Years of volunteer service recognized
Five local Red Cross volunteers presented with Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medals
TRURO - Surprised but very pleased and honoured would summarize the reaction of the five Red Cross volunteers, recipients of Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medals, as they were presented with the medals during a recent ceremony at the Truro Service Centre location.
Centre co-ordinator Raye Leier pointed out the fitting irony that the medals commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Accession of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the Throne as Queen of Canada since the volunteers being recognized have, collectively, dedicated 70 years’ worth of service to Red Cross.
Recognized during the evening event with the prestigious medals were Gloria Demers, Krista Mcnutt, Paul Murphy, Christine Bulk and Brian Merrill.
GLORIA DEMERS
Demers was described as someone “dedicated” to her community in the citation read by Leier.
“She volunteered for over 18 years with the Red Cross in various programs, serving in many key roles,” Leier said. “Currently as lead volunteer for the community health program, her true leadership shines through daily while assisting clients and fellow volunteers and ensuring smooth overall operation of the Truro Service Centre.”
Demers explained she went from one volunteering role to another when she joined the Red Cross in July of 2004.
“I was volunteering with Nova Scotia Special Olympics and after 25 years of service, and a celebration after that, I was just walking up Prince Street and I saw the (former) Red Cross office up there on the corner, so I just walked in and filled out the papers. I’ve
been here ever since,” Demers said.
She said one of the great things about the Red Cross is they find a role for everyone, no matter the time they have to give, their experience or skill sets.
“We fit everyone in,” she said, a sentiment that would again be shared by the five recipients.
KRISTA MCNUTT
Just behind Demers in years of service was Mcnutt who is up to 17. Leier lauded her “dedicated leadership” as a valued emergency management team member while on provincial, Atlantic or national deployments, as well as playing a “pivotal” role in keeping local emergency management PDA (personal disaster assistance) and ERT (emergency response teams) programs successful in Colchester.
Mcnutt said she considers her deployments “adventures” where she can help others.
“You didn’t know where you were going but you knew you would be working with great people and you would be assisting people in need,” Mcnutt said, adding she would use her vacation time from work to volunteer across the country. “I’ve done floods in B.C., in Ottawa, the Calgary floods and the ice storms in Shippagan (N.B.).”
As for when she joined, Mcnutt talked about having to give up a volunteer role with her church because she would be going away for six weeks to Australia and, at the same time, noticing a call out for Red Cross volunteers in the church’s bulletin.
“Do you have two hours a week to give, the Red Cross is looking for volunteers,” she said, paraphrasing the notice in the bulletin. “And they were a block up the street from Burchell Macdougall where I worked, so I signed up.”
Mcnutt said she started by working with the equipment Red Cross lends to people in need but then quickly became involved in emergency management.
PAUL MURPHY
In his citation, it was noted Murphy has been an important part of the community health team.
“He has steadily worked to ensure the quality and safety of the equipment received by Red Cross clients is of the highest standards, sharing not
only his technical know-how but doing so with levity,” Leier read.
In talking about joining the Red Cross as a volunteer, Murphy said it’s kind of a roundabout story that starts with him looking for ice skates.
“A good friend who volunteers at Red Cross, he actually volunteers in Bridgewater doing the same thing I do, we were talking one day, and I said my grandkids who live in the States, wanted some skates but where they live, it’s hard to get skates. He said, ‘I’ve got a pair of skates or two but the only way I’ll let you have them is if you make a donation to the Red Cross,” Murphy said with a chuckle, indicating his friend’s goodnatured suggestion for a goodwill transaction.
“So I tumbled in here to make my donation and it just so happened, one of the staff here, I knew him kind of casually. So we talked a bit and he said, ‘would you like to volunteer here?’ He said, ‘take the forms,’ so I went out the door with the forms and that was the start of it,” Murphy said, adding that was a dozen years ago.
Murphy said his friend in Bridgewater was also recently presented with a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and in his time volunteering he has “met a lot of really nice people.”
CHRISTINE BULK AND BRIAN MERRILL
Like Mcnutt, Bulk and Merrill have been part of the emergency management time and are almost into their 11th year now.
“For the past number of years, she has played a critical role in keeping the local team organized and informed,” Leier said, reading Bulk’s citation. “Ensuring that even when changes occur, the team remains engaged and ready to serve.”
With Merrill, Leier noted he has been responsible for managing the supply logistics program in Colchester.
“He ensures accurate inventory is readily available and has organized and facilitated the delivery of emergency supplies to several responses across the province,” she said.
Bulk and Merrill said they became involved with the local Red Cross after moving to Truro in 2012 and responding to a flood in the area which happened shortly after their move.
“The Red Cross was asking for volunteers then, so we signed up,” Bulk said.
Merrill said it’s nice to work with so many other great folks involved in the organization and, as far as others signing up, he said it tends to be “feast or famine” on that front, but there are a lot of rewarding opportunities so he hopes people will look into adding their name to the list.
“Yes, absolutely, they can go to the website, check it out and sign up,” he said, referring to the user-friendly redcross.ca site and clicking on the ‘volunteer’ link.