What would your grandfather think?

If there is one thing I know about my wife it's that she adored her grandfather Howard Russell. He was someone who left an everlasting impression on his family. Almost every summer our immediate family travels to Port Elgin for vacation just so we can stop at the school house were Grandpa and Grandma Russell spent the early part of their retirement years. There hasn't been a single occasion when we've left the school house when Heather hasn't teared up. The times she spent there when her grandparents were alive were special, they were happy lifetime memories for her. I wasn't there but through Heather's stories about her grandparents I know they have helped shape the person she's become today. Howard and Hazel were much loved.

Howard worked for CCM for most of his working career. He was very much a man of the people and a proud union supporter. As such when the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was organizing in the 1930s he put his energy behind the cause helping sign members. With Tommy Douglas as a leader it was a righteous cause, one that benefits Canadians from coast to coast to this day thanks to our universal health care system that was heavily influenced by the CCF and later the NDP.

When Heather became a woman's advocate and later the first person to set up a Workers in Motion Action Centre after Lear Seating eliminated the third shift at its Whitby manufacturing plant in 2006 family members often commented, "Your grandfather would be proud." His labour roots were branching out through the actions of his granddaughter.

Heather met Liberal leader Justin Trudeau
at a campaign stop in Whitby.

Today Heather is seeking the federal Liberal nomination in Oshawa riding. She commented to me the other day some people think her grandfather would roll over in his grave if he knew what she was doing. I disagreed. He may roll over but I think he'd also sit up and applaud.

Heather isn't seeking the nomination for personal gain. Like her grandfather before her Heather is standing up for people just like herself, people who want a better life, not only for themselves but for their children. The fact she believes this can be accomplished through the Liberal Party and not the NDP wouldn't disappoint her grandfather. If anything I believe he would be proud that his actions, his passion and his good example had a profound influence on his granddaughter. An influence that has inspired her to stand up for what she believes in and to help her community.

Heather's involvement in Oshawa spans years, many of which were spent with the Boys and Girls Club of Durham Region. She served on the board for six years and later as president of the foundation for three years. As part of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce she served on the Community Education Committee for three years and she also served on the Literacy Network of Durham Region's board of directors. And just last month she joined the Campaign Cabinet of Feed the Need Durham. This isn't something she does to pad her resume or for personal gain. She's just hard-wired to being active and she cares enough about her community to do it.

Her actions have not gone unnoticed. In 2011 she was given a Volunteer Service Award by the Province of Ontario, in 2013 she was given a business award from Business and Professional Women of Durham  and this year she was nominated to attend a Bold Vision at a national Woman's Leadership Convention.

What would her grandfather think? He'd be the proudest grandfather in the world and rightfully so.

There's no guarantee Heather will get the Liberal nomination but I can think of no better person for the job.

Contributing to your community is something to be proud of and something that won't change for Heather whether she gets the nomination or not. It's what she does, it's who she is.