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Rotarians honoured for helping seniors

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

The Rotary Club of Flin Flon has received provincial recognition for helping seniors. Club President George Fontaine proudly accepted a Manitoba Council on Aging 2003 Recognition Award on Wednesday at the Legislature in Winnipeg. "It's a real honour to be able to represent a club like the Rotary Club," he said yesterday. "This award comes from a lot of work over many years from our club. It's a culmination of a lot of years of work." Fontaine delivered a brief thank-you speech after accepting the etched-glass award from Diane McGifford, the minister responsible for seniors. The president was quick to point out that the Rotarians receive help from other volunteers in its endeavours with seniors. "We feel like part of this award comes from the joint work we've done with other clubs in town and with other individuals who are always prepared to help us in everything we do," he said. The Rotary Club was one of eight recipients of the award from the Manitoba Council on Aging, which provides advice to the Manitoba government on seniors' issues. The win came as a complete surprise to Fontaine, who said the club didn't realize it had been nominated until word came it had been chosen as an award recipient. See 'Local' P.# Con't from P.# The Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce nominated the Rotarians for the award in May, citing the sizable amount of work the club does for elderly residents. The Rotary Club of Flin Flon serves the community in a number of ways, but work with seniors has always been a major focus. Each year, the group holds a Christmas party and a bus tour of local holiday yard displays for seniors. They also provide seniors with affordable housing, not to mention recreational activities, at Rotary Court on Bracken Street. The group takes on a number of other initiatives for seniors as well, and that's no surprise to Fontaine. "Seniors have been a local emphasis for this club ever since its inception," he noted. "Every time we have our seniors Christmas party, we can't remember how long we've been doing it; it's just too long ago." The president said that the work of the Rotarians and other service clubs and volunteers helps the seniors know that the community appreciates them. Fontaine hopes to have the award placed in the Rotary Club's display case in the green room at the Community Hall. On a related note, the Rotarians will hold their seniors Christmas party on Sunday, November 30 at the R.H. Channing Auditorium. Plans are also underway to hold the Christmas lights tour again. More information on the Manitoba Council on Aging may be obtained by calling 1-800-665-6565.

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