Mayor’s Recognition Awards celebrate incredible community contributions

She added that it’s wonderful to hear the stories of what people actually do in the community, along with the hours and years of dedication.

“I’d encourage people that if they see a need or think of something that would make life in Red Deer better for some or for all, think about how you could do that,” she said, adding she was excited that there were some young people who got recognition. “All of these efforts and the recognition that went out tonight are to people who really didn’t set out for recognition but to do something that would make life better, and it grew. Some things grew, and other things stay smaller, but all of it contributes.”

The 2026 award categories were Community Builder, Distinguished Voluntary Service, Fine & Performing Arts, and Mayor’s Special Award.

All of the award winners were selected by the Mayor’s Recognition Awards Committee, except for the Mayor’s Special Award recipients, who are chosen by Jefferies.

This year’s Mayor’s Special Award recipients were Trudy Lewis, Harley Hay, Vanessa Higgins-Nogareda, and Dr. Gustavo Nogareda.

Lewis, who is set to retire in August after a 54-year career at Parkland School, said it’s nice to be recognized for her work, although she never thought she would be.

She said the work itself was the reward.

“It’s exciting, and I’m not usually one who likes to be in the spotlight, but I’m very honoured to receive it. It shines a light on the children with disabilities that I’ve worked with for 50 years,” Lewis said.

Lewis said working with kids with disabilities has always been her passion. She started as a teacher at Parkland School for the first eight or nine years before becoming the director of the school. She remained in that role for over 40 years.

Parkland School is a private school that is a place for severely disabled children, and Lewis said they teach the kids life skills, community skills, academics, and socialization, among other things.

She said teaching the kids helped them feel more comfortable in the community, so when they do graduate, they know where to go, how to act, and fit into society.

“I lived a dream life for those 54 years because when you work with disabled children and teens, they have unconditional love for you. I was really spoiled all my life to have people all around me who had unconditional love. It was a dream job.”

Meanwhile, Harley Hay, Vanessa Higgins-Nogareda, and Dr. Gustavo Nogareda were the leaders of the Time Is Life campaign that brought the community together to raise money to bring a cardiac catheterization lab to Red Deer.

Hay said they were the face of the campaign that had a lot of people working behind the scenes who really deserve recognition.

Hay’s role in the campaign was on the entertainment and information side as he shot and produced all of the videos used in the campaign.

“It’s really special for us,” Hay said. “If we save one life for doing what we did over the last 10 years, then it’s worth it. If you look at the statistics on how many lives can be saved with the lab here in Red Deer, it was such a no-brainer. Now that it’s coming, we can always look inside ourselves and say we had something to do with saving those lives.”

Vanessa, who’s a registered nurse, and Dr. Gustavo, who’s a cardiologist, also spearheaded the campaign.

Dr. Gustavo said receiving the recognition is humbling but also gives him a sense of responsibility to continue to do better in the community.

Vanessa said she feels proud of the community for coming together to create what the award represents, which was a community movement to support healthcare.

“Heart attacks are the leading cause of preventable death when you receive proper care, and we are just a few steps from being able to offer this in Red Deer,” Dr. Gustavo said. “This is like going to the moon for me.”

The lab, which will be at the Red Deer Regional Hospital, is a dedicated space for specialized teams to carry out diagnostic tests that evaluate heart function and aid in the diagnosis of cardiac health concerns and treating coronary artery disease.

Up until this, patients would need to travel to Calgary or Edmonton to receive this type of treatment.

Construction of the lab is expected to be completed in early 2027.

“It was an enormous community undertaking to insist that we deserve equitable healthcare, including a cardiac catheterization lab in Red Deer. I am so proud of everyone who participated, wrote letters, showed up at events and donated to support the cause,” Vanessa added. “It’s humbling to be here tonight because it’s representative of that larger community effort. It’s definitely a full circle moment because this effort takes us back 15 years, and we are finally coming to realize it.”

The remaining award winners are as follows:

Community Builder

Recipients:

Donna Pajares
Nieva Rosales

Distinguished Voluntary Service

Recipients:

Joan Barker
Mike Bradford
Zachary Buckley
Brenda and Wayne Clark
Matthew Elliot
Bob Gibbens
Barbara (Barb) Gostola
Serena Henry
Fatima Humida
Sylvia Johnson
Robin Larsen
Kathi Ann Malpass
Dorothy Murray
Kiffer Neufeld
Bev Neufeld
NODA Vigil Coordinators (Renee Flageol, Mona Fontaine and Doug Riches)
Beulah Phillpot
Ibrahim Sekkat
Mike Thibeau
Mike Turner

Fine & Performing Arts

Recipient:

Matthew Gould

by Ian Gustafson

Mayor’s Recognition Awards celebrate incredible community contributions

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