Good Roads honours accomplishments of dedicated volunteer and complex projects

Recognizing the achievements, dedication and volunteerism of a long-term municipal official was a major highlight of the recent three-day Good Roads conference in Toronto.

Soon-to-be-retired Oro-Medonte Township chief administrative officer Robin Dunn was presented with the association’s Volunteer of the Year Award by Good Roads board president John Parsons.

Dunn has an illustrious 30-year-long career and has held Oro-Medonte’s top position of CAO since 2007, says Good Roads executive director Scott Butler, in explaining why he was selected for the award.

With a master of arts in leadership and management, a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and a post-graduate diploma in strategy and innovation, Dunn is “a powerhouse of knowledge and innovation.”

From his active involvement with Good Roads to his volunteer leadership roles in several organizations and causes, Dunn’s dedication to serving his community “knows no bounds,” said Butler.

According to a news release posted on the Oro-Medonte webpage, Dunn oversaw several projects and achievements including significant service enhancements and organizational process improvements, and led the township’s emergency control group during COVID-19.

Another conference highpoint was the presentation of the 2023 Municipal Concrete Award. Sponsored by Concrete Ontario, the award recognizes project excellence and innovation between municipalities and contractors.

Award winners were the Region of Durham and Soncin Construction for the complex Cochrane Street Bridge Replacement project over the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway line in Whitby. The work required a full closure of the street which is an important arterial roadway serving that town.

Held at the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto, the conference featured 85 sessions and study tours and attracted more than 1,800 participants including members from the provincial Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Green parties, trade exhibitors and speakers.

The seminars ranged from one that provided advice on how to recruit and retain talent in the public sector to others that provided overviews of the quality of asphalt in Ontario and innovations in water and wastewater management.