EDITOR’S NOTE: For the next few weeks, this column will feature this year’s recipients of the Order of Collingwood.
It’s been a year of recognition for Collingwood volunteer Naomi Paterson.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Paterson, 45, recipient of the Order of Collingwood.
Q: When did you move to Canada?
A: I grew up in England until I was 13, then I moved with my parents to North Carolina.
At 23, I transferred with work to Toronto, and that’s when I came to Canada. It was in 2003.
Q: What was your job that brought you to Canada?
A: I was in human resources, training and development.
Q: What brought you to Collingwood?
A: (My husband and I) left Toronto and moved back to England for a year, just to be with family. When we came back to Canada, we really had our pick of where we could be.
My husband’s family is from the area. They had a farm since the 1800s near Creemore.
Collingwood is beautiful. It was an obvious choice.
We moved to Collingwood in 2014.
I had the privilege of choosing to be a stay-at-home mom. That was my family’s choice after my son was born in 2009.
Q: When did you decide you wanted to start volunteering, and why?
A: Very shortly after we moved to Collingwood. We had a close friend years ago who said, you’ll never know where your kids are going to lead you but make sure you follow that.
At the time, I thought that was a bit silly, but oddly enough when we moved to Collingwood my son Liam started going to school. They were always looking for volunteers at the school.
I thought I’d come and read to kids.
Then, I joined the school council.
It really was my son’s endeavours that led me into volunteering. I just wanted to be involved. I was very interested in this new world and what he was doing.
Q: Where did your volunteering take you?
A: The more I saw I could make a difference, the more I wanted to do.
It started with reading to students. Then, I started reading to other classes.
As Liam got older, I would still read to those classes in Grades 1, 2 and 3.
School council led me to becoming the school council chair and fundraising.
If I see a gap, or I see an opportunity for something to be better, that’s where I want to put myself.
Liam started swimming in Grade 2. I got involved with the Collingwood Clippers. Not being a swimmer myself, there was much to learn.
I became an official on-deck. I joined the board. It just became my full-time job from then on, supporting the Clippers and still supporting Admiral Collingwood Public School.
I worked my way up the officials ladder.
Through COVID, I supported the club operationally, hiring coaches and making connections with parents.
I like getting more parents involved. It sparked from me wanting to teach other parents about the swim world, because there was no one to teach me that when I started.
We just started growing and growing, and it got busier and busier.
In September 2024, I was awarded the Swim Ontario Volunteer of the Year for the province, recognizing my volunteer work not only for the Clippers but also as the regional chair supporting multiple clubs. Last year someone also nominated me for the Swimming Canada Volunteer of the Year award.
It’s been quite a year.
Q: With you taking home the Order of Collingwood in January, how did it feel to get that recognition?
A: I think anybody would say that as a volunteer, that’s not why I do what I do.
I don’t do it for recognition.
It’s been very humbling, but I’ve honestly thought to myself that there are so many other volunteers out there. Why me? I know lots of volunteers.
It’s humbling that people wanted to recognize the impact I’ve had.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I enjoy cooking. I like cooking for multiple teenage boys.
I have a dog. I really enjoy spending time with family.
I don’t have much spare time.
Q: Is there anything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: If I could share anything with Collingwood, I’d say you don’t have to volunteer all day, every day.
Just a little bit goes a long way.
You can always make an impact.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].