Johanne Pomalis says winning the Celebration 2010 volunteer award was unexpected.
When Joanne Pomalis received one of MPP Jim Watson’s Celebration 2010 volunteer awards recently, it came as no surprise to her fellow curlers at the Rideau Curling Club.
When the club’s nominations committee met to decide who they would nominate for the award, Pomalis was not invited to take part in the process, despite being a member of the committee, says David Van Dine, past president of the club.
“We excluded her right from the start because her name is the first name that comes up at the club as to who our top volunteer is,” he says.
Pomalis, an avid curler, is also the club’s Ontario Curling Association representative and the volunteer director of the provincial body’s publicity arm.
Pomalis recently launched the OCA’s first-ever electronic newsletter to spread news among curling clubs across the province, including Centretown’s Ottawa and Rideau clubs.
The newsletter will be distributed monthly during the curling season and promotes the OCA website and province-wide curling events, she says.
Pomalis joined the club 10 years ago after being recruited by a friend and immediately started to help out around the club, says Van Dine.
“I couldn’t begin to guess how many hours she’s put in over the years,” he says.
“She’s served on the board and at various times she was the president of the ladies’ component of the club, secretary of the board and then served as vice-president, president for two years and then past president,” says Van Dine.
Despite being so involved with the curling club, Pomalis also has a full-time job as a database specialist.
“She used that expertise in organizing our website,” says Van Dine.
“She was instrumental in getting the club to develop a business plan to get us on stable financial footing and organized.”
Pomalis says she has started a Facebook group to unite the local curling community online and plans to use the newsletter to recruit new curlers.
“Olympic sports get more interest and this year especially there is a real push to get people to try curling,” she says.
The newsletter is an effective tool for connecting people with the same passion, says Layne Noble, president of the club.
“It’s wonderful to see this kind of leadership to promote curling across the province,” he says.
Pomalis’ volunteer efforts also helped the club receive two grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2005 and 2009.
The grants, worth a total of $120,000, contributed to a new roof and new equipment for the plant, she says.
Last year the club was also awarded a $370,000 grant from the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program which Pomalis says will go toward insulating the club and hopefully “bring the building up to snuff.”
While she appreciates being recognized for her volunteer work, Pomalis says it was the last thing she expected.
“You don’t do stuff to get awards you do stuff to get things done, but it was nice for people to say thanks,” she says.