Heart of a lion

Inaugural award named for and presented to Leo Finnegan

Last Thursday afternoon, friends and family gathered at the Regent Theatre to honour a community leader who has shown ongoing and dedicated commitment to the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH). For over two decades, Leo Finnegan has been an avid voice for PECMH, first serving on the hospital board, then later becoming a member of the Quinte Health Care board and advocating for the survival of our local hospital when it was threatened with closure, and more recently as one of the leading proponents for a new hospital to be built to serve County residents’ needs into the future. The Hospital Foundation created an award in Finnegan’s name, the Leo Finnegan Distinguished Service Award, and very fittingly awarded it to him as the inaugural recipient. “This award recognizes individuals or organizations who through their ongoing commitment, outstanding contribution and service have demonstrated dedication to and support of the vision, mission and strategic imperatives of the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation. It recognizes public leadership, community support development, fundraising, stewardship of donors and public awareness efforts,” said Shannon Coull, PECMHF executive director.

The award was presented to Finnegan by Barbara McConnell, chair of the PECMHF. “I have the very great honour of presenting this inaugural award for the Hospital Foundation. The person receiving this award is why the Foundation dedicated the award in the first place, and we hope it will show how deeply we feel about your [Mr. Finnegan] contributions to our hospital and our County,” she said. “Leo has served in numerous capacities, with thousands of hours of volunteer time and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help local organizations of Prince Edward County. He has been an ambassador and philanthropic leader and a strong voice for health care in our community. His unselfish service to Prince Edward County does not go unnoticed. Leo’s unwavering commitment to our hospital and our community is awe-inspiring and deems him worthy of not only this new award named in his honour, he is totally worthy of this first award being presented to him.”

Finnegan first came to the County in 1958 as an hourly employee at the cement plant. He gradually moved up through the ranks to eventually become the plant manager. He became a Picton Rotary Club member in 1982, and was instrumental in getting the Wellington Rotary Club started. He was convinced to join the hospital board, serving as chair for a number of years, and fought to keep the hospital open when there was a real possibility of closure following amalgamation. He successfully ran for County mayor in 2003, prompted in part by the fact that regional mayors had a seat on the QHC board, where he could be a voice for PECMH. He served for two terms as mayor, and in 2014 was one of the leaders of a campaign to have a new hospital built in the County. In 2015, he helped obtain funding to repair the St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church in Wellington. He continues to be active raising funds for the new hospital build, to help ensure that there will be enough money for all the required medical equipment.

A number of people praised Finnegan’s dedication the County Hospital. Adam Bramburger brought a message from MPP Todd Smith, who at the last moment was unable to attend. In a video message, Smith noted how the government of the day was forced to take notice when Finnegan and a busload of County residents showed up at Queen’s Park with a 10,000- name petition demanding that the local hospital remain open. Mayor Steve Ferguson also spoke of Finnegan’s work to ensure top flight health care in the County. “Thanks to his dedicated efforts we continue to have a vibrant and thriving hospital in the County. The fact we’ll have a redeveloped hospital in a few years is due in part to the advocacy of Leo and is an unbelievable achievement in and of itself. He kept the momentum going by serving on the Foundation and securing financial support for the community share of the hospital,” said Ferguson. He then called on former mayor Robert Quaiff to come to the Regent stage to present a commemorative plaque for Finnegan Drive, a road named in Finnegan’s honour.

Finnegan accepted the award and acknowledged the praise with grace and good humour. He thanked his friends, colleagues and family for being there to share in this moment. Nancy Parks, PECMHF Campaign Cabinet co-chair made the final presentation of a token of appreciation to Finnegan. It was a drawing by Susan Smythe-Bishop that showed Finnegan, arms akimbo, in a super-hero cape with the words “Community Care Champion”.