Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk honoured outstanding rural community leaders and organizations with Capturing Opportunities awards at a special presentation during the Manitoba Hydro’s Celebration Banquet at this year’s Capturing Opportunities business forum.
“One way to encourage rural Manitobans to aim high and continue to achieve great things for their communities is to celebrate those achievements,” said Wowchuk. “We include community achievements for and by young people in this awards program because we want to encourage growth of an achievement-oriented culture over the long term. We believe provincewide recognition for rural achievers will encourage continued rural excellence.”
Capturing Opportunity awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding community leadership and innovative economic development by individuals, organizations and businesses, and achievements by rural youth.
The Outstanding Community Leadership award was presented to William (Bill) Blackburn for the notable volunteer roles he has assumed in Pilot Mound. Blackburn’s skills and knowledge as a journeyman carpenter and contractor were valuable for interpreting architectural and engineering plans, directing and motivating an extended team of volunteers and finding innovative ways to successfully complete the construction of the multi-faceted Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex. He was also credited for establishing the multi-point parish for Pembina Hills, the Gathering of Nations summer cultural event and his involvement with the Rock Lake Roundtable program.
The Economic Development Innovation Award for community involvement was presented to the Pinawa Housing Corporation for its role in creating a detailed housing strategy and developing a local level financing plan to address the demand for housing in Pinawa. The project was undertaken in partnership with the Local Government District of Pinawa and the Pinawa Community Development Corporation and included pre-selling and building one ready-to-move style home. This success led to the construction of six more houses, three condo complexes and a proposed 37-unit residential and condo community in the community of Pinawa.
The new Economic Development Innovation Award for corporate involvement was presented to Springhill Farms LP of Neepawa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hytek Ltd. of La Broquerie. The company’s pork-processing facility is the area’s largest employer with 500 employees. Its foreign recruitment strategy attracted 173 foreign workers and added significantly to the population and economic success of the surrounding communities of Gladstone, Neepawa and Minnedosa. The company continues to work closely with these communities to ensure the successful integration of these new Canadians into Manitoba’s culture.
The Rural Youth Achievement Award was presented to Carberry Super Troopers, a dedicated group of 47 middle- and high-school students. The students demonstrated their qualities of leadership and responsibility by providing a support network to 15 Canadian military families in their community whose family members had been deployed to a foreign country. The young people offered their assistance with household duties such as yard work, snow shovelling and in-home child care. They also organized and supervised an after-school program for the children of the military families giving the parents an opportunity to complete household chores and errands. These youth inspired their community and raised awareness of the sacrifices made by Canadian military members and their families.
Award winners received a commemorative artistic glass award to display in their community and $1,000 in cash to contribute to a community organization of their choice.
More information on the Capturing Opportunities awards can be found online.