Members of the Donald and Lacey families receive their Mayor's Special Award, presented by Mayor Ken Johnston. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

24 GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS HONOURED

Mayor’s Recognition Awards honour outstanding residents and volunteers

Jun 20, 2024 | 9:03 AM

Mayor Ken Johnston and members of city council recognized 24 groups and individuals at the 2024 Mayor’s Recognition Awards on June 19 at the Westerner Park Harvest Centre.

The Mayor’s Recognition Awards bring attention to residents that have brought honour and recognition to the City of Red Deer through their actions.

“I really believe that when we get together every year, and we’ve done this now for 30 years, we really celebrate those people that aren’t taking a cheque for this. They’re giving of themselves; they not only give their money to causes but they certainly give their time, and they certainly give their abilities. A community can’t be strong without volunteers,” said Mayor Johnston.

The main awards cover four categories: athletics, fine and performing arts, distinguished voluntary service, and community builders. Recipients of these are chosen by a committee after they receive nominations from the community.

Winners of the Community Builders Award included: Gerald Kress; Hoang Le; Robin McKay; Dr. Love Nwigwe; and Jan Underwood.

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“It’s an honour to be recognized like that. You can have all the skills and talent that you can have, but if you don’t use it, it’s useless. It just shows that when people have the ability to do something, and they do it, things happen. The award shows that, I think,” Kress said.

Kress is the founder of Red Deer’s Wheelchair Rugby Club, which he started in 2023. He played a role in starting the Steel Wheels Rugby group in Edmonton and wanted to create a similar community opportunity when he moved to Red Deer.

“It means everything. It’s not only physical health, it’s also mental health. The community in wheelchair rugby is just so incredible and it’s always super welcoming for all participants that come,” shared Brent Haase, vice-president of the club. Haase was one of the members who nominated Kress for the award.

Winners of the Distinguished Voluntary Service Award were: Howard Barker; Amanda Blair; Valdene Callin; Lori Cartwright; Don George; Kim Jeske; George Meston; Arun Mishra; Irene Sisson; Esther Smith; Irene Wells; Robert and Martha Winchell; the Bariatric Clinic Peer Support Group (Jodi Dore and Melanie Timms); and the Red Deer Curling Junior Program (Lynne Entz and Brent Young).

Winners of the Fine and Performing Arts Award were Dr. James Bicigo and members of Team Canada Dance: Alexane Best, Éva Best, Kaitlyn Rumohr, and Hazel Stapley.

The final award was the Mayor’s Special Award, which Mayor Johnston chooses himself to recognize outstanding humanitarianism, exceptional achievement, or an act of heroism or bravery.

The Donald and Lacey families were honoured with the award for their decades of philanthropy, volunteerism, and community building in Red Deer and central Alberta.

On behalf of the Donald and Lacey families, John Donald shared, “We’ve lived here for 60 years. We’ve created businesses, we created employment, but I think we did our best to create a strong community. I think that’s everything.”

Jack and Joan Donald, and their children Kathy and John, planted roots in Red Deer in 1964, leading to the creation of Parkland Oil Products Ltd., which then grew into the Parkland Fuel Corporation.

The family has used their success as an opportunity to give back to the community for four generations.

“(Jack) had a sense of what his giving could do, and he instilled that in the members of the family. It’s hard to go around Red Deer and not see something the Donalds have either directly or indirectly contributed to,” said Mayor Johnston.

A few of the projects the family has contributed to are the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre, Red Deer Hospice, Red Deer Polytechnic, Westerner Park, and many more.

This year, there were no nominations for the athletics category, although some winners of the Community Builders awards, such as Gerald Kress and Hoang Le, were recognized for their efforts in creating sports-focused community organizations.

The Mayor’s Recognition Awards have been a Red Deer tradition since 1989.

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