After a knock on the door delivered the news they’d been selected as Trail-Warfield Citizen of the Year, Debbie Wallace recalls feeling queasy for most of the day.
“My thought was ‘we don’t need this because we don’t do any of this for recognition,’” Debbie recollects of her initial reaction.
Husband Glenn, on the other hand, took the unexpected news in stride. That’s because the accolade for their decades of lending-a-hand recognizes their efforts in tandem, just like much of their volunteerism has been over the years.
“I couldn’t accept the recognition without Debbie accepting it too,” Glenn says. “Because she’s right up there, involved in the community, like I am.”
In fact, just before the Times dropped by for a chat with the Wallaces on Friday afternoon, Glenn had been out and about as a member of Trail Against Graffiti, or the “TAG” team for short.
After downsizing from a home in Miral Heights and moving to East Trail during the building of the Skywalk, he soon began cleaning up spray-painted tags on his own.
“I noticed graffiti on this beautiful new bridge,” Glenn recalls. “I was not happy, and at that time I cleaned it up (myself).”
He later learned of Ev Cross and her graffiti-removing mission as founder of Graffiti Grannies. The two became fast friends, and would go out several times a week to either remove or paint over tags.
“It got to the point where she’d phone him and I’d say, ‘your other wife is on the phone,” Debbie joked. “Because they were really busy together.”
Since Ev’s passing in September 2021, Glenn and a handful of other “grandpas” have kept the mission going by cleaning up graffiti several times each week.
“We cleaned or erased over 600 tags last year,” Glenn continues.
“But it’s just one of the things I like to help with. I try to find things that I have something to offer; for example, for a long time I was involved with minor baseball and minor hockey because I have an athletic background. And I try to get involved with other things I see that benefit the community because I care about the community.”
More time consuming than graffiti removal and involving much more manual labour, is his volunteer work with Trail Communities in Bloom.
Glenn says, “When they have work parties, I like to jump in and help.”
This passion to toil in the city’s garden beds is appreciated by many, but also amusing to those in-the-know. Funny because, as Debbie points out, the whole reason they downsized several years ago was to get rid of the yard work. (Their smaller home has a yard of mostly xeriscape.)
“And one of the reasons Glenn retired was because his volunteering was getting in the way with his job,” Debbie laughs.
Long before her present endeavours with the Le Roi foundation, Trail United Church, Communities in Bloom and the Spud Shack, just to mention a few, Debbie was involved with youth-focused causes. While their three children were growing up, she lent a hand with activities such as arts and culture programming for families, Brownies, PAC, and girl guides, plus all the fundraising duties that come in-tow with those interests.
One of Debbie’s most cherished memories is volunteering for the 1995 Little League World Series at Butler Park.
“Back then kids were billeted, they didn’t stay in hotels like they do today, so the whole community came together,” Debbie shares. “We put Texas in our neighbourhood, and they all came down the very first night so we could show them the park, and when they walked in, they were in awe — they could not believe how beautiful the park was,” she adds.
“This really showcased the city because so many people had never even heard of Trail, and the whole community came together for it.”
Here is where Glenn offers some sage advice for people wanting to volunteer, but unable to commit long-term.
“There are so many things that are short-term like preparing for a major tournament and pulling it off,” he explains. “Once that is done, you can move on and find other smaller things to help with.”
To celebrate Debbie and Glenn Wallace’s ongoing service to the community, all are invited to attend the Trail/Warfield Citizen of the Year presentation and social hour Tuesday, May 7, at 7 p.m. in St. Michael’s Catholic School gym.
“Individually, and as a couple, Glenn and Debbie Wallace have made a huge impact on our community,” the nominators share. “They continue to be tireless volunteers, very interested in enhancing Trail anyway they can.”
The “Citizen of the Year” award presentation is the first event heralding Silver City Days.
The award was inaugurated by the Fraternal Order of the Knights of Columbus in 1957.
Since then, 56 Trail/Warfield citizens plus five couples (1980 Mickey Watson and Cecil Turner, brother/sister ; 1981 Albert and Olive Sturgeon; 2005 Grace and Marc Marcolin; 2019 Dan and Lana Rodlie; 2023 Glenn and Debbie Wallace) as well as the Trail Maple Leaf Band and the Trail Pipe Band, have been recognized with this award.