One of Incite Planning Partners, Daivd J. Stinson, was recently honoured by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute. He received the Member Service Award at OPPIs twenty-fifth Annual General Meeting in 2021 for service to the Institute and Planning in Ontario. Also honoured were Kristy Kilbourne, Mark Dorfman, and George McKibbon
https://ontarioplanners.ca/become-an-rpp/oppi-membership/member-service-awards
Of special note is the confirmation of Carolyn King as an Honorary Member of OPPI, in recognition of her long-standing interest and involvement with planning. Not only is she a member of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, but she has been a colleague and collaborator in the education of planners regarding the importance of the Consultation and Accommodation of indigenous interests and rights.
Many thanks to those fellow professionals that encouraged me along the way to volunteer my time in the cause of our profession: Mike Sullivan who asked me to join the Lakelands District committee; Brandi Clemet who initiated our foray into the emerging issue of the Duty to Consult; Lori Hunter, Kristen Dibble-Pechkovsky, and the late Al McNair for our collaboration on Jane’s Walks; Paddy Kennedy in our work on the Municipal Affairs and Housing Working Group; Adam Wight for arranging the video interview with Mark LaForme and P. Leigh Whyte on the Duty to Consult; and Ryan Desroches for requesting that Carolyn and I develop a Continuous Professional Learning course regarding this topic. A special thanks as well to Incite Planning Partner, Colette Isaac, for her steadfast support of the development my professional skills and expertise. For any whom I’ve overlooked or forgotten, please forgive.
Some events do stand out, such as the interview by eager planning student Clara MacCallum Fraser for her thesis research. It entailed the poorly explored and little understood overlap of municipal and First Nation interests. She eventually recruited me into the formation of the Shared Path Consultation Initiative. There was the delightful day spent with the grade 7 & 8 geography/history students from Monsignor Lee Catholic School in Orillia, for which I had organised a World Town Planning Day event. Fellow planners were there to help guide the tour: Kristen Dibble Pechkovsky, from the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, Holly Spacek, with the Simcoe County District School Board. Jeff Duggan, from the City of Orillia, also assisted, as well as discussed, the City’s active transportation plan. Everyone pitched in to guide the kids in their enthusiastic re-designs of their school’s neighbourhood… as I recall some even skipped recess to finish their work before the group presentations!
Ours is an aspirational profession. It rests firmly on the notion that “the Land” matters. Indeed, the health, well-being, and prosperity of society depend on it. Exploring the significance of this with colleagues and the public had been and will continue to be a privilege.