Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski presented four distinguished Renfrew County residents with King Charles III Coronation Medals on Jan 28. Award recipients from left were entertainer Gillan Rutz, Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet, Leader Publisher Gerald Tracey and Del O’Brien of Westmeath.

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Pembroke – Four highly respected residents of Renfrew County known for their various contributions to their communities, the county, and its citizens, were recognized with King Charles III Coronation Medals last Tuesday, January 28.

In one of his last official acts as the MPP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, John Yakabuski conferred medals on Gillan Rutz and Robert (Bob) Sweet of Petawawa, Delbert (Del) O’Brien of Westmeath, and Gerald Tracey of Eganville.

“It’s a tremendous honour for me to have been given the privilege as a Member of Provincial Parliament, to be able to nominate a small number of very special individuals for this, I would say, very special honour.” Mr. Yakabuski told the recipients, their families and friends. “This is the first ever Coronation Medal, and I can understand that, because back in 1953, people probably didn’t consider these types of honours.”

He said when Queen Elizabeth had her coronation many people in the room were not even born. With her passing and King Charles’ ascension to the throne, he said the Government of Canada declared there would be 30,000 Coronation Medals bestowed on special individuals.

While honoured to have been given the privilege to bestow the medals, it was no easy task to select four individuals to nominate from the approximately 100,000-plus citizens in the riding, he said. He admitted he was confident that whoever he nominated would be successful in being approved for the honour.

“I’m very pleased to be with you here today and I want to thank you for accepting my call. And I would suggest as proud as I am to pin these medals on you, you are as proud to receive them.”

In addition to the pin, each recipient also received a certificate that reads: “By command of the King, the Coronation Medal is hereby conferred upon you in commemoration of His Majesty’s coronation as King of Canada and in recognition of your valuable contribution to your country”.   

Modern Day Mac Beattie

Mr. Rutz, an entertainer who prides himself in telling stories of the Valley through his music, was the first recipient Mr. Yakabuski recognized, saying he got to know him more over his term of office.

“When you want somebody who has a love for the Valley, its history, and the people, and is willing to put the pen to paper and write a story, to take that story and make it a song, even a book.”

He did not know Mr. Rutz when he was first elected, but knew the legendary Mac Beattie, who expressed his love for the Valley in story and song.

“And I’ve often said Gillan Rutz is our modern-day Mac Beattie,” he noted.

Mr. Rutz said the people of his generation gathered were honoured to know three great politicians from the Madawaska Valley.

“The one was his dad (the late Paul Yakabuski), another was Sean Conway, and we were blessed to have John here for the last 22 years,” he noted. “We have been lucky in the Ottawa Valley, especially in this zone up here, to have such great representation.”

He said when Mr. Yakabuski stood up in the legislature, people listened.

“Thank you, John, and thank you for today.”

Mr. Rutz said people don’t look for accolades in anything they do.

“We’re just humble people from the Ottawa Valley, and we tell things, and we do it for the love and the give-back to our home.”

He said the lyrics of the legendary songs that Mr. Yakabuski spoke of were of real-life experiences, and the history and geography of the area.

“Later on, I would come to realize that I was gifted not only to play music, but of memory to recall our shanty songs and stories, the characters of our vast land, and rich storied folklore.”

He has always been fascinated with history and how our forebearers battled adversity to tame the wilderness we enjoy today, and while he does not live in the past, he believes in its teachings and enjoys sharing its stories with audiences of all demographics in various venues.

“Today, I thank John for this recognition, and my wife, Ann Marie, who has run with me chasing my rainbow since our teenage years, to our children who carry our values, principles and traditions into their lives of learnings and teaching now to their children,” he concluded.

Former Mayor / Warden Honoured

 Mr. Yakabuski said the second recipient, former Petawawa mayor and warden of Renfrew County, was someone he knew before being elected to office through his contributions to his community. He also knew of Mr. Sweet through their passion for golf and being opponents in tournaments.

“They’re still trying to find video evidence of Bob Sweet missing a fairway,” he quipped.

 He noted one of the criteria for the medal is for someone having held or holding political office, so Mr. Sweet obviously filled that bill. He said when he was first considering running for office, Mr. Sweet was one of the first people he called, despite knowing their general political persuasions were different then.

“And that might lead you to believe that in my time as an elected member of the Progressive Conservative party, first in opposition, then in government, Bob and I would often be at loggerheads or maybe on opposite sides of an argument or an issue. But it was quite to the contrary because I found out very soon, very early and repetitively that Bob Sweet represented the people of Petawawa, and the people of Renfrew County.”

Mr. Yakabuski stressed Mr. Sweet never showed any partisanship, adding whenever he went to Queen’s Park as warden, he was representing the people, regardless of their political affiliations. 

“I think Bob actually served to change how the role of warden was viewed at Queen’s Park, and that’s saying something,” he stated. “There was no connection to it being a ceremonial-type role and I would say that change began with Len Quilty, who was the former MPP before my dad, and became warden.

“They started to understand just how important that role was, but in my time, Bob took it to another level,” he added. “And I think you could see today where Renfrew County has led and where Renfrew County has benefitted and prospered because of its relationship with the provincial government, and the intrinsic partnership that exists there.”

He described Mr. Sweet as an architect of that changing relationship, noting he felt it was only fitting for him to nominate him for the honour.     

“I’m proud to say that I’m given the privilege of bestowing this medal on what I consider a genuine representative of the people here in Renfrew County who I have known.”            

Mr. Sweet thanked Mr. Yakabuski for his nomination and congratulated the other recipients on being similarly honoured.

He said it was a pleasure to work with Mr. Yakabuski while in office, noting he has been a great ambassador for the community. He thanked Mr. Yakabuski for his kind words, adding what made the occasion more special was the fact his entire family was able to be part of the ceremony, including his grandson, Matthew, via Skype, from London, England.

“When you start out in this business, you don’t start out to get awards or accolades, and John I appreciate the comments you made about just working for the people, because I think if we all had that attitude, we’d all live in a much better place as you have demonstrated for the last 22 years. Your heart and soul is in the Valley, there’s no question about that, and that’s what we do and that’s what we should be doing, looking after the communities we serve.

“I think if we all got back to that, instead of arguing and all this sort of stuff, and simply look at what the communities want, I think it would make a much better place,” he continued.   

Pem-Air/Airport Founder Honoured

The third recipient was Delbert (Del) O’Brien.

“Del’s history in this Valley transcends business, politics, agriculture, legal, and that’s just the beginning. There is not enough time for me to talk about how much he has meant to this community, the valley, and our country,” the MPP said.

He noted Mr. O’Brien was a candidate for federal office on two occasions at times when his party was unlikely to be unsuccessful.

“But this is the kind of man Del O’Brien is,” he remarked.

He established the Pembroke and Area Airport and airline (Pem-Air) when no one thought it could be done and against all odds and opposition.

“But he forged on and I’m never going to say to an O’Brien ‘you can’t do that’, it just ticks them off. Or if you really want to get it done, tell them it can’t be done.”

Mr. Yakabuski said Mr. O’Brien is also involved in his son Jason’s WhiteWater O’Brien Winery, adding it too was against the odds to have a winery in Renfrew County due to the logistics and location.

Mr. O’Brien also served as a provincial drainage tribunal judge and was a legal leader in the county.

“And I haven’t even touched on what he has meant to me personally as a mentor, in my political life.”

Sometimes people are around to guide someone politically because they want to be “part of the show”, so to speak, he stated

“Del has never once told me what to do, but on many occasions, he has offered his friendly guidance and experience. And folks, there is a massive barrel of experience in this political life from Del O’Brien, because he has seen it from all sides.

“He’s seen it from the organizational, he’s seen it from the candidacy, and he’s seen it from party leadership,” he added. “He was a leader in the YPC’s (Young Progressive Conservatives) when I was being born.”  

He recalled first meeting Mr. O’Brien in 1968 as a nine-year-old when Mr. O’Brien was campaigning in Barry’s Bay for the PCs, in what he knew was traditionally a Liberal stronghold.

“To this day, Del has been an inspiration, and someone who is more of a father figure, and I also consider him to be a friend,” he remarked.  “He has always treated me as such and I’m honoured to be able to stand here today and pin that Coronation Medal on you, Mr. Delbert O’Brien.”

High Praise For MPP

Mr. O’Brien said it was a privilege to be present with everyone, adding he is now 90 years of age.

“And I hope to spend more time in this riding, and with you people.”

He reiterated how he had met Mr. Yakabuski when he was quite young, saying he has always been a stalwart supporter.

“Above all, I regard him as a model politician, a model representative of a rural riding. I worked on his first campaign and it was not easy, we won, however.

“Then, I’ve had the privilege of working on most of his campaigns since, and each time the success of his attitude and service to everyone in the riding – it didn’t matter whether they were NDP, Liberal or Conservative – he served you all. And he had the respect of everyone.”

He said as his political career comes to an end, he is hopeful Mr. Yakabuski will go on to serve the community in other ways.

Mr. O’Brien said he appreciates the support his son’s winery has been given by the community and Mr. Yakabuski, stressing it is solely his son’s venture and he only provided some training and support.

He closed by saying Renfrew County was definitely the best place to call home in the province.

Leader Publisher Honoured

The final recipient was Leader publisher Gerald Tracey, whose friendship with Mr. Yakabuski was forged through the friendship of their late fathers, Paul Yakabuski and Ambrose Tracey.

Mr. Yakabuski said it was impossible not to identify Mr. Tracey with the Eganville Leader, which he said was such a tremendous and big part of both his and his family’s life.

“But also such a tremendous part of this county’s, and this Valley’s life, particularly the catchment areas of the Eganville Leader.”

He said the two have been friends a long time, as were their fathers, who sometimes met to discuss political issues.

“And by the end of the evening, they thought they had most of those issues solved because they were accompanied by their good friend, John Dewar,” he mused. “Now, for those who don’t know Scotch, you might not catch on with that.”

His friendship with Mr. Tracey began when he returned to Barry’s Bay to run the family hardware store, noting by that time Mr. Tracey already had many years under his belt at the Leader. He recalled how back in 2002, he was honoured to be asked by Mr. Tracey and his brother, Ron, co-publisher at the time, to be co-master of ceremonies at the Leader’s 100^th anniversary dinner at the Eganville Arena.

“And it was jammed, the place was full. And that was one wonderful and amazing evening and the history of the paper was highlighted in a big way by many speakers who had the opportunity to speak that evening.”

He noted the other emcee was Mike Quilty, the son of the former Liberal MPP, who preceded his father as the riding representative.

He said while the Leader is so much a part of his friend’s life, it also allowed him to serve his community in many other ways.     

“More than once tragedy has struck that community and it was Gerald Tracey who ran to the front of the line to make sure that community could recover from that tragedy, so the people would know that fire destroying their house of worship was setback, but not defeat.

He cited Mr. Tracey’s role in the building of Centennial Park to honour the village’s centennial, noting there were many other things that were turned from challenges into opportunities due to his leadership, including the Ukraine fundraiser he co-ordinated that raised in excess of $100,000 to assist Ukrainian refugees forced from their country.

“I know I’m only touching on a little bit of your life and your leadership, and it’s all because of your commitment to people, your fellow man. You have come forward every time the call went out, and I ask you to come forward one more time”

Mr. Tracey congratulated his co-recipients, describing Mr. Rutz as a modern-day mix of Bernie Bedore and Mac Beattie for his promotion of the history and traditions of the Valley in song and stories. Like Mr. Yakabuksi, he said Mr. Sweet had elevated the position of warden to a new height, and he enjoyed working with him on various committees.

“And God bless you Del, I hope I look as good at 90 as you do, and I hope I have the energy and the interest in life to be involved the way you are.”    

He stressed no one present does things for the accolades, saying he really didn’t know how his community involvement got started when he undertook his first community fundraising venture at age 22. He acknowledged the tremendous support he has received from his wife, Wanda in all his ventures, be it Fairfield’s assisted living, his bike rides with Mr. Yakabuski for Hospice Renfrew, and many other community endeavours.

He lost his father when he was 14 and his mother was left with the newspaper and the early years were tough bringing it into the modern era from the old hot metal days but he and his brother, Ron, did just that.

“But that paper and its staff deserve as much or more credit than I do because I had the vehicle to undertake fundraisers and the support of a wonderful staff.” 

He closed by noting his motto is, If I cannot leave my community better off when I die than what it was when I was born, then what was the purpose of me being here.

“I think it’s incumbent on everyone to do some kind of volunteering or something good for the community.”

Accolades For Assistant

Before the presentations, Mr. Yakabuski acknowledged his longtime assistant, Laura Lapinskie, who generally did not accompany him to events.

“I was so happy when she accepted this,” he remarked, adding everyone in the room knows how indispensable she has been to him in his 22 years in office. “We are the ones that get all the accolades, but none of the successes that I, or any other elected person enjoy would be possible without those very special people that support them so diligently along the way.

“I’m grateful for all your service and so proud to have you with me here today.”