Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Tony Chisholm says he’s no Superman.
His efforts over the past 16 years to lend a helping hand to his community are borne out of a desire to curb boredom, meet new people, try new things and keep his town and Niagara a great place to live.
“Primarily, it’s fun, it’s interesting and it keeps me out of trouble,” he told The Lake Report.
In recognition of his work as president of the Friends of Fort George and his volunteer work for various local organizations, including the NOTL Museum and the Upper Canada Heritage Trail committee, the Niagara Foundation has named him the recipient of this year’s Living Landmark Award.
The award, first introduced in 2006, is presented annually “to a person or persons who have demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the quality of life in Niagara,” says an announcement on the foundation’s webpage.
The foundation focuses on the preservation of the heritage and cultural landscape of NOTL, so the majority of the award winners have been based in town.
“Tony has been front and centre with so many initiatives in Niagara-on-the-Lake it’s hard to keep track,” said Lyle Hall, chair of the Niagara Foundation, in the announcement.
“Whether it’s heritage, community, tourism or social services, Tony seems always willing to lend a hand.”
Chisholm spends his days volunteering for various organizations, including the NOTL Museum as a tour guide, both on foot and by bike, and is president of the Friends of Fort George.
The retired trade magazine publisher, who has lived in NOTL permanently since 2008, volunteers as a tour guide at the local museum and is active in ongoing efforts to develop the heritage trail.
Also in the realm of heritage and historical commemoration, he helped make sure the parade of tall ships touring during Canada’s 150th birthday celebration had a floating dock to land at in NOTL and assisted in planning bicentennial celebrations for the War of 1812 around town.
Additionally, he was instrumental in NOTL placing first three years in a row in the Communities in Bloom’s annual awards from 2014 to 2016 and works once a week to help feed homeless people in Niagara Falls.
Life can be a grind, he said, so he took the chance to enjoy his retirement by moving away from thinking about bottom lines, payrolls and shareholder demands and turning his current work into something he does for nothing more than passion.
“I was a businessman in my career, so everything was profit-orientated,” he said.
“You know, make more money for the company, make more money for the company. And this is a refreshing change. I don’t have to make money for anybody and nobody can fire me,” he said, laughing.
While the making money thing is not entirely true, the gist of his message is clear.
Chisholm has made plenty of money for the organizations he has helped while living in Niagara — money that isn’t done from the boardroom, but rather the fundraising desk.
He describes his responsibilities as not intensive but hugely satisfying.
“Being (the president) of the Friends of Fort George is a fairly minimal job,” he said.
“There’s an administrator who does 90 per cent of the work.”
“The heritage trail, same thing: We’ve had to concentrate on fundraising so that anything we do is orientated to that.”
“It all hasn’t taken a huge amount of time, and it’s been extremely rewarding.”
The best part of it, he adds, is that his efforts get him out of the house.
“What worse than retiring and sitting on a couch and watching the tube for the rest of your life?” he rhetorically asked.
Chisholm will be formally recognized on Nov. 15 at Navy Hall in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
