My community involvement includes the following:

• Honourary Pickering Lions Club Member
• Honourary Chairman Cassidy Golf Tournament for Community Living
• Founding President Ajax Pickering Women’s Shelter, Herizon House
• Member of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 483 Claremont
• Awards:
  • Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award
  • Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal
  • Economic Development Council of Ontario President’s Award
  • First Honourary Ajax-Pickering Big Brother
  • Durham Man Of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award
• Rick has helped to raise over 10 million for Children’s Charities
• Founding member of Brougham Youth and Family Action Centre
• Chairman of Ontario Sports Hall of Fame Athlete of the year award
• Founding Chairman of Sports Hall of Fame of Ontario
• Syl Apps – Roger Clements Athlete of the Year

History

Rick was raised in Harwood Ontario until he was 12 years old. Harwood is a small town on the south side of Rice Lake. Rick attended a two-room schoolhouse there. His Dad and Mom, Ivan and Lorene, raised 6 children of which Rick is the eldest. Next were Randy, Doug, Mike, Mark and Denise. The family relocated to a farm in South Monaghan on the north side of Rice Lake in 1966. Rick attended Crestwood High School in Peterborough. Throughout his childhood Rick was involved in many pastimes. He was good at breaking horses. He was involved working with his father as a cattle drover. He was the Rep on Student Councils, President of Sunday School and he also started a band in Grade 8. In High School he built himself a dune buggy. Rick also has trophies from winning snowmobile races.

After High School, Rick attended University of Guelph and received a diploma in Agriculture. He has always been interested in environment and took some environmental courses at Guelph. Throughout the summers after High School and throughout University, Rick worked for SA Wideman transport in Claremont, where Rick would eventually settle to raise his family. After Guelph, Rick went to work for Bobby Baun as his farm herdsman. This was a 500 cow-calf operation, which kept Rick very busy. During this time, Rick married Susan Mennie. They moved to the farm on Brock Road where they have lived for 30 years.

Rick and Susan had 2 sons: Christopher James in 1976 and Russell David in 1980.

Rick worked as a cattle buyer at the Toronto Stockyards for many years. During this time Rick also put together the County Band. He also started the Brougham County Jamboree on his farm, which ran for 11 years. Rick’s band, along with bands such as The Good Brothers, Prairie Oyster, Carol Baker and many more played at the Jamboree. Crowds started out with a few thousand in the early years, working up to 5,000 each day. Rick’s band is still going strong today. They play at many special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. For 25 years the County Band has played at Canada Day in Pickering at Kinsmen Park, where over 20,000 people gather for the fireworks display. In the eighties and nineties, Rick formed Nash Can Booking Agency. He booked very famous country music acts from Nashville. He booked Allan Jackson to play in Canada for 3 weeks when Jackson was still an unknown. He spent a lot of time in Nashville in those days. He himself played at the Stockyards in Nashville. He also played in Wheeling, West Virginia and in Texas.

In 1988 Rick entered into Politics. He began as a local councilor for Ward 3 in Pickering. Rick is a natural – he loves talking with people and he has always been very interested in his community. In 1992 Rick became a Durham Regional Councillor, still representing Pickering Ward 3, but also representing the rest of Durham Region. He has now been a politician for over 20 years.

In 2000 Rick and Susan bought their dream piece of property, Harwood Hills, on the Uxbridge Pickering Townline. Rick loves to work on the property. In the next few years they will build their dream home.

Rick still enjoys playing hockey 3 times a week and baseball in the summer. He is also an avid golfer (to say the least). He and Susan play a lot of golf together, and take many golf vacations whenever possible. Florida is their favorite destination over the last 8 years.