Several former Easter Seals P.E.I. ambassadors were recently welcomed at Fanningbank by Lt.-Gov. Wassim Salamoun and his wife, Marie Salamoun-Dunne, to honour the organization’s 70th anniversary.

Easter Seals P.E.I. began in 1956 when the Rotary Club of Charlottetown adopted Easter Seals as a program to support Island children living with disabilities. The following year, they named the first Easter Seals ambassador, beginning a tradition that has continued for almost seven decades.

The lieutenant-governor spoke about his experience participating in the Tim Hortons ambassador tour and how fortunate he was to visit Island schools, interact with the school children and see reactions to the ambassador over the past few years.

“I witnessed courage, kindness and dedication from the ambassador and their families,” Salamoun said during his remarks. “You are an inspiration to us all. By sharing your stories, you are teaching the school children, their parents and all Islanders the importance of compassion, inclusion, and seeing the abilities in everyone.”

Chair Della Parker thanked 2026 ambassador, Rowan MacDonald and his family, all former ambassadors and their family members in attendance and said organizers
wanted to reconnect with former ambassadors for this celebration.

“You are at the heart of the Easter Seals P.E.I. story, and with so many here this evening, this anniversary is especially meaningful,” she said.

Parker welcomed Bob Moffatt, a Rotary Club of Charlottetown member, who hasn’t missed a school tour since the 1980s. Also in attendance were Paul Hennessey, the first-ever Easter Seals P.E.I. ambassador and Michael Morrison, the ambassador who participated in the first school tour.

Morrison said, “We visited 12 schools that year, and I remember how exciting it was for me as a young person with a disability to be on the bus with the big doughnuts painted on the outside, and to meet the bus driver and spread our message of inclusion to the other students.”

Danny Murphy, a baker at the Charlottetown Tim Hortons at the time who is now the P.E.I. franchise owner, also recalled that first tour.

“First, we booked the bus for a day, and it had to travel from Oakville to Charlottetown,” Murphy said. “Next, we sat around the kitchen table at Michael’s and mapped out a plan to visit a few local schools. What started so small has evolved into a great partnership reaching over 60 schools throughout our Island community, and teaching an important message of inclusion.”

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