The welcome signs for the village of Port Sydney state that it is the ‘Home of 800 Nice Families & 1 Old Grouch’. After hosting the first Grouch contest in many years, the Port Sydney/Utterson & Area Chamber of Commerce found their 2019 Grouch in Robert Hendry.
In the winter of 2019, two of the three village welcome signs collapsed due to age and damage. They were temporarily rehung in the spring, but they need to be replaced. Knowing how important these signs are to the community, the Chamber decided to call on the ‘800 Nice Families’ to participate in a fun fundraiser for sign replacement and more.
The late George Wilson was the last official Grouch — his win having been determined when he received the most donations through collection jars placed in local shops many years ago.
This year’s grouch contest was conducted mainly online where local residents could enter grouchy-faced photos of themselves, and anyone from anywhere could vote by donation for their favourite grouch contender. Options to donate through the Chamber office were also available.
This was the photo Robert Hendry submitted for the Port Sydney grouch contest (portsydneycoc.com)
By the closing of the contest over $600 was raised in support of the 13 competitors, but Robert Hendry handily secured the title of 2019 Grouch with 302 of 646 votes cast. The combination of his photo and his highly-relatable chief complaint —‘When them darn bugs won’t let you enjoy the beautiful deck’ — had him leading the competition from the time he entered.
Hendry was honoured on Saturday, August 24, during an awards ceremony held at Port Sydney Community Hall during the End of Summer Dinner hosted by the Port Sydney Parks and Recreation Group. Chamber president Derek Watson-Brown presented him with his prizes which included a locally crafted walking stick, a hat and scarf set to match the village sign colours, a basket of snacks donated by Smith’s Ultramar, and tourism information from the Chamber office that will help him to explore the region.
As the 2019 Grouch, Hendry will also receive a complimentary meal and a seat of honour at this year’s Turkey Dinner (being held on September 28, 2019, note correction made in the date) and his photo will be featured on a 2020 grouch calendar. Hendry was also presented with a ‘leaf’ for the Giving Tree of Port Sydney with his name and title on it. The leaf will commemorate his reign as the 2019 grouch and represents a $100 donation that the contest made to the Hall Refurbishing Committee in his honour.
The Chamber would like to thank all those who entered and supported the contest and would encourage anyone who missed out to contact the Chamber office or visit www.portsydneycoc.com to see how they can contribute to the ongoing effort to raise funds to replace all six signs (three Welcome / three Please Come Again).
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Our apologies. We have corrected the date in the body of the article. Thanks for not being Grouchy! 🙂
A little, but important, typo to correct: the Turkey Dinner is being held on September 28, 2019 (not September 2).
Thank you very much for covering our story!
Congrouchulations, Rob!