I did a lot of deep thinking growing up in Kaministiquia, at least that’s what I thought I was doing. I pondered about the future, getting a job and living on my own. The goal was to move to Toronto, work in an advertising office, live in a high rise, and I definitely wasn’t planning on having kids. No idea of what I would do beyond that.
So, here I am in Thunder Bay, living in a house with a big yard with my husband Joseph and the kids I wasn’t going to have. I DID end up writing ads at one point…and I loved every single minute of it. I knew if I moved to Toronto, it would mean starting over building a circle of friends to spend time with, but, since I didn’t move out of town, I ended up making some pretty amazing best friends.
I remember sitting in class at Lakeview High School when a new friend, Karen Westerback, turned to me and said, “you should come out to Sea Cadets”. What? What is that? So I joined. Me, the gal who absolutely hates being told what to do, but loves a good uniform and old traditions. You have to settle sometimes, right?
This is where I made some pretty kick butt friends who are still around a lifetime later. One of the people I met who became a best friend was Heather Sumners, who goes by Heather Bouley now. She says her biggest moment in cadets was joining the band, where she was right in her element, learning to play the French horn and the trumpet. She spent many summers at cadet summer camp at HMCS Quadra in Comox BC.
There was ONE thing I know she didn’t enjoy: jetty jumping, which is jumping off a pier about 20 feet down into the water. Heather sat there a LONG time, refusing to jump, but eventually she did it, hours later, during low tide. See? Not for me, I’m scared of heights.
Many officers had an influence on us as young cadets, and Linda MacLean was an officer who stood out for Heather. Heather says Linda inspired her to work harder and strive for more in her time as a cadet. She taught her that hard work shines through, including the polishing of our boots and the Annual Inspection at the end of the cadet year. This was a big night where we invited family to come to the Griffon, Thunder Bay’s Naval Base and showed off all we had learned throughout the year and where we received our promotions.
While many of us choose different Sea Cadet paths, Heather and I came away from cadets instilled with the same strong sense of community and a desire to help others.
We both enjoyed our next adventure as officers with the Navy League for a number of years. This is the navy cadet organization for younger kids, aged 9 to12, where life skills including teamwork and leadership are taught. Heather and I were both Commanding Officer at some point. She continued her love for the band, holding the position of Band Officer and I the Guard Officer. During this time, Heather was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for volunteering in the community and the Distinguished Service Award for Manitoba and Northwest Ontario Division. This is awarded in recognition of Notably Distinguished Service to the Navy League of Canada and the Cadet Movement.
In cadet life and in her adult life Heather has done nothing half hearted.
At Ontario Power Generation where she works as a Plant Production Clerk and sits on the Joint Health and Safety Committee, where she is involved with the Steps for Life program fundraisers. Every year, the local event raises more money than the last. Planning for the event in 2020 was affected by Covid, but that didn’t stop Heather. A virtual event was held that raised $6,287. So it’s no real surprise that the amount has risen substantially every year since, with this year’s event bringing in a monster amount of $23,252! The fundraiser is held close to the annual Day of Mourning for workers, which is held on April 28th. Heather also runs other OPG’s charity campaigns helping to raise money for the United Way through BBQ raffles and she advocates for every resource the company can offer to help other organizations in need.
In 2017, she was awarded the Community Volunteer Award for volunteering in the community. Part of the prize was a thousand dollars to donate to any local charity, so naturally she chose the organization she was working with, Navy League Cadet Corps “Thunder” as the recipient. In 2018, she was awarded the “Power Within” Award from her company.
There’s so much more to tell you about Heather. She is also a member of Branch 5 Legion where she has taken on the position of Colour Party Commander, coordinating the Colour Party that presents the flags at Legion involved events. She also lines up volunteers for many events held at the Legion.
Heather is Thunder Bay born and proud of her hometown. She’s married to her husband Joe and has two sons, Cody and Jordan. ‘Hockey mom’ was one of her favourite titles as she managed the boys’ teams. And, she has proudly added Nana to her list of titles. Heather is the type of person who keeps you afloat with encouragement, her acts of kindness and her never ending positive attitude.
So many people in our city do incredible work, creating miracles behind the scenes, and I am so happy to be able to introduce Heather as one of those people, who also happens to be one of my best friends. I’m proud to be able to share her story with you.
