(Red Deer Polytechnic/Supplied)

By Ian Gustafson

Worthy recipients

RDP honours Johnston, Brouwer, and RBC Foundation at annual Community Awards

Nov 19, 2025 | 12:38 PM

Red Deer Polytechnic held its annual Community Awards on Tuesday, which recognizes members of the community who’ve had a significant impact on RDP, its students, and the community.

The ceremony, which was held in the Four Centres building on campus, presented three awards to the worthy recipients, including the G.H. Dawe Memorial Award of Excellence, the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Community Partner Award.

A panel discussion with the award winners, including Sigmund Brouwer, Ken Johnston, and the RBC Foundation, wrapped up the evening.

RDP President Stuart Cullum said it was a special evening.

“These are people who have had significant impacts, so being able to present this award to them is meaningful, and to be able to hear from them and gain their thoughts and insights as well is really great,” he said.

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The G.H. Dawe Memorial Award of Excellence was presented to former Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston.

Cullum said Johnston deserved the award because it recognizes the impact he’s had on the community.

“Mayor Ken has been a tremendous leader within our community. One of the things that we talked about is the level of engagement he had with the community. Last year, he had a thousand connections into the community, and that’s a lot… The community mattered to him; he really engaged the community, and that showed through his effective leadership. His impact on RDP shone through as well because he saw us as a key partner with the city.”

The Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Sigmund Brouwer, an alumnus who attended RDP from 1976-78 and later became an accomplished author.

He’s published over 150 books, some of them award-winning, in historical fiction, thrillers, and youth literature.

“The award is about recognizing one of our alumni who’s had a significant impact in his field, and he certainly has,” Cullum said. “He’s a world-renowned author with over 100 publications to his name, and I think what he’s done in addition to being a tremendous author is that he’s been a mentor and a contributor to those in his field and the community. He’s very deserving, and we’re very proud he’s an alum of RDP.”

Finally, the Community Partner Award was presented to the RBC Foundation, which has contributed $1.5 million over the last two decades to Red Deer Polytechnic.

Cullum said those funds have been used to support students and applied research activities on campus.

The most recent investment was $600,000 towards the institution’s energy test hub, which supports applied research and student engagement in the energy industry.

“We couldn’t be happier to provide RBC with this recognition because they’ve been a tremendous partner for us,” he added.

The recipients of the awards are chosen by a committee that reviews submissions for the awards. It’s unclear how long the awards have been going on for, but it’s estimated to be approximately 30 years.