Charles Dickson
Shawville July 19, 2023
“This is a celebration of the residents and the staff,” said Katharine Summerfield. “It’s a party.”
Summerfield, president of the Pontiac Reception Centre Foundation, says the idea for the barbecue lunch held at the assisted living facility last Thursday originated with the recreation facilitator Serena Larivière.
“She’s extremely important, she’s vital,” Summerfield said of Larivière.
“The barbecue for the residents was her idea. It grew from a fun event for residents into an opportunity to express thanks to the staff that do all kinds of things every day in support of CAP residents, and the Foundation is paying for it,” said Summerfield.
Fifteen staff members of the Pontiac Reception Centre (a.k.a. Centre d’acceuil Pontiac, or CAP) helped out at the barbecue including housekeeping, maintenance, kitchen and floor staff, along with 12 volunteers and five family members.
“Everybody’s pitching in because they know it’s important for the residents,” said Serena Larivière.
Summerfield expressed her gratitude to Joanne’s ValuMart for donating the hamburgers and hot dogs, Terry Campbell for the buns, and Jill MacDougall of Shawville Shooz for the ice cream sandwiches.
She also described the role of the Foundation.
“We raise money to do things for the residents that the government doesn’t pay for, and we keep the funds here. Anything that is donated to us is here,” said Summerfield, gesturing toward the CAP building behind her. “It doesn’t go anywhere else.”
She said the Foundation has plans to make use of various nooks and crannies in the facility to make it “more inviting and homelike, and less institutional.”
“That’s the kind of thing we’ll be doing, but it all takes money. So, we continue to raise funds. We’re never done with fundraising,” she said.
Foundation members Brian Thomson and Stu Clark cooked up the hamburgers and hot dogs on the two barbecues. Thomson is continuing a bit of a family tradition with the Pontiac Reception Centre Foundation. His father, Dale Thomson, was the first president of the organization.
“That was back during the building of the home, and he was there a long time,” said Brian Thomson.
He recalled the story that a comment made by his father’s mother, Arletta (Dale) Thomson, may have helped motivate Dale to work on setting up the facility.
“Years ago, she said that since both husbands and wives were having to work, older people could no longer count on being cared for by their children and would need somewhere to go,” said Thomson.
“The residents here need assisted care,” explained Summerfield.
“Whether it is having meals prepared for them, or activities, or nursing support, or whatever, they’re at a stage in life when they need to have someone take care of them.”
