When Cheryle Wong found out that she had won an award for outstanding aboriginal women earlier this year, she says her reaction was immediate — she wanted to know if she could still volunteer for the award ceremony.
"They said no," she says, with a chuckle. "They told me I have to enjoy the evening. But I do enjoy it. That's when I enjoy an event: when I'm volunteering for it."
Wong, 49, is one of 17 aboriginal women from across Alberta who will be presented with an Esquao Award next Friday. The award, given out by the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, is meant to fight racism and recognize the important roles that aboriginal women hold in their communities.
Wong has spent countless hours volunteering for community events in St. Albert, says her sister, Sylvia Evasiw (who nominated her for the award), and some 16 years volunteering for the Esquao Awards ceremony. "She's always doing something every weekend," she says, and never expects anything in return.
Wong spent hundreds of hours volunteering for the city's 150th anniversary committee, says Mayor Nolan Crouse, who supported her nomination, and is also an outstanding city employee. "She's a true community builder."
The grand-poobah's kid
A married mother of two boys, Wong is a business license inspector for the City of St. Albert.
She's also a maniac for shoes. "Shoes are my passion," she says, and she's got about 80 pairs of them stashed around the house.
"My husband tells me I buy way too many pairs of shoes, but I don't. That's just his opinion."
Wong credits her Métis father, Archie Hellerud, with making her the woman she is today. "He's the reason I do this. There are five girls in our family, and we call him the grand-poobah."
Hellerud was the person everyone in the family went to if they had a problem, Wong says, and he would often shelter relatives if they needed a place to stay. He made sure each of his kids knew to work hard and respect their elders.
"You don't judge anybody. You've got enough skeletons in your own closet."
He also took them to powwows and First Nations reserves, she says.
"We weren't really active culturally, but we knew our roots."
Super volunteer
Wong says she's been volunteering ever since she was a kid, and now has a big collection of volunteer shirts.
She started in earnest when she moved to Hay River, N.W.T. "It was a town of 3,500 people, so there wasn't a lot of volunteers."
It was a place of bears and buffalo, the latter of which would often hold up traffic for hours when a herd of them camped out on a road.
Wong helped out at hockey games and the local native friendship centre, and even did a stint as a mascot at an outdoor event. "It was -42 C," she recalls, she was claustrophobic, and she had climb into a dark, enclosed buffalo suit. "It was a little chilly, but I was so afraid that the fear kept me warm."
Moving to St. Albert in 2008, she continued to give her time at events such as the International Children's Festival, the soapbox derby, the Rainmaker Rodeo, the Snowflake Festival, Aboriginal Day and numerous sports-related fundraisers.
Now, she says, "I'm trying to slow it down this year."
Wong says she volunteers because she likes giving back to the community. "It makes you feel like you've actually accomplished something in life."
And it gives her a chance to have fun.
"I've never gone to a volunteer event where I haven't been happy," she says, noting that her volunteering recently gave her an excuse to dance in the Rainmaker Rodeo parade. "Where else can you dance in the street in front of zillions of people and not feel stupid?"
The award ceremony starts at 4:30 next Friday at the Edmonton Expo Centre. Visit iaawcanada.com for details.
