There was no shortage of bodies at the annual appreciation banquet for Jasper volunteers April 20.
There was hardly a seat to spare at the Jasper Activity Centre among the 180 ticket holders who dined on a buffet style dinner before a brief set of comments delivered by the town’s deputy mayor, Rico Damota, and West Yellowhead MLA Eric Rosendahl, who brought tidings from Premier Rachel Notley and Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda.
But something was missing - volunteer awards.
Normally bookshelf-worthy recognitions including the Mayor’s Special Award, the highest honour bestowed by the municipality, and the Mayor’s Recognition Awards are presented at the dinner, but officials say there just weren’t any nominations this year.
Other groups including the Lions Club have also presented awards in the past but for 2017 there were no nominees.
This year, only David Ireland was individually recognized for his service on the environmental stewardship committee before comedian James Uloth took over the stage as the evening’s entertainment.
“I was a little taken aback that they didn’t have any awards,” Rosendahl said in a follow up interview. “Usually there is some form of recognition dinner, but there are also awards for specific volunteers.”
Despite the lack of awards Rosendahl said it was still a worthwhile evening.
“It’s always great to have the opportunity to meet with the people who volunteer in a community like Jasper,” the New Democrat MLA said. “If people didn’t step up and volunteer, a lot of organizations would disappear, and that’s true in Jasper, Hinton, Edson, Grande Cache and everywhere else in the Yellowhead region.”
To nominate someone you think is worthy of recognition visit the municipality’s website and search for the Mayor’s Awards.
Craig Gilbert | [email protected]
