While the Spirit of Niagara Awards are organized to recognize businesses, it has always picks one person to be chosen as its outstanding citizen.
This year, the prestigious Lord Mayor’s Award of Excellence given to the Citizen of the Year was bestowed on an emotional and much applauded Dorothy Soo-Wiens.
As he presented the award, Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa explained it as “an opportunity to recognize an exceptional individual who has dedicated their time, energy, and passion to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Their impact and contributions are felt throughout our town, benefiting various areas such as business, philanthropy, and community involvement.”
“I always say that NOTL is the greatest place to live,” he added, “and our passionate community spirit is our secret weapon.”
He called Soo-Wiens a “true leader,” someone whose philosophy, and the community she has created around her,“is built one thoughtful act at a time, and is evident in every aspect of her life.”
He mentioned her work with the NOTL Lions and her church, and said Soo-Wiens has also “spearheaded initiatives that have become beloved community traditions,” including generating more than $100,000 for cancer research. “Dorothy’s humble, hands-on approach and unwavering commitment to making our community a better place makes her a truly exceptional Citizen of the Year.”
When Soo-Wiens took her place before the microphone, after an emotional exchange with the mayor, she laughed that she had with her a recipe card on which she had scribbled a few words.
She spoke briefly of her family who immigrated to Canada, her gratitude for the new life offered to her as a child, waking up “to God’s blessings every day, and to live life with gratefulness.”
That, she said, “sure changes our perspective.”
Her family arrived in Fort McMurray, where they still live, when she was a child, and where she stayed until she left for Carleton University, she told The Local. She studied communications and political science, hoping to land a job in government — she thought she’d like to stay in Ottawa and work for one of the MPs, writing speeches.
However while there she met a young fellow from Niagara, Erwin Wiens, married him, and eventually moved to NOTL with him when he decided, as a police officer, he wanted to try his hand at farming.
That was in 2003, and Dorothy brought with her something she learned from her father as a child — the importance of giving back to her community.
She also thanked her husband for “always listening to my hare-brained ideas,” and when speaking of how much she appreciates his support, she jokes that “he doesn’t always agree with me to begin with. Sometimes I have to convince him.”
Soo-Wiens has chosen to embrace positivity, which helps her carry through on her ideas and her volunteer work — some of it very visible in the community, but more than that, what she does quietly behind the scenes.
At the award ceremony she spoke of her quilting group, In Stitches, and said “together we are making something far greater than just blankets. We are wrapping our community and the world with love, one quilt at a time.”
She also spoke to The Local of the group of women who will toil with her in the church kitchen again this May, making peach pies for the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale, as they do every year. They always set up a table in the Cornerstone Community Church lobby with pies, offering them for sale to the community here, and donating whatever money is made to the relief mission. Stay tuned for the times of the sale, she said.
Soo-Wiens shared two of her favourite Bible quotes with the crowd at the Spirit Awards, emphasizing again the value of getting up each morning with a positive attitude. “Be kind and compassionate to one another” was one quote, and the other, “do not forget to do good and to share with others.”
Jovie Joki of the Irish Harp was presented two prestigious Spirit Awards, Business of the Year and Business Leader.
Also presented by the Chamber was the Dan Patterson award for Youth to Catherine Beyene Dubois, who was not able to be there to accept it. In announcing the award, Dorita Pentesco, a senior director at Niagara College, said it “recognizes the achievements and leadership of a young member of the NOTL community,” referring to Dubois as “a role model not only for our youth, but for all of us.”
The Grade 12 student was described as an active member of the Yellow Door Theatre Project, and a gifted musical theatre singer and actor with "leadership, mentorship, empathy and the ability to foster trust and collaboration among her many peera that sees her shine particularly bright.”
She is a straight-A student, Prime Minister of her school, and a leader in its senior choirs, a percussionist in its drum line, a member of the book club, music council, and the culture and inclusion club at Laura Secord Secondary School, Pentesco said.
Erica Lepp, asked to present the Celia Liu Award named in memory of her sister, said Celia “represented the highest quality in the hospitality and tourism industry. A beacon of positive energy, she dedicated her life to hospitality and believed in always putting the customer first. She was a great supporter of the Chamber of Commerce and committees as well as the community of Niagara-on- the-Lake.”
Her sister, she added, "challenged all of us to make sure our guests and staff were well-treated and respected.”
Lepp presented the Hospitality and Tourism award to Michael Zappitelli of BarrelHead, the pizza restaurant at Pillitteri Estates Winery.
She spoke of his menu featuring locally sourced ingredients, “supporting our region’s farmers, and donating surplus ingredients to the Niagara Falls Soup Kitchen.” She said Zappitelli represents a business “that is more than just a dining venue, it is a destination that embodies the best of Niagara’s hospitality, culture, and cuisine.”
Bonnie Bagnulo of Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care was given the award for Community Leadership, which “goes to an individual who is a caring, compassionate leader, driven by their passion to nurture and educate others. Under her leadership,” said presenter Paul MacIntyre, she has “created innovative programs and services, transformed the organization’s structure and governance, and added full- and part-time staff with a volunteer force of over 60 people.”
She has also “championed the integration of palliative care services into the fabric of the town’s health care system.”
The Entrepreneurial Award was presented to by Bob Jackson of Vintage Hotels to Tammy Martin of The Junction in St Davids, for demonstrating "great initiative and innovation to establish a new business venture or project,” and through hard work and dedication, “has successfully brought a new venture to fruition that positively impacts NOTL.”
The Christopher Newton Award for Arts and Culture, presented by Melissa Novecosky of the Shaw Festival, went to Barbara Worthy for her work at the NOTL Museum. In presenting the award, Novecosky spoke of arts, culture and heritage helping to forge the identity of NOTL, making it “a standard in Canada to strive for by preserving and strengthening a sense of place and history.”
Newton, she said, was a “renowned artist, director and the artistic director of the Shaw Festival from 1979 to 2002. He re-imagined what the Shaw Festival could be in NOTL and the larger performance arts community in Canada,” and his passion “stands as a model to be emulated by all those in our community today.”
She introduced Worthy as an “individual whose work exemplifies a blend of academic rigour and community spirit, making her a respected figure in the field of culture, arts and heritage in Niagara. From groundbreaking radio productions at the CBC to a long and fruitful association with the Shaw Festival,” she has “consistently demonstrated a deep passion for storytelling, education, and artistic expression.”
In thanking the Chamber for the award, Worthy noted that she first came to NOTL to “crash an audition” with Newton — arriving uninvited and unexpected — and was offered a part. She came to consider Newton a mentor and a friend, and expressed her gratitude to him for his role in her decision to settle in NOTL. That led to her meeting her former husband, and having her son Liam Neumann, the love of her life, who was lost in a tragic accident in 2023.
Also winning an award was presented by Aaron Oppenlaender of Huebel Grapes Estates to Palatine Fruit and Roses for its outstanding achievement in agriculture, as a local business “which has displayed ingenuity in innovation and achieved positive results in the agricultural community/business practices the past year.”
Wrapping up the presentations was Chamber of Commerce award handed out by Jamie Drummond to Betty Colaneri, a board member of the chamber for many years, who “has demonstrated support and continuous hard work for the improvement of NOTL and the NOTL Chamber of Commerce,” impacting the community “positively and inclusively.”