Outrageous Creations! Owner Wins Prestigious Award

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Equine Canada has named Kerri McGregor of Newmarket, ON as the 2005 Volunteer of the Year.

Each year, the Volunteer of the Year Award comes as a surprise to the recipient. This year’s selected winner has demonstrated enormous commitment to Equestrian Sport in Canada, not only as a competitor and Equine Canada official, but also a Co-Chair, a past Chair of the Communications Committee - she has been involved in all areas of the organization.

McGregor’s management skills and work ethic demand and achieve very high results. She is respected by those who work with her because she is an intelligent, articulate and an objective communicator. Not only does she understand the importance of governance, she lives it each day. Known as a true team player, she consistently applies policy in a clear headed way, keeping both long and short term goals clearly sited in the path ahead.

An avid rider and enthusiast, McGregor has been involved with horses for over a quarter of a century. She currently holds a Basic Dressage Judge’s card and enjoys the opportunity to judge at many Dressage and Eventing competitions in Ontario at the Primary, Provincial and National levels. As a rider, she began in the hunter-jumper rings and eventing fields but found her niche in dressage and has competed up to the Prix St. Georges level.

It wasn’t always the big shows and events that received her attention. Starting years ago with her local riding group, newsletters took on new and exciting formats, websites were launched and committee details were kept straight. From 1998-2001, she was a director of Toronto CADORA, where she was the editor of their print newsletter, Passage, and website coordinator. In addition, she helped organize Toronto CADORA's shows and clinics.

Over the years, she has been active and involved in many other equestrian organizations such as Canadian Eventing, Ontario Hunter Jumper Association, CADORA, and the Central-East Zone Trillium Hunter-Jumper Association.

Involved not only in the Equestrian world she was also recognized in 2002 at the In Celebration of Women’s Awards in York Region, Ontario for the help she provided as a volunteer to other not for profit organizations to improve their communications and function through donating her time and expertise in web design. She served as an active member of the Town of Newmarket’s smart Newmarket Task Force whose mission was to help bridge the gap between technology and the community.

As a volunteer with Equine Canada she has given not only time, but also her expertise in web design, communication and management. The design of the Dressage Canada website has been done entirely on a volunteer basis for the past five years. It is not only Dressage that has received the benefit of her web design skills: The Canadian Equestrian Team and Para-Equestrian are two of the most recent recipients of her assistance.

If that’s not enough she has created, produced, sourced advertising and continues to edit Collections, the quarterly Dressage Canada magazine, the e-Newsletter, Dressage Canada Competitions Handbook and the many press releases ­ in excess of 30 annually ­ and media kits which are written, produced and sent out, improving the image and knowledge of Dressage ­ all donated by one conscientious and determined volunteer.

"I am incredibly honoured to have been recognized with such a prestigious award. To be named in the same company as previous recipients Mike Gallagher, Elizabeth Bordeaux and Roz Farber is definitely an esteemed privilege. Thank you to both Equine Canada and BF Lorenzetti for recognizing the contributions made by volunteers, and I look forward to continuing making any contributions I can to the equestrian industry."

The Volunteer of the Year Award, sponsored by B.F. Lorenzetti & Associates (Ontario) Inc., was created in 1998 to recognize an outstanding volunteer who has contributed to equestrian sport in Canada. It is an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of individuals who give so generously of their time in order to support the goals and vision of Equine Canada. Kerri McGregor was honoured with the Volunteer of the Year Award at the annual Equine Canada Awards Banquet held Sat. Feb. 11, 2006, in Saint John, NB.