PROMOTING THE PRESERVATION OF THE MAIN STREET RAILROAD STATION,MANAGING THE RAILROAD STATION FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND INSTITUTING THE REVITALIZATION OF MAIN STREET MARKHAM PROJECT ALSO INVOLVED WITH DOORS OPEN MARKHAM EVENT.
In 2015, MVC honoured Elizabeth for her contributions:
On December 9th , 2015, the Markham Village Conservancy celebrated Elizabeth Plashkes and the incredible impact she had on the accomplishments of the Conservancy. The Conservancy had formed in 1996, in response to the announcement by CN Rail that they would be tearing down the Markham Village Train Station. The inaugural meeting included Paul Mingay, Dorothy Gilbert, Dorothea Moss, Don Reesor, Dianne More and Ken Hoyle (who had called the meeting) and a few others in a room at the Water Street Senior’s Centre in November 1996. At that time, we were known as “S.O.S. --- Save Our Station”.
Shortly after, Elizabeth Plashkes was lured into joining by Ken Hoyle. She had previously headed a committee, the Markham Historical Society, and so she came highly qualified. Her knowledge of heritage architecture, her already-proven reputation as a defender of the historical legacy of the early pioneers and village builders, and her extensive experience with fundraising and the workings of governments at all levels made her an invaluable cog in our wheel. I don’t remember anyone having to twist her arm too much to encourage her to get on board! She believed in our project from the start.
Elizabeth was relentless in her efforts to acquire funds for this project and work collaboratively with the Town of Markham. She is a delight to work with and highly respected in our community. Elizabeth has the ability to network and bring together stakeholders to achieve great goals and the Train Station Project was one that was very dear to our hearts. The Markham Village Conservancy members became family and Elizabeth is one of ours!
She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award, for her commitment to the betterment of her community and her ability to connect and network with people of all ages and walks of life. She is goal-oriented when faced with an undertaking and draws on her finely honed and enviable organizational skills to achieve success. She is an extraordinary individual and we are so grateful for her friendship and the contributions that she made to MVC --- we celebrate her tonight.
