When the opportunity became available last year for Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire, to award 20 King Charles III Coronation Medals, he put the call out to his constituents for nominations.
Close to a hundred names from across the Westman Region were nominated for this prestigious award through the Chancellery of Honours, created by the Royal Family that honor King Charles' appointment as king on May 6th, 2023.
"These medals are awarded to outstanding individuals of all ages and walks of life who have made a difference in their communities," shares Maguire. "This includes volunteers, people who have worked in organizations, or those whose businesses have done outstanding things for their communities, from the community or the province. Those who work and to do outstanding achievements abroad and that might have brought credit back to Canada as well."
All Members of Parlaiment were offered 20 medals to award, in fields that include education, health care, and community service.
"We got way more than the 20 that we got the medals for," explains Maguire, "and then there was an opportunity for us as Members of Parliament, we could request more if we felt that we needed them. It's a great honor for these individuals, and obviously all of them, when you know their backgrounds. They certainly have done a lot in their communities. And so, I applied for another 10. They just said to apply for however many you think you might want, and I thought 10 would be pushing it, but we got them all. So that was very good!"
Maguire says they could probably give out hundreds of these types of volunteer recognitions as all the nominations were so deserving.
"We've had volunteer recognition awards before, years ago, but there's just so many people that could be nominated for these types of things that just weren't. But I really appreciate those who took the time to provide the backgrounds for these persons to be able to have the recognition that they so rightly deserve in their communities," adds Maguire.
These are the 30 recipients receiving the King Charles III Coronation Medals in the Westman Region:
Sylvia Barr
Giselle Beaupré
Chad Berry
Douglas Carmichael
Lorna Cowan
Liana Dearsley
Frederick Michael Fisher
Sean Fisher
Kerselin Fumier
Carolyn Gwyer
Racquel Halland
Grant Hamilton
Bradley Hayward
Reinhold (Ron) Helwer
Whitney Hodgins
Myrtle Hudson
Len Isleifson
Darryl Jackson
Tamara Kavanaugh
Kimberly MacKenzie
Elizabeth (Betty) Minshull
Enid Pottinger
Peter Reiss
Deanna Rexe
L.G. (Gerry) Sayer
Bruce Tascona
Donald Thomson
Donna Todd
Shawn Wood
Petro Zaliskyy
"It's for their community service, volunteerism, and the dedicated professionals who have gone above and beyond in their workplace. Westman is known for its leadership and volunteerism in Canada, not just in Manitoba. Manitoba is recognized for this, but Westman even so much more so," says Maguire.
"It certainly embodies what it means to be Canadian. I congratulate everyone who has been chosen here, and I also congratulate those who recognized that these people were worthy of that kind of recognition," he adds.
Recipients will be recognized in 3 ceremonies in Virden (1) and Brandon (2), taking place on March 10 and 11.
More information on the medal can be found at www.gg.ca/coronation.