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SLO TE: Whipper Watson wraps It up Whipper Watson, Timmys to create an Move' (now augmented initiated a number of strumental in bringing Seal Telethon on March 1978. He was appointed champion of Ontario's organization to assist by two Tammys) and it important fund-raising Al Balding into the 27 and 28 this year. -- to the Ontario Advisory Hiegbled children for 37 him in fund-raising hae darticipaled ac- promotions for Easter Easter Seal team with | Whipper's dedication Council on ___ the years, announced his activities and even- tively in a number of Seals, among them the his Golf Week for to the rights of the Physically Handica- retirement from the tually to Succeed him Easter Seal events. annual Snowarama Timmy/Tammy and disabled was recognized acre 1977. Board of Directors of when he decided to During his lengthy which has spread into Whipperdidmuchofthe by the award of the Whipper was i i izati iati i iti i i in 1974 presented with a large The Easter Seal Society _ retire. The organization association with The many communities in planning (as well as Order of Canada in al its annual meeting on which resulted was Easter Seal Society, Ontario from its startin acting as host) for the and the Ontario Medal framed montage of April 24. called 'Timmys on the Whipper Watson Bradford. He was in- Society's first Easter for Good Citizenship in _ pictures. In a farewell : message, Whipper recounted some of his : a ma = & = x experiences as_ the cues es MOby Reid ts fighting recession witha volunteer fund-raiser. He recalled that when Z he started actively. fund- ; raising for Easter Seals, ' ihe Society felt for- tunate in raising a few hundred thousand dollars. Now, he said, the Society's budget is nine million dollars, most still raised by voluntary fund raising and bequests. One of the major fund- raising projecis Whipper had come to be most closely associated with was the annual Snowarama snowmo- bile run. The event was a resounding success again this pasi winter and included a leg in the Midland area ai the Maple Valley Club in Lafontaine. Whipper paid tribuie to the affiliated service ~ clubs of the Society which he called the backbone of the organization. He reminded the members thai service club volunteers started the Society in 1922 and although, over' the years, staff had been employed to expand and develop the work, volunteers are as im- portant today as they were in 1922. Whipper cautioned the members of the Society againsi the growth of vested in- terests and éempire- building. These ten- dencies, he said, had to be resisted. Cooperation between government and voluntary agencies and between the Society and the treatment centres in Ontario is the key to successful _ rehabilita- tion work, he added. One of Whipper Watson's first public functions for Easter Seals occurred at the peak of his wrestling career when he was invited to carry Timmy into the 1952 Sports Celebrities Dinner. He performed that function OUTDOOR TURF 6x12' at every subsequent eLargest in stock in a rainbow dinner with the ex- f f f | ception of the 1972 selection in OT COiOUurs dinner when he was in hospital. This resulted ; bedi a satiate a eS & Simcoe County November 1971 when | ee é was hit by a. skidding 4 eCourteous, caeive digo ee : professional sales staff legs, hands and arms. He spent many weeks in hospital and_ had repeated surgery to repair his badly damaged legs. Unknown to many people, Whipper con- tinues to suffer pain in his legs and loss of sensation in his hands. In recent years, Whipper has given serious consideration to the day he would have to step down as the eLifetime guarantee on installation ROBY'S PERSONALLY GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES ; Society's most MIDLAND on Hwy. 27, next 526-4231 to Zellers Plaza i BARRIE ¥ prominent volunteer on Bayfield St, 7 3 7 = 5 Be ? invited all former oe oo ene es ees fund raiser. In 1978 he Page 2, Wednesday, May 19, 1982