2021 community spirit award recipients to get their due in May

A postponed ceremony to honour “Community Spirit” award winners from 2021 will go ahead in May.

The winners were announced in early September, ahead of an October ceremony and mixer to present the awards formerly known as the “Civic Recognition” awards.

That was postponed due to COVID rates and precautions at the time, but has been rescheduled to take place on May 19 at the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre.

Recipients were selected from nominations judged by the city’s “Community Vibrancy Committee” and include:

— Martha Munz Gue will receive the award of excellence for her contributions since the mid-1970s to a variety of causes, including current commitments to the Grasslands Naturalists and Southeast Alberta Watershed Alliance.

— Derek Whitson (community inclusion), a volunteer coach with the adaptive sports program;

— Helen Snortland (compassion), for a long and varied fundraising and volunteer career;

— Medicine Hat Curling Club (compassion), for offering its facility as an emergency daytime homeless shelter on several months in the spring of 2021;

— Gerry Ehlert (environment), the former rangeland agronomist and professor who worked on invasive species;

— Medicine Hat Interpretive Program (environment), for longstanding commitment to education and local programming;

— Medicine Hat College Rattlers (sports/recreation), which received the national awards recognizing female participation and activities, and hosting national championship tournaments;

— Nicholas Samuelson (volunteerism), the McCoy High School valedictorian has volunteered at the city, provincial and national level;

— Prairie Gleaners (volunteerism), the group that provides dehydrated meal packs as food aid is celebrating its 15th year in operation.