By Bird Bouchard
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Ridgetown Independent
A local woman has been named this year’s recipient of the Mary Millard Award for Special Contributions to Architectural Conservancy Ontario.
The award recognizes ACO members and associates who have made a significant contribution to the organization through their actions and efforts. Marlee Robinson of Ridgetown is the 2022 recipient.
“I was totally shocked when I found out I had been chosen for the award,” said Robinson, who has been an active and involved member of the Architectural Conservancy since 2008.
Robinson’s history of volunteer work stretches far. She was a founding member of the Chatham-Kent branch, where she served as vice-president and then president for a number of years. She was co-chair of the 2010 Ontario Heritage Conference, an event highlighting rural heritage buildings. She also initiated a well-attended one-day workshop on heritage issues aimed at educating realtors and insurance agents.
Currently, Robinson is a member-at-large of the ACO board and executive, where she sits on a number of committees. She was the founding chair of the government and community relations committee.
Now retired, Robinson said almost everything she does get involved with is as a volunteer.
“It gives me the opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people and also contribute to my community. One of the things about volunteering, which is different from actually having a job, is you can always say no,” she said.
Robinson is also an active and involved member of the Windsor-Essex Branch of ACO, having never missed a meeting and giving input using knowledge resulting from her many years of experience.
She admitted she is passionate about preserving history rather than seeing buildings come down. She wishes to see them preserved.
“Chatham Kent has a wealth of heritage. I’m trying to remind people the older buildings are very, very well built. And they continue to stand with adequate care and preservation,” she said.
According to Robinson, one of the issues that a lot of people have right now is affordable housing.
“I look at churches that are deconsecrated, schools that are no longer going to be used, municipally owned buildings that the city wants to get rid of, and I’d like to suggest some priority be given to keeping these buildings and making adaptations and turning them into affordable housing,” said Robinson.
The award winner said this would be ideal for people who are on basic incomes, living paycheque to paycheque, or people who are having trouble finding a place to rent or buy.
Most recently, Robinson was a leading voice when St John’s Anglican Church in Morpeth, a 145-year-old structure, was stripped of its heritage designation and under threat of demolition.
“The greenest building is the building that is still standing. There are lots of creative ways to keep our buildings out of the landfill and turn them into different uses,” she said.
