Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Connell, Joseph Orr
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Connell, Joe
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1911-1999
History
Joseph Orr Connell was born in Scotland in 1911, but was raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He had a career as a schoolteacher while also working closely with the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) for most of his life. During the 1930s, Connell was president of the YMCA in Sault Ste. Marie. In 1948, Connell served as the general secretary of the YMCA in Kitchener-Waterloo until his retirement in 1976. He received the Officer of Fellowship Honour from the National YMCA for his contributions.
After retirement, Connell traveled across Canada as a speaker. He gave up to 200 speeches a year and provided lessons to almost 10, 000 people on public speaking skills. Connell also served as Executive Secretary of the Grand River Valley Conservation Foundation and as Chairman of the Federated Appeal for 25 years.