Heather Roberts honoured for lifetime achievement by Red Deer Sport Award Committee

Jun 5, 2021 | 1:54 PM

The Red Deer Sport Award Committee, with support of the Alberta Sport Development Centre, has announced Heather Roberts is this year’s recipient of the City-sponsored Lifetime Sport Achievement Award.

This award is given to an individual that possesses a genuine interest in the overall growth of amateur sport in Red Deer and has advanced or developed amateur sport in the city. They must have volunteered for at least five years in amateur sport and volunteered without material gain.

The committee notes Roberts’s extreme level of dedication to the Special Olympics community since arriving in Red Deer in 1990.

Roberts coached athletics, swimming, and curling, while helping with floor hockey and bowling with Special Olympics locally.

Now 65, Roberts is celebrated for being a role model in working with parents and caregivers, as well as other coaches and officials.

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“I was totally shocked. It is such an honour. There are so many deserving people in Red Deer,” says Roberts. “Totally unexpected. Very grateful and thankful. There are sure a lot of people that have been involved along the way. It’s never been just me.”

Gary Seher, member of the sport award committee, says the slate of candidates was extremely impressive this year.

“It just goes to show the longstanding commitment to sport in the community and we only wish to keep highlighting and encouraging those individuals year after year,” he says. “Long-term volunteer commitments of excellence to sport development have significant impacts on healthy community development; all nominees for the 2021 award modelled this so well.”

Roberts is the award’s 57th recipient after it was first given out in 1959 to Dr. J.B. Long. It went dormant for four years last decade but was reinstated in 2018.

Past winners include Lyn Radford, Dwayne Lalor and Shawna Pearman.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Heather Roberts honoured for lifetime achievement by Red Deer Sport Award Committee

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