Len Bracko Bracko is in his fifth term as councillor for the City of St. Albert. He was an MLA from 1993 to 1997. He has served on a numerous municipal, provincial and national boards and committees, and volunteered at a number of St.
Len Bracko
Bracko is in his fifth term as councillor for the City of St. Albert. He was an MLA from 1993 to 1997. He has served on a numerous municipal, provincial and national boards and committees, and volunteered at a number of St. Albert events such as the Parish pancake breakfast and the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign. He was honoured for community and public service.
Kaetlyn Corbould
Corbould was honoured for her community and volunteer services with the Edmonton Garrison Military Family Resource Centre where she currently works as director. She consistently serves others and is dedicated to the military community and its families.
Kyle Dubé
DubĂ© worked with at-risk youth for 20 years and is Director of YOUCAN Edmonton Youth Services, an organization dedicated to empowering and building a culture of peace and healthy relationships among today’s youth. He was honoured for his work in social services.
“This whole award is based on community and different aspects and people contributing and making the community better and I am just glad someone thinks I contribute to this,” he said.
Rhonda Gibson
Gibson was honoured for her work in community and volunteer services. She was one of three military wives to launch Operation Santa Claus, a donation service that wraps and sends gifts to peacekeepers abroad. She is also a psychologist treating Canadian soldiers for post traumatic stress disorder.
David Hook
Hook was honoured for his involvement in health care. He was a member of St. John Ambulance for over 30 years and is currently its provincial chief executive officer where he oversees first aid services across the province. He is also committed to many other like-minded organizations, such as the Canadian Mental Health Association and Sturgeon Community Hospital Foundation.
Gareth Jones
Jones was honoured for working across all sectors of community and volunteer services. He sits on a number of community association boards, such as the St. Albert 50 Plus Club, and has founded many community services such as the St. Albert Victim Services and the St. Albert Housing Society. He also served as the Protocol Director for the 2009 Special Olympics Provincial Summer Games and received the Star of Alberta Volunteer Award in 2011.
“I’ve been here nearly 40 years and I’ve been involved with something every year,” he said. “But the beauty about volunteering is that when you are a volunteer you cannot achieve anything without others and I’ve been blessed to meet and work with all the wonderful people in St. Albert.”
Blake MacEachern
MacEachern was honoured for his involvement in community and public services. He served for 25 years with the Edmonton Police Services and previously with the RCMP. He was also a piper in the EPS Pipes and Drums Band, where he served as the band’s webmaster, photographer and audio-visual assistant. His daughter Carly accepted the medal on behalf of MacEachern.
Arthur David Maskell
A veteran of the Canadian Military, Maskell devoted much of his time volunteering and fundraising for the Edmonton Aviation Museum, the Royal Alberta Museum and the 418 Squadron Association. He also teaches aviation related subjects at the Edmonton Aviation Heritage Society. He was honoured for veteran and volunteer Services.
Scott Menzies McMorran
After 30 years of service with the Edmonton Police Service, McMorran was honoured for his community and public services with the Service’s Pipes and Drums Band. He serves as one of the Band’s Pipes Corporals, as Master of Ceremonies during the annual Robbie Burns Dinners and traveled with the Band internationally. He is recognized as an ambassador for both the cand and the city of Edmonton.
Victor Hugo Fernandez Meyer
Fernandez worked as an active firefighter in St. Albert for over 30 years. In 2000, he created the Canadian Aid for Fire Services Abroad, to date collecting, refurbishing and shipping over 44 tons of gear and 12 fire trucks to Central and South America. He was honoured for his work in humanitarian aid.
“It’s always good to receive a pat on the back, a reinforcement for what you are doing … ,” he said. “Volunteers are hard to come by so this reinforces the people that are out there and it recognizes their work.”
Lynda Marlene Moffat
Moffat is the past president of both the Kinettes and the Rotary Club of St. Albert. She served on numerous boards within the community, including Crimestoppers, the St. Albert Youth Centre, the Vandalism Task Force and the Chamber of Commerce, where she is now the President and CEO. She also served as a councillor from 2001 to 2004. Moffat was honoured for community and public service.
“It’s an exciting time and this is one of the highlights of my life. I think it’s because I care a lot about our community and I work very hard to make things better and I am a keener,” she said.
Raymond Pinco
After 34 years as teacher, principal, counsellor and special education consultant, Pinco devoted his time to the promotion and preservation of St. Albert’s history. He initiated several community landmarks, such as the Founder’s Walk and the Buffalo Hunt Sculpture and park. He also volunteered for numerous committees and boards, and was chair of the St. Albert Museum Board, a Scouts Canada leader and coach for various school sports teams. Pinco was honoured for his work in education, heritage and history.
Margaret Plain
A former councillor for the city from 1986 to 2001, Plain was named St. Albert Volunteer Citizen of the decade for 2001 to 2010. She has volunteered in numerous local and provincial social agencies, cultural groups, community events and boards since the 1970s.
Some of these include St. Albert’s 150th Anniversary celebration, Stop Abuse in Families, the St. Albert Museum and the St. Albert Historical Society. She was honoured for Community and Public Service.
“I’ve done things I found interesting and the community thrives in part because there’s people who do that. It is what makes a community,” she said.
Richard Plain
A two-time mayor of St. Albert from 1974 to 1977 and again from 2001 to 2004, Plain is an economist and retired professor of cconomics at the University of Alberta. He is currently president of the St. Albert Botanic Park and the St. Albert Festival of the Arts. He is also the president of the Canadian Club in Edmonton, an organization that promotes Canadian identity and unity and fosters interest in Canadian institutions. He was honoured for community and public Service.
“It’s been an ongoing interest and involvement in the community, over decades, from mayorship to heading committees and creating and working with others on how to better and expand the community. My example is one but there are many other variations of that and many other outstanding people in St. Albert,” he said
Barbara M. Sand
Married to a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, Sand routinely spent 40 hours a week volunteering with various youth and school organizations. In 1997, she became a Cadet Instructors Cadre Officer with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, and assumed Command of 699 Jasper Place Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron in 2010. She was honoured for community and volunteer Service.
Thomas Lee Sand
Sand retired from the Canadian Armed Forces after 35 years of service including peacekeeping operations and operations in Afghanistan. He has given 32 years of volunteer service to the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and 18 years to several aviation heritage organizations. Currently, he serves as president of the Canadian Aeronautical Preservation Association, promoting the preservation and retention of aircraft and Canadian aviation history. He was honoured for his work in volunteer service, heritage and history.
Frances Schuchard
In the past, Schuchard was recognized as Woman of the Year, and nominated twice for a lifetime achievement award. She also has her name engraved in stone as a founding pioneer at the St. Albert Pilgrim Memorial. She was recognized for her work as a musician, and previously won an Unsung Hero Award for her work with the group Heart and Soul. She died at the age of 89 on May 1, 2012. She was honoured posthumously for her contribution to arts and culture. Her daughter Martha Livingstone accepted the medal on behalf of Schuchard.
Cecil Edward Short
After 32 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Short is a decorated veteran of both the Second World War and the Korean conflict. Among his medals are the 1939-45 Star, the Italy and the France and Germany Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, the UN Service Medal and the 1953 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. Following his military service, Short settled in Fort McMurray where he served as a Trustee of the Catholic School Board. He was honoured as a veteran and for his work in education.
Ireen Slater
In 1987, Slater became a single mother of four boys. Her ex-husband and one son died in 1988, and another son died in 1989. Despite her losses, she has been active with youth in Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and schools.
Among other organizations, she founded the St. Albert chapter of One Parent Families Association and co-founded the original St. Albert Affordable Housing Committee and Seniors United Now. She has been and remains a presenter, panelist, volunteer and organizer for countless other organizations, some of which are the St. Albert United Church and the City of St. Albert Disaster Response Team. She was honoured for her work in social services and community service.
“I am passionate about things and when I hear about things that aren’t right I try to do what I can and there’s a thousand other people that are working hard. There are so many people that do so much. It’s just so inspiring when you see results,” she said.
Graham Paul Tanner
Tanner volunteered for over 20 years with the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association, a not-for-profit association that delivers hockey to young St. Albertans. He started as an assistant coach in 1991 and became a coach the following year. He later founded the Midget Rec 15 league and had one Division named after him.
By 2010, he was vice president and was overseeing the operations of the association at all levels; he was also managing the St. Albert Merchants Jr. B team. Tanner was honoured for sports and volunteer service.
John McPhee Van Norman
Van Norman is a retired inspector with the RCMP with 32 years of service. Throughout these years and beyond, he volunteered for numerous organizations, such as the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts of Canada, Job’s Daughters, the St. John Ambulance and the Air Cadets.
Van Norman served on the Board of the Aviation Museum and the Children’s Autistic Services of Edmonton. In 2009, he was appointed Honourary Colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Cold Lake, Alta. In 2010, he took part in the 2010 Winter Olympic Torch Relay. He was honoured for public and volunteer service.
“I enjoyed the cubs and scouts and I really enjoyed the cadets. It’s the smallest squadron and I also work with the autistic services and I worked with the museum board for years and it all was worthwhile,” he said
Pat Wagensveld
Wagensveld spearheaded initiatives in support of visual artists since 1994, here and abroad. She founded the Visual Arts Studio Association of St. Albert and has been an adjudicator for Profiles Public Gallery.
She also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Arts and Heritage Foundation of St. Albert and is the proprietor of The Studio Galleries, with two locations in the city. In 2011, she was awarded the Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts award. Wagensveld was honoured for her work in arts and culture.
“I received this medal for my courage to stand up for visual artists in the city. And I am only as good as the artists around me,” she said.
Carol Ann Watamaniuk
Watamaniuk has been a major supporter of St. Albert’s arts and culture, raising over $1 million for various community projects in the community. Among other projects, she initiated Art in Public Places, the St. Albert’s Children’s Theatre and the Profiles Public Art Gallery. She was also the editor for the 150th Anniversary Celebration of St. Albert commemorative book and served as a city councillor for 12 years.
Previously, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award, the International Women’s Day Award and the City of St. Albert Community Recognition Award. She was honoured for her work in arts and culture and public and community service.
“I’ve been involved in the community since I was in my twenties. I am passionate especially about the arts and social services and was in the right place at the right time when it came to developing the theatre and the gallery,” she said.
