Do YOU know who should receive Castlegar's next Citizen of the Year Award?
By Tayla Scott
The city’s next Citizen of the Year Award is up for grabs, as Castlegar’s Knights of Columbus are accepting nominations until May 16. The Knights as a group will decide who the celebrated recipient will be on May 20. According to Brian Bogle, manager of Safeway in Castlegar and Knights of Columbus member, the winner should be announced by May 24.
“I think it’s very important that the community recognize some of the citizens who are volunteering in the community and seek no recognition. It’s important for the community to get to stand up and thank them for it,” Bogle said.
It’s typical for a friend, relative or co-worker to nominate an avid volunteer.
Applications for Citizen of the Year can be found at Canadian Tire, Safeway, City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce and the Complex Once filled out ,the application should be brought to City Hall before May 16.
“Last year six names were put forward. The more the better; it’s a good thing to have more people to choose from,” Bogle said.
Once a winner is chosen, the celebration will be held on June 4 at St. Rita’s Parish Hall. The community is welcome to attend this free event.
During the celebration the Knights of Columbus will, “proclaim the Citizen of the Year. Usually the nominators speak first about the winner. Then the winner is presented with a plaque and given the opportunity (reluctantly in most cases) to get up and talk in front of the group,” Bogle said.
Last year, when Nick Chernoff won the award about 100 people from the community showed up to the ceremony.
“The list of Nick’s past accomplishments would be too many for me to recite from memory,” Bogle said.
The Knights of Columbus have received applications about the same volunteers before but, “more often than not, we discover new names each year,” Bogle said.
“Age doesn’t play any role in it at all. There are lots of young people in our community that have done more volunteer work than you’d ever think a young person could do, and they’d always be considered as well,” Bogle said.
Citizen of the Year is a long-standing tradition in Castlegar. It has been awarded every year since 1957. Knights of Columbus took over the sponsorship of the award in 1999 and will continue to recognize and honour active volunteers in the community.
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