Nominations are now open for St. Albert’s new community recognition program.
The awards aim to celebrate individuals who have achieved excellence in the areas of arts and culture, citizenship, professional achievement and sports. Nominees must be from St. Albert or have made a significant impact in St. Albert.
The deadline for nominations is Jan. 31 with the first recipients to be announced in June alongside the unveiling of a new monument being constructed at the northwest corner of Perron Street and Sir Winston Churchill Avenue.
The city hopes for plenty of input from residents.
“We’re really hoping to create a strong reaction,” said Anna Royer, a manager with community and protective services.
“There’s a lot of people that have given St. Albert a great name and provided a lot of respect to the community and we just want people to think about some of those instances where they’ve recognized [an accomplished person’s] name and thought about the contributions people have made.”
City council voted to establish the $160,000 program in early 2008. Work is currently under way to build a permanent recognition feature that will include the names of recipients over the coming years. The city will officially honour deserving local residents at an annual presentation each June.
Royer was tight-lipped when asked to describe what the monument will look like, as she wants it to be a surprise.
“We’re keeping it quiet for as long as possible,” she said.
The recognition program will also include one annual pillar of business award, as chosen each year by the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber has previously announced two winners for this award (Danny & Sons Auto Service and Hole’s Greenhouses & Gardens) and has been working for years with the city to establish a permanent location to honour the recipients, said president and CEO Lynda Moffat.
“It will be nice to have it moving along. It’s been a long time,” she said.
This permanent public display is the key that’s been missing for years, Moffat suggested.
“It gives recognition to the accomplishments and efforts of those people. I mean it’s nice to award somebody but if you’re not going to do anything about it, what’s the point?” she said.
The chamber has identified a 2010 pillar award winner but won’t announce it until the display is unveiled next year, Moffat said. The chamber will also use the monument to honour four founding businesses, she said.
More specific criteria for each award, as well as nomination forms, are available at St. Albert Place or at www.stalbert.ca/community-recognition-program.
