On Parliament Hill

Honouring our Veterans

On Wednesday May 20th, I was pleased to host an event to recognize the sacrifices made by WWII Veterans in Southeastern Manitoba. I presented them with a limited edition lapel pin and a personalized certificate of recognition signed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

We owe our freedom to the courageous men and women who selflessly fought for the way of life that we all enjoy today. We must never take for granted the sacrifices that they and their families made for us and this ceremony was a small way to recognize their heroic efforts on our behalf.

It was an honour to recognize these veterans for their service. The recipients included:

• Walter Skryba – Sandilands
• Ray Blixt – Sprague
• Joseph Edward Nespor – Lac du Bonnet
• Samuel Jay Sadler – Emerson
• Walter Michael Sorokowski – Winnipeg
• Roland Albert Valcourt – Winnipeg

Recipients unable to attend included:

• William Rolls – Emerson
• Kenneth Hunkin – Morris
• John Harold Phillips – Steinbach

As a Member of Parliament and a Canadian, I am proud of our soldiers and veterans and on behalf of all Canadians, I would like to thank them for their service to our country.

Provencher Volunteer Service Awards

On Thursday May 21st, I was honoured to recognize the hard working volunteers from Southeastern Manitoba. Our part of the province is home to many communities who are very generous with both their time and money. In fact our communities are among the most generous in Canada and I wanted to take the time to recognize some of the people who help make this possible.

Earlier this year I asked people from across Provencher to submit names of those who faithfully served their communities as a dedicated volunteer. The bios that were submitted for each person were then sent to a committee made up of 6 former Queens Diamond Jubilee Award winners. As Diamond jubilee winners, these are people who know what it means to give back to their community.

Each submission was scored by the committee members individually, and the scores were then pooled together to come up with the top ten.

Those top 10 were recognized on May 21st and were presented with the Provencher Volunteer Service Medallion and a certificate of recognition.

It was truly an honour to recognize these hard working and dedicated volunteers. I know that all of us here in Provencher appreciate everything that they have done for us.

Recipient names include:

• Helen Bially – Tolstoi
• Gina Davis – Vassar
• Brenda Dyck – Woodmore
• Murray Gillespie – Dugald
• Andrea Kiesman – Springfield
• Bill King – Morris
• Irene Kroeker – Steinbach
• Bev Mason – West Hawk Lake
• Donna Mae Unverrich – Dominion
• Tammy Welsh – Anola

On behalf of the people of Provencher, I want to thank all the volunteers across South Eastern Manitoba for their hard work and dedication.