County will honour two young women – for courage and volunteerism

The municipality will honour two young women with civic recognition certificates later this month – Kelli Anne Maycock for courage and calmness under traumatic circumstances, and Alannah Burris, for exceptional volunteerism.

Kelli-Anne Maycock

In August last year, Maycock heard a loud crash outside of her residence north of Picton.
When she went outside, she heard a call for help and located a man laying in the grass. It appeared he had lost control of his motorcycle and hit a pole.

Maycock spoke to the man, realized he was having difficulty speaking and breathing and called 9-1-1. She stayed by his side and continued to help when paramedics arrived and secured him onto a backboard.

“He was in obvious distress and was not listening to the paramedics, so Kelli-Anne continued to speak to him, providing comfort and reassurance,” said John Hatch, PEC OPP Detachment Commander, in a letter of recommendation. “During this accident she displayed unbelievable composure, compassion, decision-making and leadership.”

The man died while being transported to hospital.

“Because Kelli-Anne was so brave, and so aware of what to do at the scene, his last moments were with someone who cared, and who did everything for him that she could, under traumatic circumstances,” said Hatch.

Hatch met with Kelli-Anne and her mother Deborah to thank her for being courageous and doing everything she could in a stressful situation.

“It was apparent to me that Kelli-Anne is a special young girl with leadership qualities and so much potential,” said Hatch.

Maycock is a trained lifeguard, a referee in soccer and though Hatch notes she was shaken by the events that occurred that night, “I let her know she handled the situation very impressively and that she went above and beyond what would have been expected from any teenager.

“In my opinion, her training and leadership abilities allowed her to think quickly, and decisively. It is comforting to know there are young people like Kelli-Anne in our communities who will eventually become our future leaders.”

Kelli-Anne’s mom said her daughter faced the situation better than she could and certainly better than any teenager would be expected.

In a letter to Commander Hatch, she also praised the police officers on the scene, and who arrived later to inform them the man had died, and note support systems and counselling available if necessary.

“I explained to the officer it had been one heck of a summer for her. She had friends in a car accident about five weeks earlier (all walked away from it, but still scary); her basketball teammate passed away while on vacation, and now this.”

Her mom wrote Hatch, feeling “it is so important for people to know what amazing work is being done on a daily basis… And Kelli-Anne can take great comfort in knowing that some of the last minutes that this man was conscious, she was his comfort and he was not alone.”

Alannah Burris

The many people Alannah Burris helps are also not alone.

The PECI student last month received an Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers, presented in a ceremony at Queen’s Park. She and nine other recipients of the award met with Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell.

Burris, of Consecon, participates in fundraisers and social events with the Hillier Women’s Institute where her youth and energy are essential in supporting the WI’s older membership. She also spends time volunteering at school where she was co-editor of the school yearbook and events chairperson on student council.

“These young Ontarians have each made the decision to dedicate their time and efforts to helping other people and to making their communities better places to live,” said Dowdeswell. “Their hard work teaches all of us that active citizenship begins at any age.”

The two are to be honoured at the May 22 meeting of council, in Shire Hall, beginning at 7 p.m.