Portfolio - Oak Writer

York Region Character Community

Article appeared in the April 2007 issue of Municipal World magazine

By Tom G. Kernaghan

“The better a State is constituted, the more do public affairs intrude upon private affairs in the minds of the citizens.”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract

Character is working in York Region. For the past five years, the nine municipalities that constitute the vast and vibrant region to the north of Toronto, Ontario, have been taking bold steps toward a better future.

Articles, Brands, Community, Profiles

Roy Singh

Little West Indian Culture in BWV

Guyana native Roy Singh reflects on life in Toronto

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Roy Singh remembers the weather when he arrived in Canada at the age of 16.

“There was lots of snow, and I loved it,” says Singh, who emigrated from Guyana with his family in 1963. He stayed briefly with his aunt in North York before his family settled in central Etobicoke, where Singh went to high school and still lives today.

Articles, Community, Divercity, Profiles

Rock the Vote

Rocking the Village Vote

Fundraiser engages youth in activism and politics

By Tom G. Kernaghan

“Pierced, Pissed off and Political!” reads the rallying cry on Rockthevote.ca.

For this Village-grown nationwide fundraising organization, launching and connecting campaigns to create awareness about local and international issues is its main reason for being.

Articles, Profiles

Paul Stewart, Busker

Singing the street story

Gospel and traditional country music inspire Village busker

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Local busker Paul Stewart knows about being away from home. Since 1992, Stewart has been singing songs in the Village. Day after day, the Etobicoke resident and his 13-year-old Seeing Eye dog, Roadie (named after Rhode Island), make their way to Bloor Street, where Stewart spends hours strumming his guitar and wailing tales of life for the busy Village burghers.

Articles, Community, Divercity, Profiles

Etobicoke Chamber of Commerce

Moving water runs deep

Gib-San Pools set a new standard

Congratulations to Toronto’s Gib-San pools who recently achieved a first when it became the first pool builder in the world to receive the internationally recognized ISO-9001 Quality Standards Registration.

Ed Gibbs, president and CEO, and his team of roughly 120 dedicated employees have spent three years refining their policies, procedures, and practices to ensure they have a measurable system of delivering the highest possible level of customer service all year around.

Articles, Profiles

David Allen, Photographer

Capturing High Park’s beauty

Walkabout with photographer David Allen

By Tom G. Kernaghan

David Allen likes turning restrictions into opportunities. Though he usually takes pictures at sunrise or sunset, this veteran photographer and local resident can easily find High Park’s beauty in the flat light of an overcast sky in the middle of a winter’s day.

Articles, Profiles

Bobbie Rosenfeld

The Complete Athlete

Anne Dublin’s latest effort profiles Bobbie Rosenfeld

By Tom G. Kernaghan

Bobbie Rosenfeld was one of the most remarkable athletes ever to grace the world stage.

Quick and strong, Rosenfeld was an extremely tough competitor who possessed exceptional natural talent. With bullet-like determination, she excelled at every sport she tried. She set records in track and field, led Canada’s first women’s track and field team at the 1928 Olympics, won medals, earned accolades, and became a well-known Globe and Mail columnist. She was named female athlete of the half-century in 1950, has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and had a plaque, a park, and an award named in her honour. And she fought the prevailing notion that women could not handle highly- competitive sports.

Articles, Profiles