Volunteer Citizen of the Year 2010

 

2010 Alberta Volunteer Citizen of the Year Announced

Dedicated Volunteer Emergency Medical Technician Honoured as Top Citizen

Calgary, AB (August 4, 2010) – Tammy Sather of Hughenden, Alberta is being honoured with the 2010 Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award. Her dedication to a long list of community organizations includes voluntarily operating a blood pressure and diabetes screening clinic and using her expertise as a trained Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to donate her time to medical and rescue calls with the local fire, rescue and ambulance services.

Now in its sixth year, the award is sponsored jointly by Direct Energy and the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association (AWNA). Nominations for the award were solicited from more than 100 Alberta communities. “Tammy Sather’s remarkable commitment to helping others made her an obvious choice for this year’s Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award,” says Tanis Kozak, Direct Energy’s Vice-President and General Manager, Canada. “Tammy’s unwavering dedication to her community is a true inspiration.”

Ms. Sather is deeply involved with the Hughenden Firefighters Association and is responsible for raising much of the funds for keeping the organization alive, including supplies, equipment, and rescue units, since she joined 13 years ago. After taking a fellow volunteer firefighter’s blood pressure to ease a patient’s anxiety at a rescue call, she discovered his blood pressure was abnormally high. She wondered how many others in her community had undetected medical conditions and single-handedly spearheaded the launch and operation of a blood pressure and diabetes screening clinic in her community.

“I feel very honoured to be recognized; but for everything I do, there are so many other people volunteering alongside me, and I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this without all their hard work,” says Sather. “I’m fortunate that I can also involve my children in so much of my volunteering, allowing me to spend time with them while contributing to my community.”

The mother of three children still finds time to volunteer literally thousands of hours with a long list of other community organizations including organizing and collecting over 150 Operation Christmas Child boxes each year, over nine years’ of service with the Parent Advisory Council including two years as President, President of the Council of Friends of Hughenden Public School, volunteer positions with Hughenden Figure Skating Club, Hughenden Minor Hockey, Hughenden Ag Society, Czar Ambulance and regular volunteering at various fundraising and community events.

Close friend and volunteer with the firefighters association, Brian Cooper, explains, “Tammy has a great passion for what happens in the community and rather than sitting on the sidelines complaining, she gets involved to see if she can help to make things better for others.”

Ms. Sather received a $1,000 cash award from Direct Energy as well as a plaque signifying her achievement. In addition, Direct Energy made a donation of $5,000 to the Hughenden Firefighters Association, a charity chosen by Sather, in her name. The money will be used to buy a portable electric suction unit and a set of rescue struts to give better and safer support of vehicles when they flip on their side.

“What’s great about this award is that we get to recognize people like Tammy for their selfless contributions and also give financial support to a cause that’s important to her,” says AWNA President, George Brown.

Four finalists were also selected for outstanding volunteer efforts in their communities and will each receive $1,000 towards their charitable organization of choice:

 

• Erin Maston of Athabasca is a mother of three, an athlete and has a special place in her heart for children with special needs. Erin founded the First Athabasca Seasonal Triathlon (FAST) Team in her community to try and encourage children to get moving. Erin never turns a child away and coaches children of all ages including many with special needs such as autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, foster children, those living in poverty or with learning disabilities. Erin does not charge any fees for the program and if children are unable to afford the equipment they need, Erin buys it out of her own pocket or raises money in the community.
• Kirsten Dyck of Airdrie is a grade 12 school student with a passion for helping others. Beyond volunteering for various clubs in her school, including leadership positions with her yearbook club, students for change, graduation committee and students council, Kirsten mentors younger children at the library club, volunteers for the breakfast club and represents her local church at leadership and development forums. She has also spearheaded fundraising events like the wake-a-thon for ALS, wake-a-thon for Sharkwater, 30 Hour Famine, Operation Christmas Child, and a work trip to Pan De Vida, Mexico. Kirsten has designated her Direct Energy grant to the Breakfast Club at the Airdrie Food Bank.
• Wendy Nickolson of Edmonton is a mother, a neighbour and friend with a vision for making her community a better place to live. Wendy was an instrumental force in raising over $40,000 through grassroots efforts, few volunteers and minimal resources for the construction of a playground and green space in her community. In addition to fundraising, Wendy attended countless meetings with designers, planners, and developers, so that her neighbours could have a place to bring their children and enjoy the outdoors. Wendy has designated her funds to the Baturyn Community League to continue the betterment of her community.
• Dorothy Ford of Canmore is out every day of the week volunteering in her community. Dorothy’s efforts span a long list of community organizations including Cubs, Brownies, Forest Wardens, 21 years with the Canmore Hospital Ladies Auxiliary where she held various board positions, member of the Board of the Canmore Food Bank, the Bow Valley Eagle Hockey team, the Banff Television Festival, Canmore Highland Games, Canmore Folk Festival, Canmore Children’s Festival, Canmore Art Speak and Canmore Seniors Centre. During her 18 years with CP Fairmont Laundry, Dorothy arranged for donations of old linens to women’s shelters, the Mustard Seed and others in need. Dorothy has chosen the Canmore Ladies Hospital Auxiliary as the recipient of her grant.

About Direct Energy
Direct Energy is one of North America’s largest energy and energy-related services providers with over six million residential and commercial customer relationships. Direct Energy provides customers with choice and support in managing their energy costs through a portfolio of innovative products and services. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE: CNA), one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, Direct Energy operates in 46 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and 10 provinces in Canada.

About the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association
Alberta’s community newspapers reflect the images, thoughts and everyday happenings of the communities they serve. While these communities may vary in size; from tiny, isolated locations to bustling suburban centres, they share one important feature - a strong weekly newspaper. Today there are 118 member newspapers throughout Alberta and the Northwest Territories. They boast a combined circulation of 877,479. The smallest newspaper circulates 443 copies each week; the largest – 127,593. We are part of a Canada-wide network of community newspapers through the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA). Together with six other provincial associations, we represent nearly 650 newspapers.