Cassidy Tizzard

TizzArt at the Campbellford Farmers Market, July 2017

At 17 years of age, Cassidy Tizzard is giving us a sneak preview of the competent, powerful adult she is destined to become. She has a lot going for her. Artistic and musical talent, exemplary grades in school, a clear vision of her future direction and a compassionate, community-minded soul that has already made a difference in her community and to the causes she supports.

Her company, TizzArt, came to be through a successful Summer Company grant application outlining her proposed mission and business plan. The program, operated by the Business and Entrepreneurship Centre Northumberland, awarded her ongoing mentorship and $3,000 in funding. Her company was founded in May 2017. "It was a great opportunity for me," Cassidy says, "The ongoing support I've had from the Centre and its Youth Programs Coordinator, Kailyn Coupland, has been excellent."

“I’m very proud of my daughter Cassidy and the effort she has put into her own summer company, TizzArt,” Ken Tizzard posted on social media in July 2017. “She must have inherited her grandmother’s artistic side. It amazes me what she can do with a pencil.”

The goal of TizzArt is to raise funds for local and national charities in Canada and around the Trent Hills area through the sale of her prints, greeting cards and T-shirts. Her preferred medium is pencil, and she also does commissioned work. Client charities receive 15 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of the products she designs for them.

She has offered her works for sale at countless craft shows and events throughout Northumberland County since her company's inception, including repeat visits to the Codrington and Campbellford Farmers markets. In October, Cassidy participated in her first three-day show, the 43rd annual Hand of Man craft show in Peterborough. Although she says she's "done with shows for the season", TizzArt is keeping busy with custom orders for Christmas.

Her first foray into the business world supported the MS [Multiple Sclerosis] Aware Community Concert held at the Westben Festival Theatre in Campbellford in May 2017. The event was largely organized by her dad, renowned musician Ken Tizzard, and his business partner, Ray Kies of Booth Street Records, with overwhelming support from local musicians and Westben staff. Featuring a whirlwind three-hour presentation of 29 bands who took the stage to entertain a packed house, the event was an unqualified success. Cassidy not only manned her first booth selling TizzArt merchandise, she also joined her dad and sister, Caitlyn, on stage for a rendition of the much beloved Ron Hynes tune, Sonny’s Dream.

Cassidy's graphic of Hope for MS, photo at the MS Walk in Cobourg, April 2018

"For the concert poster my father asked me to design a graphic of whatever I felt represented this event best. I decided to do some research for inspiration, and as I believed ‘hope’ was an important message for those effected by MS, I researched symbols for it. I found that one recurring symbol for hope was a butterfly, which inspired me to design my own butterfly picture. As MS is a disease that affects nerve cells, the butterfly I drew is made up of my interpretation of nerve cells to represent hope for MS," Cassidy explains.

The MS Hope graphic on a T-shirt

Multiple Sclerosis is classified as an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system. It is an unpredictable and incurable affliction, affecting 77,000 individuals in Canada, according to The MS Society of Canada website. Donations fund research seeking a cure as well as information, resources and support for sufferers and their families. The cause is close to home for the Tizzard family as Cassidy’s mom, Allison Edwards, was diagnosed in 2014.

Animals and the environment are soft spots for Cassidy as well. TizzArt supports the Cat Care Initiative, a volunteer-based organization operating an adoption centre and storefront retailing donated goods on Bridge Street in Campbellford. Its mission is to help homeless and feral cats throughout the Trent Hills area, striving to reunite lost pets with their owners, arrange suitable adoptions for abandoned pets and neuter/spay feral cats. The print she designed for Cat Care was rendered from a photograph of her own cat, Jasper.

Cassidy presenting a cheque to The Owl Foundation, Niagara

The Owl Foundation is a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to rehabilitating injured or orphaned owls with the eventual goal of releasing them back to the wilds. The charity is based in Niagara, Ontario.

As an environmentalist, Cassidy stands behind a current initiative to install a green roof at Campbellford’s Aron Theatre. A green roof, seeded with wildflowers and other plantings, not only offers social and economic benefits to the community but it’s also a prudent economic choice for the theatre since it lasts longer than a typical roof and eliminates potential damage from UV rays. The cost of the project is $75,000. The Aron is a cooperative and volunteer-run theatre providing the residents of Trent Hills with top box office films as a home town alternative to larger venues in Peterborough or Belleville, an hour away. Sales of TizzArt’s tree print, also inspired by a photograph, support this project.

Cassidy is passionate about environmental concerns at school as well. She belongs to an environmental group at Campbellford District High School and they orchestrate recycling efforts for the school. Her stellar grades lend credence to her future plans to attend Queens University leading to an engineering degree in the field of renewable energy resources.

After earning numerous academic honours at CDHS last year, Cassidy has continued her winning streak for the school year 2017-2018. She received the Principal’s Award, presented to the student with the highest overall average for their grade level, in the school's Celebration of Excellence ceremony at the beginning of November. Immediately thereafter, she rose once again to accept The Caughill Trophy, presented to the student with the highest overall average for the year. She is currently in grade 11.

The online news magazine, Trent Hills Now, published an article in March 2018 discussing Cassidy’s academic achievements in 2016-2017 as well as detail on the launch of TizzArt and some background on the Summer Company program and on her dad's illustrious music career.
Read the Trent Hills Now article by Editor Sue Dickens here.

Ivan Stille (Grade 9), Cassidy Tizzard (Grade 11) and Ashley Krahn (Grade 10), received The Principal's Award from CDHS Principal Doug Birch. The Caughill Trophy was also presented to Cassidy Tizzard, November 2018. Coverage and photo by Sue Dickens, Trent Hills Now.

The first week in November turned out to be an exciting one for Cassidy. Right after receiving her academic accolades from CDHS, she was recognized by the Municipality of Trent Hills with the Outstanding Youth Award, celebrating “an exceptional contribution made to the community and/or their school” at their annual Civic Awards ceremony.

Luke Mercier, Caitlin, Ken Tizzard, Steve Dagg, Cassidy, Ken Grant at The Aron Theatre, CD Release, November 2018. Photo by Art Chamberlain

Along with her academics and other ventures, music has a large presence in Cassidy's life. She sings and plays the bass guitar, often with her dad and sister. The family has toured together and all three Tizzards were featured on the official video for Sonny’s Dream, from Ken Tizzard’s latest album released in early November 2018. Entitled A Good Dog Is Lost, the album presents a collection of Ron Hynes songs and pays tribute to the Newfoundland singer-songwriter who passed away a few years ago. Ron was a mentor to Ken and a close personal friend to the entire family. Cassidy is also a member of the CDHS band.

Cassidy Tizzard is a remarkable young woman. Rarely does one encounter a person of any age with aptitude in so many different directions. An inspired and thoughtful artist, a woman of action when she has a cause, an entrepreneurial spirit with clever business sense and an unstoppable work ethic, and to top it off, a scholar who will undoubtedly kick that engineering degree in renewable resources right out of the park.

Contacts
TizzArt, www.tizzart.com
TizzArt on facebook, www.facebook.com/tizzartcanada
Ken Tizzard, www.kentizzard.com

Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
Cat Care Initiative, Campbellford
The Owl Foundation
The Aron Theatre