Volunteers young and old were celebrated alongside athletes at Airdrie’s 2018 Awards of Community Excellence.
Mayor Peter Brown hosted the event May 3 to honour the hard work of Airdronians in four categories: Leader of Tomorrow, Volunteer Advocate, Soul of Airdrie and Elite Athlete.
“I really do think that volunteers are what make municipalities and communities,” said Kim Harris, community developer with the City of Airdrie. “They all contributed—no matter how many hours they put in, or what their task is—to the sense of place, to the community… The athletes are the same way. They bring a sense of pride to Airdrie, they bring a good name to Airdrie, and they also give back by way of coaching younger people.”
The first winner of the night was Jaya Bansal, who received the Leader of Tomorrow Award in recognition of her contributions to the Airdrie Public Library (APL).
“I learn something new everyday from my friends, from my co-ordinator, just from people surrounding me,” said Bansal.
“It’s also a way of communication. I socialize with so many people, just building connections.”
Bansal, 15, immigrated with her family from India to Airdrie in 2014, and has since been involved in a variety of APL events and programs – including the Teen Advisory Council, where she seeks to get other youth involved in the library.
She said she anticipates a long life of volunteering.
Another winner of the night, Sharon Uhrich, has already put in a lifetime’s worth of volunteering, herself.
Uhrich was presented with the Soul of Airdrie Award for her involvement with Girl Guides, Airdrie Figure Skating Club, Airdrie Lioness Club and APL. Most notably, she’s dedicated 36 years as a volunteer for 4-H Alberta. She said she was honoured by the award, but still wanted to bring attention to the other volunteers in Airdrie.
“I do know there’s a lot of really worthy volunteers and volunteer groups in this city and, lots of them, people have never heard of. It’s hard to get the word out there,” said Uhrich.
Also celebrated were swimmer Danica MacDonald and dancer Piper Fitzgerald, who both received Elite Athlete Awards. Winner for the Volunteer Advocate Award was the Parade and Fireworks Committee.
