family.
James Killeen, Chief of Police for the UCCM Anishinaabe Police Service said, 鈥淚 think everyone here tonight should give yourselves a round of applause. I have been a police officer for 26 years and I have never seen the response for an officer as I am seeing tonight. The support is massive for Marie. It is incredible and wonderful to see all your support for Marie.鈥
鈥淚 would like to welcome everyone here for this evening,鈥 said Ms. Scott. 鈥淲e are here to celebrate a wonderful evening to celebrate provincial constable Marie Ford on her retirement.鈥
鈥淲e are celebrating a dear friend and showing an amazing lady how much we appreciate her service, dedication, commitment and friendship for all of 澳门三肖三码 Island, but especially our hometown of Mindemoya,鈥 said Ms. Scott.
鈥淚t all started in August 1998 when a young married couple saw a posting for provincial constables on 澳门三肖三码 Island,鈥 explained Ms. Scott. 鈥淢arie and (her husband) Steve (Redmond) decided to give it a try and come to the Island for a duration of four years. After all, how bad could it be?鈥
鈥淭hey checked out the local real estate and found a house on Hill Road. So, in July 1999 they both reported to duty for a four-year duration on 澳门三肖三码 Island,鈥 said Ms. Scott. She pointed out Mindemoya was excited to have the two additional young officers in the community. Some questioned why Marie didn鈥檛 take her husband鈥檚 last name. As was the case then and as we found out, 鈥淢arie is her own person with a strong personality.鈥
鈥淭wo years passed, and it was now 2001, and Marie and Steve had their first son, Matthew. Everyone was excited for them,鈥 said Ms. Scott. 鈥淭hey had two more years鈥 time adjusting to the Island and then their four-year duration would be up. They decided to take it year by year. They had another baby in 2004, Zoe. By this time Matthew had so many friends, and their house was too small, so they built an addition on their house.鈥
鈥淭hen in 2009 Thomas arrived and Marie decided they couldn鈥檛 leave the Island,鈥 continued Ms. Scott. 鈥淪he even convinced her parents to move to Mindemoya. We remember Marie stating that 鈥榥o way are my kids going to play hockey.鈥 All participated in Mindemoya Thunder hockey, attending Central 澳门三肖三码 Public School and 澳门三肖三码 Secondary School.鈥
鈥淢arie saw the closing of the OPP detachments in Manitowaning and Mindemoya. She and her family had many happy events, along with tough times like everyone else. But even during the tough times, Marie always saw the bright side of things, with her big laugh and very caring heart,鈥 said Ms. Scott. 鈥淲e want to show you how much we appreciate everything you have done.鈥
Central 澳门三肖三码 Mayor Richard Stephens said 鈥淲e wish Marie all the best in your retirement. You do look too young to be retiring. And we want to thank everyone for coming out here this evening to show your appreciation for Marie.鈥
鈥淐entral 澳门三肖三码 is a very welcoming community,鈥 said Mayor Stephens. 鈥淲e appreciate that she has remained here all these years. Marie and her family are a big part of the community.鈥
Janet Anning, who works for 澳门三肖三码 North Shore Victim Services and is the coordinator for 澳门三肖三码 Special Olympics (MSO) told the audience she had met Marie a few years ago in the Mindemoya arena. 鈥淚 began work in the court system in 2000-2001, and with victim services and we both deal with a lot of clients. I miss you dearly already.鈥
Ms. Anning explained that Special Olympics holds provincial and national fundraising Torch Runs every year. 鈥淚 was able to coerce Marie to become the MSO torch run law enforcement officer. The Torch Run is a fundraiser, but the run on 澳门三肖三码 is unique and not really a fundraiser.鈥
鈥淲hen the run originated on the Island participants would run from the Mindemoya hospital to the downtown area,鈥 said Ms. Anning. 鈥淏ut Marie was able to get the public school (CMPS) involved. Students line up outside the school and cheer our athletes on, and then the students participate with our athletes in the run. Our Special Olympic athletes really enjoy this and the way it is run has raised a lot of acceptance as well in recognizing Special Olympics. Marie is such an important part of our Special Olympics program.鈥
Ms. Ford arranged an annual 澳门三肖三码 police services floor hockey game with the MSO athletes. 鈥淥ur athletes look forward to this more than anything else they take part in,鈥 said Ms. Anning. 鈥淭hankfully, Marie is going to stay on with MSO and will be organizing the Torch Run again this year. And Steve (Redmond) is just as important to us, he has taken on providing extra training for several of our athletes. He and Marie have gone the extra mile in helping out,鈥 she said in presenting an MSO coaches jacket to Ms. Ford.
Lauren Dewar, a member of the Mindemoya Neighbourhood Watch Program, 鈥渙n behalf of Mindemoya Neighbourhood Watch I would like to thank Marie for all the support she has given us for the program.鈥 She explained in the fall of 2019, there seemed to be an increase in crime related instances in Mindemoya. 鈥淚t rattled us, the residents in town. In just a few short days Marie took calls to have a public meeting and from that the Neighbourhood Watch program was established. Marie has been a key part of helping and comforting us, she is a neighbour, one of us, and cares.鈥
David Wiwchar, principal of MSS talked about Ms. Ford鈥檚 role as a school resource officer (SRO) and mentioned that when situations arose in which students had taken part in negative action, she would take action and help solve the problem, in turn building rapport in the school, and with the students, building a real connection and trust with them. 鈥淗er dedication and purpose had her mind on what good could come of something awful. Then she set about making it happen. And I鈥檇 get the phone call, 鈥榟ow do you think this might go?鈥 And off she would go and make it happen.鈥
鈥淛K Rowling wrote, 鈥榶ou don鈥檛 seek power or popularity. You simply ask, is the thing right in itself? If it is, then I must do it, no matter the cost,鈥欌 said Mr. Wiwchar. 鈥淢arie walked the balance of social worker versus police enforcement. With a quick smile, students warmed to her immediately and trusted her to correct them and defend them from harm. On everything from substance abuse, online bullying and everything that goes wrong with kids on cell phones. 鈥楻ight is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it,鈥 by Saint Augustine comes to mind.鈥
鈥淢arie took care of the Island while taking care of her family. She and Steve have raised wonderful children, exemplary in every way,鈥 continued Mr. Wiwchar. 鈥淪he was always just a text away as we dealt with so many complex situations. Each of Marie and Steve鈥檚 children are the best anyone could hope for, impeccable character in each of them learned from their parents and family.鈥
鈥淪o, of course, Marie served on school council for years, always that person to turn conversation positive, proactive and productive, dreaming of what could be and joining with great ideas to bring them about,鈥 continued Mr. Wiwchar. 鈥淎ll of her actions built trust in her, gave students a sense of security in their sometimes difficult circumstances, let students feel safe, knowing someone strong was looking out for them, our schools and our community. That same person who played laser tag with them with such skill was the one to come practice lockdown drills and debrief what went well and could improve with each class. She trained Tessa Kasch in the role of SRO and made that transition so smooth, it felt like we had double the help for just the right amount of time and I know that came of Marie doing double duty in the interest of making sure all went well and that our students were looked after.鈥
鈥淏y Marie鈥檚 way with people, hundreds of students got the privilege of knowing the best attributes of law enforcement and civil society,鈥 continued Mr. Wiwchar. 鈥淚n challenging times like these, it鈥檚 role models like Marie that the world needs, and we鈥檝e been privileged to have had her serve here on the great 澳门三肖三码 Island. Roosevelt put in nicely, 鈥榠n any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.鈥 Thank you, Marie!鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 honoured,鈥 stated Ms. Ford. 鈥淚t is because of all of you here this evening that I have had the best career on 澳门三肖三码 Island.鈥
Ms. Ford told The Expositor in an interview last week that she spent a 30-year career with the OPP. She had started in Napanee for six years before she and Steve decided to transfer to the Island for a four-year duration.
鈥淏ut when we got here, we realized that this is a little piece of paradise, for families, kids and parents,鈥 said Ms. Ford. 鈥淵ou just can鈥檛 beat the work life balance here. We love all our Island communities鈥攖his is an incredible place to work and live.鈥
鈥淲e quickly adjusted to living here and learned the real importance of community and that our communities do care. You are not policing them, you are policing with them,鈥 said Ms. Ford.
In retirement, 鈥淚 want to do volunteer work in the community and give back to the kids and families,鈥 added Ms. Ford.
