Robert “Bob” Crawford

Following the untimely death of Robert “Bob” Crawford, the Crawford family wished to sponsor a Society Award in his memory. Bob, a former Society Vice-President, President, and Past-President, was Corporate Secretary at the time of his death. He strongly believed that “if you belong you take an active part”, and he made it his practice to know the organizations with which he volunteered – their rules, bylaws, policies and any governing regulations inside and out – so as to be an effective volunteer in whatever role he found himself.

As a member of The Ontario Genealogical Society, Bob took an active role in his Branch, on the Society’s Board and on its Committees. He also became a strong advocate for issues of importance to the genealogical and heritage community and was well known for his passionate stance on the preservation and protection of Ontario’s cemeteries.

During his time with OGS, cemetery preservation became Bob’s passion and he was a dedicated leader in the joint Ontario Genealogical Society – Ontario Historical Society cemetery registration movement. An eloquent writer, he continued to advocate for the discovery and registration of all cemeteries, and was in regular contact with the Registrar to ensure the registration process would move forward to protect all cemeteries in the province.

In his local Halton-Peel Branch, Bob acted as Indexing Coordinator (2002-4), Vice-Chair (2004-8), Chair (2009-11) and was continuing to assist with The Ontario Name Index (TONI) indexing of Branch records at the time of his death. He played a major role in leading the Branch Executive in updating their Branch Bylaws. Bob chaired the 2009 OGS Conference hosted by Halton-Peel at Sheridan College and, in 2011, played a large role in the 50 th Anniversary Conference hosted by OGS in Hamilton. For his service he was awarded the Branch H. G. Duff Award for his significant contributions to the Halton-Peel Branch.

In addition to his active participation in OGS, Bob demonstrated his strong sense of Community and Community Service outside the Society as well. Over his years in Georgetown he acted as Cub Leader, was involved with the Lion’s Club and his church. He became a safety expert with Kodak, his place of employment, and went around the company teaching the importance of safety and health for all. Over and above his work commitments, Bob was a member of the Halton Hills Volunteer Ambulance Service for over 25 years which involved becoming trained as a paramedic and doing three to five 12-hour night shifts a month while still going into work the next day. Eventually he took a course through Georgian College and became a fully qualified paramedic. He also became qualified as a First Aid Trainer after which he trained many community groups and helped train other paramedics. Bob was also active with the Halton Region Citizen Police and was in the middle of taking a course with them to update his knowledge and skills. In fact, he was there the night he collapsed and subsequently died.

That is who Bob was – family man, active citizen, advocate and friend to many. He always seemed to be cognizant of the needs of others and prepared to apply his knowledge, skills and time to help where he could.

This award, in his honour and memory, is meant to recognize others who have taken similar steps to serve the various Communities of which they are a part whether they be geographic, organizational or any other construct the term Community might imply.