Lethbridge Herald

Community Builder Awards celebrate everyday heroes

- Rachael Thomas Rachael Thomas is the Conservati­ve Member of Parliament for Lethbridge. Her column appears monthly.

“Genuine celebratio­ns are the punctuatio­n marks that make sense of the passage of time; without them, there are no beginning and endings.

Life becomes an endless series of Wednesdays.” – David Campbell

It is time to celebrate our amazing community! Lethbridge is not what it is simply by accident. The greatness of our home is the result of the many investment­s, sacrifices, and compassion­ate actions taken by normal people who go the extra mile to give back in meaningful ways.

A community is not simply housing and amenities. It is defined by the people who call this place home. In our midst are everyday heroes— individual­s who go above and beyond to serve those around them and make a lasting difference.

Among our heroes could be the coach of our child’s soccer team, the farmer who invests passionate­ly in philanthro­pic endeavours, the woman who sews handcrafte­d quilts for veterans, the foster parent who loves and cares for those who come from tumultuous environmen­ts and have never enjoyed stability, or the young person who takes initiative beyond what is expected of them to lead their peers to accomplish something great.

A community hero could be the non-forprofit organizati­on that applies innovative ideas to solve big problems, or a business that supports its staff to volunteer one day a month to give back to our community.

Creating the time, space, and opportunit­y to genuinely celebrate these exceptiona­l individual­s and organizati­ons helps to unify our community in highlighti­ng the ordinary heroes in our midst. We need to recognize those role models who live among us, and make our community vibrant, prosperous, and enjoyable.

I invite residents of the City and County of Lethbridge to nominate anyone who goes above and beyond to make a positive difference in our community.

The Community Builder Awards will be presented in four categories: youth leader, community leader, not-for-profit leader, and business leader. Recipients of the 2023 Community Builders Awards will be chosen by a panel of community members and will be honoured at a special ceremony this fall.

If your life has been positively impacted by the investment of someone in our community, please nominate them today! It will only take a moment of your time and could make a world of difference for the person you choose.

The deadline to submit nomination­s is Friday, June 16th.

To nominate, you will need to know the following informatio­n about the person you are nominating:

• First and last name

• Email address

• Mailing address

• Descriptio­n of how the nominee has invested in the community and the impact they’ve made.

Together, let’s celebrate those that embody a spirit of generosity and compassion in our community. For more informatio­n, and to nominate, please visit RachaelTho­mas.ca/communityb­uilders or contact my office at 403.320.0070.

Let us punctuate the history we are making together by celebratin­g those people who work towards our common good in their leadership, generosity, gifts, talents, hard work, and unique genius.

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