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2004 flood relief effort unparalleled in Peterborough's history
Peterborough This Week
By Paul Rellinger
It was, according to Terry Guiel, not unlike a religious revival.
"It was a healing event in many ways," adds Mr. Guiel,
He's speaking of the Peterborough Flood Relief Benefit Concert held just a few weeks after the July 15, 2004 deluge of rain which devastated city neighbourhoods and large sections of the downtown core.
Staged at the Memorial Centre, with tickets priced at $42.50 each, the event brought in $500,000 for flood relief. But, combined with the Province's $2-for-every-$1 raised flood relief formula, the concert raised $1.5 million.
"I saw three priorities" says Mr. Guiel, who headed the concert organizing committee.
"First, there was the financial aid if would provide. We wanted to raise as much as we possibly could for flood relief. Second, we needed to send the message that Peterborough is open for business. Third, we needed to do something that people could feel good about things again. Something that was a spiritually rally point."
According to Mr. Guiel, the concert ball got rolling when Ronnie Hawkins approached himself, then a city councillor, and then mayor Sylvia Sutherland.
"Ronnie wanted to do something and one thing led to another," says Mr. Guiel.
"His vision was to strike while the iron was hot. To do something as quickly as possible."
The performance lineup formed quickly from there -- Jason McCoy, The Kings, The Partland Brothers and Jimmy Bowskill came on board. But when Gordon Lightfoot agreed to play the event, it went from just another fundraiser to a major music event.
"Gordon is an icon...his agreeing to perform was huge," notes Mr. Guiel.
"A class act too. When we asked him what we could for him, what he wanted, he asked for a mic stand. That's was it."
Mr. Guiel is quick to give credit to members of the concert committee he headed -- its members included Ann Farquharson, Eric Martin and Michael Bell -- for handling various responsibilities.
"We had a great team...I'm proud of each member as well as anyone who bought a ticket," he says.
As well, he says the City jumped through hoops to remove a lot of the red tape associated with staging a large event quickly. And then there sponsors like OLG, which bought the first 100 tickets for flood damage victims who were on social assistance at the time.
"There was one particularly spiritual moment during the concert for me. Gordon Lightfoot was playing If You Could Read My Mind. That was the first time I stopped. I thought, 'I'm going to enjoy these three minutes.' That, for me, represented by what they mean when they say music heals."
Also at the forefront of the relief effort following the flood was then city councillor Paul Ayotte, who chaired the Peterborough Flood Relief Committee -- "Probably the best committee I ever worked with," he says.
"I was at the bake shop here (East City Bakery) and Sylvia (Mayor Sutherland) had come to take a look at the flood damage. I told her if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I got a call the next day to be on the committee and then, about half an hour later, I was asked to chair it."
With John McNutt chairing the committee's fundraising arm, that group not only co-ordinated fundraising efforts but also oversaw the disbursement of some $6.6 million to those in need.
"It was such a pleasure to work with that group...there was a collective spirit and conscientiousness and a genuine concern for the people affected."
Ronnie Hawkins performs during a concert to raise money to help the victims of the 2004 Peterborough flood.
Peterborough Flood Relief benefit concert-July 2004
