Selfless in dedication to the community, Shelley Tatro is a shining example of what it means to give back and help others.
Since getting involved with the Lloydminster Lions Club, among many other organizations, Tatro has quietly forged relationships with people in need with an active desire to serve.
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Tatro has played integral roles in the Lions’ many initiatives, including awareness and teaching about diabetes, the Guides Dogs of Canada, organ and tissue donation the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, to name a few. As a nomination letter stated, “She’s a woman who is magic in getting things done. She inspires and encourages while creating awareness. She’s a genuine friend of the Lloydminster community.”
Shelley left and Ray Tatro were all smiles while recently presenting Kianna Wildeman with this years Lions Club Jr Citizen of the Year Meridian Source File Photo
Tatro has called Lloydminster home since age 10 and loved the fact everyone knew one another.
“I lived in Edmonton from 1992 to 2002, but it wasn’t the same. You hardly knew your neighbour. When I moved back to Lloyd, that sense of community hadn’t gone anywhere,” she said, explaining she moved away to be closer to hospitals in Edmonton.
“I had a daughter in 1996 who was born with a terminal metabolic disease,” she said. “When she started school, it was better to move back to Lloyd to be close to family and support.”
There was no cure for the disease. Despite all odds, Tatro’s daughter graduated from post-secondary education in June 2015 before passing in September of the same year. The heartbreaking process led Tatro to her now-husband and Exhaust Masters owner, Ray.
“When Jen passed, I was encouraged to get involved with a local organ transplant organization, which is where I met Ray,” she said, explaining Ray had also lost his wife around the same time.
The rest, as they say, is history.
“Getting together with Ray led to volunteering with Mount Joy (Snow Resort) and the Transplant Trot until they dissolved,” she said. “The other big one, of course, was the Lions … and holy cow was that an undertaking.
“When I do something, I don’t do it small.”
As a Lion over the last seven years, Tatro has been the treasurer, vice-president, co-founder of fundraising and the membership program co-ordinator. She also works closely with the Citizen and Junior Citizen of the Year committees and volunteers with Boys and Girls clubs.
“I’m also the cabinet administrator as Ray is the district governor this year,” she said, explaining the role comes with a lot of travel and organization.
“Ray is the district governor for northern Saskatchewan, which means we visit 54 clubs throughout the year. We’re a team in everything we do.”
When she’s not travelling across Saskatchewan visiting various Lions clubs, she’s with Ray, keeping things running smoothly at Exhaust Masters.
For Tatro, supporting the community is important for many reasons, but it stems from the support she received after losing Jen.
“I’ve always volunteered, and the local community here has done so much for me. Heart and Stroke, the MS Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters, you name it,” she said. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
She also explained she continues to volunteer and give back as it’s hard to get that feel-good feeling doing anything else.
“I’ve lost my mom, my dad, and my daughter, that was my family,” she said. “Being with Ray, I gained three stepdaughters, three-step son-in-laws and three step-grandchildren.”
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