Former HO President Carolyn Quinn Honoured

Former Heritage Ottawa President Carolyn Quinn this year received the Heritage Distinction Award at this year's Ottawa Civic Appreciation Awards Ceremony.

The photo to the right shows Carolyn with Mayor Bob Chiarelli (right) and Ottawa City Counsellor Rick Chiarelli (left) at the April 2004 presentation ceremonies.

Below is the text of the remarks delivered by Laura Peters when nominating Carolyn for this award. Laura is Event Manager, Doors Open Ottawa, Heritage
Development, Cultural Division, Peoples' Services, City of Ottawa.

As a young girl, Carolyn Quinn would stand in awe on Sunday mornings at the base of Ottawa’s most magnificent churches while her eyes followed the lines of the buildings from the ground to the highest point on the spires. Her child’s mind would lose itself in imagining the lives and stories of all the people of years gone by who had walked through the doors seeking worship, comfort, and relief through the rituals that took place inside the walls that enclosed such historical spaces.

So powerful were these early experiences that Ms. Quinn devoted her life to protecting and preserving her city’s heritage through its buildings. Ms. Quinn’s tireless volunteer advocacy work has ensured that the next generation of Ottawans will have the same opportunity to learn from the lives of their forbearers.

After beginning her formal heritage advocacy work as a volunteer with the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s children’s school program while studying at Carleton University, Ms. Quinn obtained her Bachelor of History and Canadian Studies with honours. She then continued her formal education by studying under Julian Smith in Carleton University’s Heritage Conservation Program.

In 1997, while raising two young children, Ms. Quinn was elected the President of Heritage Ottawa, the city’s most influential community organization devoted to ensuring that Ottawa’s heritage through its buildings is preserved and protected. During her presidency, Ms. Quinn fortified Heritage Ottawa’s mandate, raised the profile of heritage preservation, and saved important elements of Ottawa’s historical landscape by successfully fighting for the preservation of the Central Experimental Farm and the Stephens Collins House.

During this time, Ms. Quinn dedicated countless hours to ensuring the continued longevity of Heritage Ottawa by securing corporate sponsorships for the organization’s walking tours, obtaining grants from Industry Canada, managing the creation of Heritage Ottawa’s website, and improving the organization’s overall financial situation.

While serving as President of Heritage Ottawa until 2002, Ms. Quinn volunteered her time, energy, and expertise to A Strong Voice for Heritage in a New City, a volunteer group that was formed in 2000 to inform Ottawa’s Amalgamation Transition Board on heritage issues. Ms. Quinn also participated in a consulting group for the Central Area West Heritage Conservation District Study and Plan in 1999 and 2000. The result of this work was the creation of the heritage conservation district located from Elgin to Bronson and Wellington to Laurier.

Because of her dedication to preserving Ottawa’s heritage, Ms. Quinn accepted an appointment by Mayor Chiarelli to a two-year term on the Heritage Advisory Committee (HAC) from 2001 to 2003.

Constantly fighting to preserve the quality of life for Ottawans through their built heritage, Ms. Quinn was instrumental in preventing the demolition of Ogilvy’s Department Store in early 2002. Combining efforts with Action Sandy Hill, Ms. Quinn worked with Viking Rideau to ensure that this cornerstone of Ottawa’s history would not be erased from our landscape. Proof of the success of her efforts is that Ogilvy’s Department Store still stands today, and that part of two walls will always be preserved, regardless of how the space will be utilized by Viking Rideau.

True advocates are never just reactive; they are also proactive in their efforts. Ms. Quinn, while maintaining her work as the President of Heritage Ottawa and while serving on HAC, became a founding member of the Doors Open Ottawa Organizing Committee. Due in large part to Ms. Quinn’s work as not only an Organizing Committee member, but also as the Chair of the Buildings Subcommittee, the first Doors Open Ottawa, held in 2002, became the largest heritage event in the city of Ottawa. The event helps owners and managers of historically significant buildings from Carp to Cumberland open their doors to the public for a weekend devoted to their built heritage. Since its arrival in Ottawa, Doors Open Ottawa has welcomed over 110,000 visitors to its participating buildings.

Continuing her work with the City of Ottawa, Ms. Quinn participated as a member of a working group that lead to the creation of the Heritage Master Plan under the consultation of Catherine Cole in 2003. This Master Plan is the roadmap for continuing to preserve and protect Ottawa’s history.

While continuing to serve as a Director of Heritage Ottawa, a member of the Doors Open Ottawa Advisory Council, and as the Chair of the Doors Open Ottawa Building Sub-Committee, Ms. Quinn continues to dedicate herself to Ottawa’s heritage by working with the heritage community in support of sustained municipal funding to Ottawa’s local heritage preservation. Ms. Quinn has spent countless hours in ward and public consultations, communicating with Councillors, and strategizing with the heritage community to ensure that Ottawa’s heritage is not lost to drastic budget cuts.

Ms. Quinn has devoted thousands upon thousands of volunteer hours to sustaining Ottawa’s link to its past. Her passion is reinforced each time she walks past a building with cornerstones predating her grandparents and knows that her children will always have answers to questions about their history. Ms. Quinn has time and time again maintained Ottawa’s connection to its historical evolution. She bravely continues the work of the people before her who preserved the churches that sparked her imagination on Sunday mornings so many years ago.

- Laura Peters, April 27, 2004