A couple from Airdrie has been recognized by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta for their long-standing volunteer work with Special Olympics Canada.
Paul Manuel and his wife Theresa each received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers Oct. 31. According to the Lieutenant Governor’s website, the awards recognize the “time, compassion and commitment that Canadian volunteers share with a wide range of community organizations.”
“It’s quite the honour,” Manuel said. “I was quite surprised. You don’t go into volunteering with that in mind, but it’s always quite nice when you are recognized.”
The Airdronians were each honoured for their volunteer work with the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) for Special Olympics. Manuel, a retired member of the Calgary Police Service, has been involved with the initiative for 31 years, and is currently the director of LETR’s Alberta operations.
He also designed the Toonies for Torches fundraiser for Special Olympics, created the Flames of Hope Harley Davidson raffle and has been a power-lifting coach with Special Olympics for 20 years.
“We just really enjoy the athletes, themselves,” he said, of what motivates him to continue volunteering. “We always enjoy meeting new people and just watching the growth of the individuals. People with intellectual disabilities, for so many years, were marginalized.
“Special Olympics is just such an amazing organization that provides them the opportunity, not just to get healthy and fit, but provides them with independence.”
Theresa, who has been involved with LETR for eight years, said she was similarly surprised to receive the award. She added she thought the phone call from the Governor General’s office was initially a prank, and didn’t answer it.
“Paul phoned me and said, ‘Theresa, you need to answer the call,’” she said. “Then, when they told me I was getting this medal, I was shocked.”
Theresa’s volunteerism with LETR has included personally soliciting thousands of dollars in donations through various outreach and engagement initiatives. She said selling tickets for the Harley Davidson raffle was a highlight.
“We would go to these different towns and cities all over the province to sell the tickets,” she said. “I enjoyed meeting all the different people and seeing all the different athletes in all the different cities.”
The six-month raffle raised roughly $150,000 a year, according to Theresa, which helped Special Olympics teams pay for transportation costs when travelling to competitions.
“When [Special Olympics Grande Prairie] was coming down to go to Medicine Hat for the Summer Games, we were able to provide the buses to get them there,” she said.
Along with the Manuels, 19 other recipients – chosen via a public nomination process – were honoured with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers. Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell handed out the medals on behalf of the Chancellery of Honours at a ceremony at the McDougall Centre in Calgary.
“Hopefully, I’ll be a good ambassador to carry on the work, and show people that you can get acknowledged [for volunteering],” Theresa said. “Not that we do it for any kind of acknowledgement, but it was really nice and surprising."
