Chief leaves a 14-year legacy – Orillia Packet

It has been said there’s no higher calling than public service — a call that’s long been heeded by the selfless and tireless, dreamers and visionaries willing to toil for little more than the fulfilment of a desire to serve.

Perhaps it’s what prompted Sharon Stinson Henry to put her name forward many years ago to represent Simcoe North under the Progressive Conservative banner. Maybe it’s what inspired her to successfully run as chief of Rama First Nation in the summer of 2000. She was re-elected six more times and, prior to losing her bid for an eighth term on the weekend, served as chief for 14 years.

Stinson Henry told The Packet & Times she is proud of her legacy, most notably inking a new Casino Rama agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation that will pour about $1 billion over 35 years into the First Nation. In addition, she said the resolution of the longstanding Coldwater-Narrows land claim represents a $300-million victory for her people.

She said the decision in 2013 to invest $3 million to become a partner in a golf resort and casino in British Columbia has put Rama in the driver’s seat as it pursues its ultimate goal to run Casino Rama.