Lieutenant-Governor presents Volunteer Medals in Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor

Twenty dedicated volunteers were honoured at two separate ceremonies held in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor today. His Honour, the Honourable A. M. House, Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, presented the Newfoundland and Labrador Volunteer Medal on behalf of the province.

Marguerite Austin, Reginald Bennett, Herbert M. Burry, Elizabeth Byrne, Maisie Clark, Rose Collins, Dave Dove, Marie Ingram, Dr. Audrey Manning, Claude Martin, Dr. Lawrence Moss, Ada-Maud (Rideout) Noble, Hector Pearce, Kathleen Sheldon, Bernadette St. Croix, Maxine Stanley, Don Stuckless, Gerald Thomas, Sterling Thomas and James Warren have together contributed over 600 years as volunteers. Their long-term dedication has positively affected health, education, sports, the arts and community and economic development.

In a statement to the House of Assembly last week, Premier Roger Grimes applauded the accomplishments of the province's volunteers.

"The people of our province are known throughout Canada and, indeed, the world, for their incredible generosity and caring spirit," said Premier Grimes. " This year provides a wonderful opportunity to award the Newfoundland and Labrador Volunteer Medal and recognize extraordinary volunteers for their invaluable contributions to our communities and to our province as a whole."

Hundreds of nominations were submitted by individuals and organizations throughout the province, between July and September 30, highlighting the extensive volunteer network operating in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

An independent selection committee set the award and nomination criteria, reviewed the submissions and selected candidates. His Honour, the Honourable A. M. House, Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, will present the Volunteer Medal to 96 exceptional volunteers in special ceremonies to be held at various locations across the province.

Premier Grimes said that the men and women receiving these medals "have each, over the long-term, had profound and wide-reaching impacts on the lives of others, on their communities and on us all.... these people demonstrate, in the most remarkable way, the very practical foundation of volunteerism: the value of one and the power of many." 

Media contact: Carl Cooper, Office of the Premier, (709) 729-3564.

Background Information - Gander Ceremony Recipients

Herbert Burry - Greenspond
Herbert Burry has been a volunteer for more than 30 years. He is active in his church and community, participating in the Come Home Year Committee and serving as mayor for one term. He is involved with his region's Health Care Foundation and local seniors' care facility. A long-time member of the Lions Club, he has taken leadership roles at the local, regional, provincial, national and international levels.

Maisie Clark - Campbellton
Maisie Clark has been a volunteer for 35 years at the local, regional and provincial levels. She is active with youth groups, such as Girl Guides and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Program, and is a town councillor. She was also the first military spouse to be mayor on a Canadian Forces station. She currently occupies leadership roles in the Calypso Foundation (facilitating community economic opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities) and the Road to the Isles Tourism Development Association. 

Rose Collins - Hare Bay
Rose Collins has been a volunteer for 28 years at the local and regional levels. She is active in her church, with the PTA, with TOPS and was a Girl Guide leader for 12 years. She has held executive positions in her volleyball association, on the library board and Firettes. She is a member of the Indian Bay Ecosystem Committee and has been a member of the Gambo - Indian Bay Development Association since 1985.

Dave Dove - Twillingate
Dave Dove has been a volunteer for 21 years. He is active in the figure skating club, the theatre, and with his church and tourism groups. His chief contribution has been with Allied Youth. He has served in leadership roles at the local, regional, provincial, national and international levels. He is Cabinet Advisor to Allied Youth, a member of its Honourary International Board and also served as international president.

Dr. Audrey Manning - Lumsden
Dr. Audrey Manning has been volunteering for over 20 years. She has served regionally and provincially on arts and heritage boards, both as founder and president of the Cape Freels Heritage Trust. She has been involved in health and education, including serving on the Board of Governors of the College of the North Atlantic, and as a founder of the Community Adults Participants in Education. She is active with numerous development associations, including the Kittiwake Economic Development Corporation, the Kittiwake Tourism Association and the Canadian International Development Agency. She is also founder and president of the Millennium Institute for Rural Advocacy.

Hector Pearce - Lewisporte
Hector Pearce has been a volunteer for three decades. He was involved in the provincial Winter Games and in hockey and basketball as a coach and organizer. He founded the Mussel Bed Soiree and was a member of the PTA and Child Protection Team. He has been chair of the Calypso Foundation (facilitating community economic opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities), on the Crisis Intervention Committee as a counsellor, on the executive of the Association for Community Living and a member of the Lions Club. 

Kathleen Sheldon - Summerford
Kathleen Sheldon has volunteered for 24 years at the local, provincial, national and international levels. She has served her community through various church committees and as a director of her regional development association. She is highly active in the Women's Institute, having chaired the first national Women's Institute Conference, been provincial president and a member of the governing body of the Associated Country Women of the World. 

Bernadette St. Croix - Gander
Bernadette St. Croix has been a volunteer for 23 years. She is active in her church, as well as with her local food bank. Most notably, she has served the Association for Community Living in executive roles at the local, provincial and national levels. She has also taken leadership roles in the national Community Inclusion Initiative and the Residential Support Committee. 

Gerald Thomas - Musgravetown
Gerald Thomas has been volunteering for 27 years. He is active in the St. John Ambulance, Royal Canadian Legion, Red Cross, Canadian Blood Services and the Terry Fox Run. He is involved in his church and on numerous community safety committees, including the Regional Emergency Response Committee. He has served the school council since its inception and has volunteered with the fire department for 26 years, the last 11 as chief. 

James W. Warren - Gander
James Warren has been volunteering for over 20 years at the local, regional and provincial levels. He has served his community as a front-line volunteer with Meals on Wheels, the Red Cross, the Kidney Foundation, and the Arthritis Society which he chaired for five years. He is active in his church and is president of the Central Retired Teachers' Association. He is also involved in the Newfoundland and Labrador Pensioners and Senior Citizens 50+ Federation. 

Background Information - Grand Falls-Windsor Ceremony Recipients

Marguerite Austin - Springdale
Marguerite Austin has been a volunteer for 38 years. She is active in the Lioness Club and the Lions Foundation. She has served in executive positions with the Red Shield Campaign, the Red Cross and the Canadian Cancer Society. She has been involved in her church, with youth groups and town council, as well as the local fire brigade, serving as the only female member. She has been active on regional health boards and the Green Bay Economic Development Board. For four years, she was a member of the Human Rights Tribunal. 

Reginald Bennett - Harbour Breton
Reginald Bennett has been a volunteer for 32 years. He is involved with the Lions Club, Boy Scouts and the Emergency Measures Committee. He also has served on the Conher Development Association. His most notable contribution is as a member of his local fire department. He has been a member for 32 years, 24 as chief. For 12 years, he has been involved with highly successful fundraising telethons. 

Elizabeth (Betty )Byrne - Bishop's Falls
Betty Byrne has been volunteering for more than 34 years. She is active with the Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Kidney Foundation, as well as with the Girl Guides. She has provided long-term leadership within her school's parents' association and organized both a school reunion and a Safe Grad. Her community involvements include her church, the Bishop's Falls Day Committee, Block Parents and the 50+ club.

Marie Ingram - Milltown
Marie Ingram has been volunteering for 22 years. She is involved with hockey moms, the figure skating committee, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, with the Duke of Edinburgh Award program as a leader, and as a facilitator for the Alternative Measures Committee. She is a former member of the South Coast Development Association and Community Futures. She is active as a Lioness, in her church, organizing community events and has co-organized her area's Terry Fox Run for 15 years.

Claude Martin - La Scie
Claude Martin has been a volunteer for more than four decades. He is a long-time member of the Kinsmen Club and served on his local service district for 12 years, including six as mayor. He was a member of the Baie Verte Peninsula Hospital Board, the school tax authority and the school board. He has served on the fisherman's trap berth committee and the library board, as well as on the Baie Verte Peninsula Economic Development Association.

Dr. Lawrence Moss -Springdale
Dr. Lawrence Moss has served as a volunteer locally, provincially and nationally for more than three decades. He has been a long-time member of the Lions Club, serving as fundraising chair for the Max Simms Camp Foundation. He has served his community through its community television and as a member of the Emerald Zone Development Association and the Chamber of Commerce. He has also had leadership roles in the Superintendents of Education, the Canadian Association of School Administrators and the Canadian Education Association.

Ada-Maud (Rideout) Noble - Middle Arm
Ada-Maud Noble has been a volunteer for more than 40 years. She has served her community through various church committees and has organized special events such as Come Home Year and Middle Arm Days. She has been involved in Firettes, in the PTA as president for 10 years, and as a member of the Emerald Zone Board. She has also been a councillor, deputy mayor and mayor of her town.

Maxine Stanley - Grand Falls - Windsor
Maxine Stanley has been volunteering for 21 years. She is a member of Beta Sigma Phi and serves on numerous boards including the Central Newfoundland Hospital, the provincial Society for the Disabled and the YMCA. Other involvements include the Girl Guides, the Terry Fox Run and the Cancer Society. She has been deeply involved in music and theatre directing numerous school, church and seniors choirs, as well as musicals. She has been director of the Bel Canto Singers since 1982. She has also served on the provincial Arts Council and the Symphony Orchestra boards.

Don Stuckless - Point Leamington 
Don Stuckless has been a volunteer for 31 years. He has served as councillor, deputy mayor and mayor of this town and has been a director of the advisory committee of the Dr. Hugh Twomey Health Care Centre for more than a decade. He has held executive positions in the Exploits Valley Economic Development Corporation, the EXCITE Corporation, the Exploits Valley Manufacturing Initiative, as well as served on the Coastal Tourism Management Committee.

Sterling Thomas - Grand Falls - Windsor 
Sterling Thomas has been a volunteer for 70 years. He has been a long-time member of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Kiwanis Club and the Elks. He has also served on the Cancer Society, the Ileitis and Colitis Committee, the Community Food Bank and is vice-chair of the CNIB. He was a member of his town council for 20 years, serving two terms as deputy mayor. He has been involved with his church and local heritage society, as well as the Newfoundland Federation of Labour, the Exploits Valley Tourism Association, and the Exploits Disability Association.

2001 11 27                             2:30 p.m.