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2005 West Quebecers Community Awards & Garage Sale
by Gaetanne Séguin
Each one of us knows someone who gives of themselves to benefit their community
and the people around them, often with little or no recognition. With the desire
to honour these people, the Regional Association of West Quebecers is holding
our 2nd Annual West Quebecers Community Awards Banquet on
Friday June
10th at
Camp Fortune
in Chelsea, and it
gives me great pleasure to announce this year’s winners.
In keeping with the stellar cast of award winners at our inaugural banquet last
year, I am astounded by the quality of the 2005 winners. Upon hearing the news,
one of our members summed it up this way, “CONGRATULATIONS!!!
What an awesome line-up of award winners! You really have caught the pulse of
West Quebec.”
We couldn’t
agree more. This year’s winner of the
J.D. Coulson
Award for Outstanding
Achievement
is singer,
composer, folk artist and instrumentalist
Ian Tamblyn
of Chelsea. The
Graham Greig Award for Outstanding Community Service
goes to heritage preservation leader
Enid Page,
President
of the Aylmer Heritage Association, which is celebrating its 30 year anniversary
this year. As the founding executive director of Heritage Canada, the late
Bob Phillips
is being honored posthumously with the Award for Outstanding Leadership.
We have a tie for the Leadership Award for Youth;
Shawn MacDonell
of Shawville,
who is very involved in various youth oriented activities; and
Scott Stephens
of Clarendon, for his volunteer service to the 4-H Club and
Pontiac Quebec Young
Farmers.
The other 2005
award winners include former WQSB Director of Education
Kevin Drysdale
of
Chelsea
who wins the Award for Community Service in Education. A Luskville
couple,
John Jolie & Louise Séguin,
who run a
series of non-profit hostels for men with alcohol or drug addictions in the
Pontiac,
are winners of the Award for Community
Service in Health and Social Services.
The Award for Community Service in Recreation and Livable Communities
goes to
St. Mark’s the Evangelist RC Church St. Vincent de Paul
Group of
Aylmer
for their service of the
poor, including providing food and other necessities on an emergency basis.
And the author of 28 books,
Joan Finnigan
of
Aylmer
has won the Award for Community Service in Arts and Culture
for her active involvement in the community for 40 years.
Congratulations to all the winners! And thanks to everyone who submitted a
nomination. Your participation is essential to ensuring that we hear of the
people who so often work tirelessly in the background, never seeking recognition
for themselves. And that is a key reason why they should be recognized. That
being said, I invite you to join us at this year’s Awards so these dedicated
volunteers will know how much we appreciate their many years of service which
have greatly benefited everyone in the Outaouais. If you would like tickets,
give me at call at 682-9602 or toll free at
1-877-733-0177.
And please call me if you would like to participate in another West Quebecers event this month. We are holding our first Community Garage Sale Fundraiser on Saturday May 28th, tentatively at Aylmer Elementary School on Frank Robinson. This one-stop-shop for garage sale treasures runs from 8 am to 2 pm; if you want to sell your wares, each spot is $10.00. Our vision is to bring together sellers and buyers from the surrounding area for what promises to be a fun-filled day!