For more than a decade, Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82 has been generously donating her time to Branksome.

 

Kathryn started volunteering at the school in the late 1990s, but really jumped in with two feet in 2001 when she joined the Reunion Weekend Committee. She so enjoyed the experience that she happily agreed to stay involved by taking on the role of Chair the next year. In 2003, she became Chair for the Alumnae Centennial Weekend celebrations.

 

In 2007, Kathryn joined the Alumnae Association Executive and the Plaid Tidings committee, taking on Co-chair responsibilities for the 2008 and 2009 shows. When asked which time period truly stood out, Kathryn fondly recalls, “It was the two years I was involved with Branksome’s Centennial celebrations. It was a huge undertaking and a truly incredible time to celebrate the school and its storied past. The alumnae volunteers who worked on the project were incredibly talented, dedicated and accomplished. It made me realize that the Branksome experience we share as fellow students can last well beyond graduation.”

 

A born volunteer, Kathryn followed in her mother’s volunteering footsteps and was a Unit Leader for Guiding as well as District Commissioner. She also volunteered for many years at her children’s primary school, high school and with Guiding.

 

After graduating from McGill University in 1985, Kathryn built a career in marketing that led to the position of Director of Marketing for Tourism Toronto. In 1992, she followed her dream, earning her chef papers at the National Gourmet Cookery School in New York City. She apprenticed under Jamie Kennedy at his renowned Palmerston Restaurant. Kathryn Champion Catering was launched soon after and has kept Kathryn professionally busy for close to 20 years.

 

Kathryn is a true advocate for stepping out of one’s comfort zone to learn something new. In her role as President of the Alumnae Association, she will truly be hitting her stride. And her message to fellow alumnae is crystal clear: the community you knew and loved as a student is alive and well in the community of alumnae volunteers who have returned.

 

Christine Harman

This busy parent gives generously of her time and attention to the school she calls her “extended family.”

 

When Christine Harman first enrolled her daughters in Branksome Hall, she discovered a “dedicated community of individuals working together as a team to enrich the lives of my daughters.”

 

Impressed by the commitment she witnessed daily, she says “it’s clearly more than a job” for the faculty and staff of Branksome Hall. For Christine and her family — husband Jamsheed Mehta and daughters Alyssa, currently in Grade 9, and Sophie, in Grade 8 — Branksome is clearly more than a school. 

 

And Christine has been giving back to the community she so cherishes, almost since the day she enrolled her first daughter in the school, in 2002.

 

When she’s not dropping by the Senior and Middle School to drop off her girls for 7 a.m. sport practices, or zipping to afterschool squash meets — her daughters are both national squash champions in their respective age groups — she can be seen helping out at school events or, for the past three years, serving as President of the Parents’ Association.

 

In her most recent role as President, a title she relinquished in September 2010, Christine oversaw an ambitious effort to craft a new Strategic Plan for the Parents’ Association, including new executive roles and a new Association mission statement.

 

Christine also does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work at Branksome, pitching in wherever her talents might be needed. Friends describe her as hard working, well organized and extremely supportive of Branksome Hall. She has volunteered in the Junior School Library, as a Junior School Grade Parent Rep, and acquiring donations for the school’s Puttin’ on the Plaid gala. She oversaw the popular Welcome Back BBQ for three years and also volunteered in the Alum Shop and in the school’s Annual Giving Campaign.

 

Since her girls enrolled in Branksome, Christine has seen them thrive in academics, athletics and co-curriculars.

 

“My daughters are globally minded and caring thinkers and risk-takers,” she says. “They’re well rounded, and I think they embody many, if not all, of the attributes outlined in the IB Learner Profile.”

 

“I think I should have been an IB girl!” says Christine with a smile.

 

 

Maggs Barrett embodies volunteerism. She is dedicated to the school and gives her all to every project she takes on. Extremely reliable, Maggs is also a respected contributor of ideas, opinions and manpower. For any project, large or small, she jumps in - passionate and tireless - and gets the job done.

 

A volunteer at Branksome for over a decade, in the 1990’s Maggs was active in our Annual Giving program as a Class Captain, Alumnae letter signer and a solicitor for our Opening Doors Campaign. She has been a Reunion rep for her class and donated her time as a debating judge.

 

She has served on the Alumnae Association since 2003, and in 2008-09 took on the role of the Association’s Treasurer. Maggs has been instrumental in guiding the Executive to provide financial aid to students. She has worked on the Honorary Executive rules, Poinsettia Sale and Spring Plant Sale. Golf Day benefited in the past from Maggs’ organizational skills and in 2008, she joined the organizing committee for the September 27 event.

 

Maggs has been a volunteer for Plaid Tidings since 2003, co-chairing in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Results-focused, she took the event to new levels, raising a record $70,000 in 2006, and in 2007 exceeding that level with profits of over $75,000. Maggs served on the committee and oversaw all printing needs for Plaid Tidings 2008.

 

Congratulations, Maggs, and thank you for the selfless commitment and talents that you share with Branksome Hall.

 

 

Outside of the Alumnae Association Executive, Cindy served as the Plaid Tidings Treasurer from 1994 to 2007. She has also been involved with Golf Day, assisting with registration and acting as the event Treasurer between 2003 and 2006.

 

Since 1995, Cindy has been a mainstay in the school Archives, ensuring Branksome's history is documented and preserved. Every Wednesday afternoon she is joined by Marg HAMBLETON'52 and Penny LOWNDES Elliott'63. The school's history would not be as complete and accessible as it is without this trio.

When Cindy's daughter, Megan SNELL'00, was at Branksome, Cindy wore two hats simultaneously. She volunteered for many parent activities in the late 1990's and sat on the Parents' Association Executive in 1999 and 2000. She also volunteered in the Alum Shop from 1998 to 2004.

 

Cindy is meticulous, efficient and reliable. Her praises have been sung again and again over the years, and her perseverance and diligence to every project that she has undertaken for the school is deeply appreciated. Congratulations and thank you, Cindy!

 

Since he joined the community in 1996 as a parent, Ted Nation has volunteered with Branksome at many different levels, from flipping burgers at the Welcome Back BBQ and pouring wine at Plaid Tidings to chairing two successful Gentlemen's Evenings and sitting on the Board of Governors since 2001. As a member of the Board, he has also served on the Audit Committee from 2005 to 2007 and the Governance Committee since 2002.

 

Ted has been involved with Gentlemen's Evening since the event began in 1998, chairing this important fundraiser in 2001 and 2003. This event has raised more than $570,000 for the school, and Ted's solid understanding of the Branksome community has been instrumental in Gentlemen's Evening's success over the years.

 

From 2001 to 2003, Ted sat on the Major Gifts Advisory Committee. During the Centennial Project Appeal, 2003 to 2006, he was a volunteer solicitor, and has also assisted with Annual Giving over the years. He was a member of the Publications Audit Committee and in 2004 he served as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. Ted has even gotten his hands dirty by planting at Branksome Green.

 

In support of his two daughters, Sarah and Sophie, who have both attended Branksome, and in support of the school, Ted has been willing to do anything and everything, offering his time and expertise to assist the school in achieving its goals. He is a well liked and respected community member and leader. We thank him for everything that he has done for the school over the past decade, and congratulate him on this honour. Ted added the title of Past Parent to his Branksome resume, with the graduation of his eldest daughter Sarah in 2007.

 

Sarah is a friend and devoted Branksomite. She has been a volunteer for some 19 years, 11 of them in a multitude of activities at Branksome. 
 
Her commitment to voluntarism began when her two children, Charles and Jane, started their education. She decided to do volunteer work while her husband, Douglas, pursued his career in the financial world. She loves being with people from all walks of life, getting to know them, how they work, and how to achieve objectives by using their individual talents.
 
Her first volunteer assignment occurred in 1984 when her son Charles enrolled at Whitney Public School. She joined the Day Care Centre Board and the Parents’ Association. It was not long before Sarah was asked to work with women in crises at Humewood House, Toronto. Then it was Branksome’s turn.
 
Jane entered the school in 1993, and the following year Sarah became the Volunteer Coordinator with the Parents’ Association. In 1998, she joined the Alumnae Executive, where she has been an active member for the past seven years, working on Bridge Day, Plant Sales, Golf Day, Reunion Weekend, Residence events, The Plaid Palate cookbook, Plaid Tidings, and Awards committees. There is virtually no activity or event at Branksome that has not benefitted from Sarah’s involvement. Her most recent, and perhaps greatest challenge, was her role as co-chair of Plaid Tidings for the past two years. In 2004, this ever-popular festive event raised $53,000 for the refurbishment of the Junior School Performing Arts Room.
 
“My Branksome volunteering provides me with tremendous pleasure,” she says. “I see the school in a way that I never knew as a student. I know the teachers, administrative staff and the maintenance and kitchen staff – all wonderful people whose roles have helped my volunteer work at the school run smoothly. I also meet many other volunteers and learn how to use their skills to their best advantage. We all try to be very accommodating. It’s very important for me to accomplish things by persevering in every way.”
 
Branksome is not the only beneficiary of her skills. Sarah served on the Parents’ Association at Upper Canada College from 1997-2001, while her son attended the school. And, she is in her second term on the Academics Committee of the Ridley College Board of Governors.
 
One of her shortcomings, she admits, is that “I never learn to say no. I just want to help in whatever way I can.” Sarah claims to be a behind-the-scenes person. “I don’t like being singled out, whether it’s for good things or bad things! Being anonymous is fine with me.”

 

Colleagues who have worked alongside Sarah confirm that she is a straight-talker, but modest, which may explain the emotion she felt when she heard she was the Volunteer of the Year. “I just dissolved,” she said.
 
Apart from all she does for Branksome, Sarah is an avid “new” golfer, and a tennis addict. She loves cottage life and family times on Georgian Bay, often shared with her sister, Margaret GOODERHAM’80, and her brother, Peter, and his family (niece, Georgina, is in Grade 7 at Branksome). When in the city, she attends cooking classes, although she’s never too sure just how much of a benefit these are to her family.
 
Her daughter, Jane, graduated in 2005 after 12 years as a student, but this does not mean that Sarah is finished as a volunteer. She is already on the committee for nexthe April 2006 Gala – Puttin’ on the Plaid. She can’t say no.
 
Sarah – thank you, for never saying no to Branksome. We owe you a great debt of gratitude.