The City of Kitchener announces Marcia Smellie as Senior of the Year 2025

Kitchener, Ontario - The Provincial Senior of the Year award gives each municipality in Ontario the opportunity to honour an outstanding resident, aged 65+, from their local community each year. At a special recognition event held earlier this evening at Victoria Park Pavilion, local community leader Marcia Smellie was named the City of Kitchener's 2025 Senior of the Year, presented by the Mayor's Advisory Council for Kitchener Seniors (MACKS) in partnership with Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and City Council. In addition to honouring the Senior of the Year award recipient, the celebration also recognized the outstanding contributions and achievements of 17 incredible nominees.  

“In the City of Kitchener, we are dedicated to fostering a compassionate and inclusive community for individuals of all ages. Tonight, we acknowledged the invaluable contributions of seniors who help shape a more caring and connected Kitchener,” said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all nominees, who generously contribute their knowledge, care, and time to build a better, more caring community for everyone. I was also so pleased to present Marcia Smellie with this year’s Senior of the Year award and recognize her outstanding contribution and commitment to education, equity and representative civic engagement.”  

As a leader with the Waterloo Region District School Board and four decades as an educator, Marcia Smellie has been a tireless advocate for inclusive learning spaces that affirm the richness of our diverse communities. As a long serving community volunteer, Marica has served the Congress of Black Women – Waterloo Region for 30 years, including over 20 years as President. Her contributions include awarding 125 scholarships to Black youth, as well as leading International Women’s Day Celebrations.  As Provincial Secretary for the Ontario Congress of Black Women for the past four years, Marcia has supported governance and the development of new chapters. Seeing a need for greater representation of persons of colour in political offices, Marcia co-founded Run4OfficeWR in 2020. Recently, her volunteer work with the Waterloo Region Age-friendly Network has strengthened advocacy for local senior services. 

Congratulations to Marcia Smellie and all the 2025 nominees, including Debra Bonde, Maria Brown, Margaret Chamandy, Judy DeWitte, Mulugeta Dilnesahu, Lorraine Green, Mark Kerr, Connie Lacey, Tom Legrady, Fiona MacGregor, Bill Poole, Kim Schnarr, Donna Swiech, Margaret Vanderpool, Carol Weber, and Ken Wilson.  

To learn more about this year's Senior of the Year award recipient and all the nominees, visit www.kitchener.ca/SOTY. 

The Senior of the Year selection panel, made up of members of Kitchener City Council, MACKS, Volunteer Waterloo Region, and City of Kitchener staff, carefully reviewed each nomination and selected a candidate ‘whose contributions make a unique and positive impact on the community’.   

The month of June is also recognized as  Seniors Month in Ontario, a time to acknowledge and honour the amazing seniors in our lives across the province. 

For more information, please contact:  
Tracy Jasmins 

Communications & Marketing Associate 

City of Kitchener 

Media@kitchener.ca    

For Mayor interviews, please contact: 
Nasreen  
Strategic Communications Officer  
Office of the Mayor and Council  
City of Kitchener  
nasreen@kitchener.ca 
M: 226-753-6082