After more than 17 years in the position, Penny Barton Dyke is retiring as executive director of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes.
“It has been a privilege and honour to work with incredible community leaders, donors, volunteers and staff over the years,” Barton Dyke says in a media release. “I am looking forward to taking some time off and looking at new adventures.”
During her tenure, Barton Dyke led the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes through some significant achievements.
From 2005 to 2008, the organization participated in Community Matters, a collaboration of 16 small United Ways in rural Ontario that led to a transformation of the organization’s approach to community engagement and development work.
“Essentially, it was a call to action to help lead cutting-edge projects and find new ways of working with partners,” says Barton Dyke, adding that the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes “assisted with the development of the poverty reduction strategy for Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.”
Another achievement was the establishment of Edwin Binney’s Community Garden in Lindsay, a partnership with Crayola Canada, Fleming College, and the Otto and Marie Pick Foundation. Since it was developed into a fully operational community garden in 2019, the operation has produced thousands of pounds of produce for 11 local food banks and 10 charitable organizations in the City of Kawartha Lakes. This year, the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lake launched a farm stand, offering variable pricing for shoppers depending on their budget.
The announcement of Barton Dyke’s retirement was made at the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes annual general meeting last Thursday (September 8).
“I don’t feel the city will every truly appreciate the positive impact you have had on us all,” said Duncan Gallacher, outgoing president of the organization’s board, during his remarks at the meeting.
With Barton Dyke’s retirement, the board has appointed Emily Beall and Shantal Ingram as co-executive directors. Beall is currently the organization’s projects and communications coordinator who also oversees Edwin Binney’s Community Garden and Ingram is currently the organization’s community investment coordinator and and has led six campaigns.
