‘I feel very proud’
P.E.I.’s Garnet Buell will receive the Stompin’ Tom Award at the ECMA’s Sunday
Garnet Buell never wanted to be a hero, he just wanted to get back home to Prince Edward Island.
That’s because after 35 years of travelling across the country in his work with Canadian National Railway, he wanted to put down some roots.
So when he retired in 1988, he moved back to Abney, P.E.I. and started performing for benefit concerts. Buell also started volunteering with the Northumberland Fisheries Festival in Murray River where his 19-year stint has resulted in Buell and his group, The Singing Islanders, being one of the featured bands each year.
And that was just the beginning of his community work.
“I like to sing and play the guitar. If I can help someone, I will,” he says.
Despite spending so much time raising money for others over the year, Buell was still surprised when someone from the East Coast Music Association contacted him to say that he would be the recipient of the Stompin’ Tom award at the East Coast Music Awards, this weekend in Saint John, N.B.
“I never expected it…. I think it’s a great honour because I knew Tom, so it’s great to receive this award,” says Buell, who would often meet Connors on the P.E.I. ferry on the weekends when he travelled home from his post in Moncton.
The award was created to honour all those who have made a long-term contribution to the East Coast music industry and have paved the road for many successful East Coast artists of today. It will be presented on Sunday during the industry awards ceremony in the royal ballroom of Delta Hotels by Marriott Saint John from 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
“I feel very proud,” says Buell, who also recognizes the behind-the-scenes work of his partner, Mary MacQueen Elliott,
in helping him achieve the honour.
“Mary has been a great support to me because she does a lot of things that I can’t do . . .and she’s really appreciated.”
With her help, Buell built a devoted following on P.E.I. and beyond by performing in small communities and on television. He also released seven albums.
But, he is probably best known for directing his love of music into public service by running the Murray River and
Area Ceilidhs.
Buell was just relaxing in the living room of his Murray River home in 2000 when this fundraising idea first popped into his head.
He had been watching the annual QEH/Eastlink Telethon, enjoying the singers and the Judy MacLean dancers, as well as the generosity of Islanders as cheque presentations were made and the names of contributors rolled across the
bottom of the screen.
“All of a sudden I wanted to do something,” says Buell.
So, he picked up the telephone and called Wendell Ellis, the producer at the time, and offered his musical talents.
“I said, ‘Wendell, what do you think if I had some concerts for the QEH?’ He told me that it was a great idea and he would support me. And he did.
“I figured that if we made $500, it would be $500 more than they would have,” Buell recalls. He got his musical friends together and started the Murray River and Area Ceilidhs to raise money for the QEH equipment drive.
It was an act of generosity that grew. The first year, 2001, they raised $7,100. The next year they doubled it to $14,000. The third year the virtual thermometer reached $19,5000 and the fourth year, $25,000.
“One year we made $37,000. We couldn’t fit them (the audience) all in the hall. So we had them standing up against the wall,” says Buell, with a laugh.
This fundraising series, as well as playing for benefits in small communities, organizing the entertainment for the Murray River Fisheries Festival and the television show, “Community Showcase” and donating funds from the sale of his CDs to the QEH, has found him a special place in the hearts of Prince Edward Islanders.
“The name Garnet Buell is synonymous with fundraising ceilidhs that benefit the entire Island community,” says Tracey Comeau, CEO of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation.
“With tremendous volunteer effort and organization, (he and) the Murray River and Area Ceilidhs for the QEH/ Eastlink Telethon have contributed $386,000 to date and we expect this year will reach a major milestone level of giving at $400,000.”
This has an “extraordinary impact” on allowing the purchase of priority medical equipment for the Island’s main referral hospital that benefits all Islanders, she says.
For Buell, receiving the Stompin’ Tom Award has had an impact on his enthusiasm for returning to volunteer projects like this one.
He will be doing the fundraising ceilidhs again this year. Also, he and the Singing Islanders just recorded their segment for this year’s QEH/Eastlink Telethon that takes place May 27, noon to 9 p.m.
“So it’s not the last time you’ll be hearing from me.”