Volunteer Citizen of the Year 2005
Long-time Brooks area volunteer named Volunteer Citizen of the Year 2005
Volunteer Citizen of the Year 2005 – Blanche Coultis
Edmonton, AB (September 15, 2005) — A woman who has contributed more than 50 years of volunteer service to her community has been selected as the recipient of the first ever direct in the community – Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award.
Blanche Coultis of Brooks was announced as this year’s winner at the Alberta Weekly Newspaper’s Association (AWNA) conference in Edmonton Thursday evening. A longtime resident of Brooks, Blanche served as the original volunteer librarian when the Brooks Library opened in 1949, volunteered with the Brooks Home and School Association for 15 years and in 1967 became one of the original volunteer board members of the Brooks and District Museum and Historical Society. The retired teacher continues to support the Museum as its resident historian.
Tanis Kozak, Vice-President of Operations, Western Region for Direct Energy, who made the announcement, says it was more than just the duration of Blanche’s volunteer contribution that impressed the selection panel; it was the impact her volunteer work has had.
“Blanche has created a photographic library for the museum in Brooks, has catalogued donated items, trains summer students for the museum each year and, on the day we called her to tell he she was a finalist, she was shepherding 300 elementary school students through the museum. She’s a dynamo.”
As the 2005 Volunteer Citizen of the Year, Blanche receives a $1,000 cash prize and her designated organization, the Brooks and District Museum, will receive a $5,000 donation in Blanche’s name. Three other finalists selected this year will receive engraved plaques honouring their volunteer contributions.
Almost 150 nominations were submitted for the direct in the community – Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award, created this year by Direct Energy Marketing Limited in partnership with the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association (AWNA) to recognize the significant contribution volunteers make in their local community.
Volunteer Citizen of the Year — Profiles
WINNER
Blanche Coultis – Brooks
A longtime resident of Brooks, Blanche Coultis can take pride in having more than 55 years of volunteer experience in that city. She served as the original volunteer librarian when the Brooks Library opened in 1949, volunteered with the Brooks Home and School Association for 15 years, and in 1967 became one of the original volunteer board members of the Brooks and District Museum and Historial Society, a group she continues to support, as resident historian, today.
The retired teacher has created a photographic library for the museum, trains summer students every year and takes 500 grade three children each year through a one-day tour of the museum.
The other three finalists selected in the 2005 Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award program were:
- Brianne Bergerud — Edgerton
Though still in high school, Brianne Bergerud has already made her mark as a community volunteer in and around Wainwright. An active member of the Vermilion River 4-H group, Brianne has taken on a number of initiatives with that group, including organizing a youth leadership conference to share knowledge with teens about drug and alcohol abuse and family violence and introduce them to crisis support resources available to them.
She has also produced a film about veterans in the Wainwright area and organized a benefit concert for tsunami relief. She is a recipient of the Quality Youth Award from the Wainwright Chamber of Commerce.
- Ron Holder — Wainwright
The residents of the Wainwright Health Centre Continuing Care Unit all know Ron Holder very well, and deeply appreciate his donation of time and interest. Since the 1960s, Ron has made himself available as a hairdresser and barber to the residents of the unit, but his contribution goes way beyond washing and trimming hair.
Ron spends a great deal of time at the unit visiting with the residents, encouraging them to take part in the programs and activities at the unit and taking them outside for some fresh air and sunshine. He has been an active volunteer participant in the unit’s Enhancing Care program which recently saw creation of a dementia special care wing.
- Kay Saastad — Valhalla Centre
The list of organizations in the Valhalla Centre area to which Kay Saastad donates time is a long one, and the numerous years of volunteer time donated add up to an impressive record of contribution to the community. Among the organizations to which Kay’s volunteers her time are the Valhalla Community Library, the Valhalla Busy Bees Women’s Institute, the Sons of Norway, the Blooming Valley Hall Association and the Trollhaugen Culture Camp. Each of these organizations has benefited from Kay’s commitment to the vitality of Valhalla Centre.