Action Vanier’s “Superman” volunteer retires

January 11, 2010 · Filed Under Blog, Community, Festivals and Events, Industry

EMC News – After more than 15 years spent reviving Action Vanier, master volunteer Gilles Ladouceur has decided to retire.Ladouceur was honoured by Action Vanier’s Board of Directors, community members and politicians during a special luncheon in his honour at Centre Pauline Charron, 165 Jeanne-Mance Street on the morning of Tuesday, December 22.

The decision to restart a dormant charity was made easier for Ladouceur and his friends those many years ago, because of a bureaucratic hiccup.

“In 1992, Action Vanier decided to close. But they never sent the papers to Industry Canada,” to officially wind them up, said Ladouceur, during an interview before his party. As a result, Ladouceur and two friends, at the behest of Vanier’s then-mayor, decided to begin reviving it in 1994.

“We wanted to do some charity work. We wanted to change all of the street signs in Vanier,” he recalled. In time though, Action Vanier, through Ladouceur’s hard work, began taking on other initiatives, including reviving the Sugar Shack in Richelieu Park and maintaining the Maple Sugar Fest, a highlight of any Vanier winter season. Action Vanier was also helpful in setting up the Vanier Museopark and a monthly bilingual newspaper, Perspectives Vanier.

The decision to take on the Sugar Shack and its annual festival was placed upon them after Vanier amalgamated with the City of Ottawa in 2001 since “the City said they were not the festival business.”

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Tags: Action Vanier, Maple Sugar Fest, richelieu park, sugar shack, Vanier Museopark