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.
Jonathon Naylor Editor There's no honour like a royal honour for three of the Flin Flon area's outstanding volunteers. Graham Craig, Norm LeClerc and Lois (Bunny) Burke were in Winnipeg last week to accept Queen's Diamond Jubilee medals for their contributions to the community. 'They're very deserving,' said MLA Clarence Pettersen, who presented the glistening medals on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. A ceremony last Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Manitoba Legislative Building saw Diamond Jubilee medal recipients from across Manitoba honoured. The ceremony included plenty of pomp and circumstance as well as the presence of Manitoba's leader, Premier Greg Selinger himself. Craig's volunteer resume is lengthy and includes heavy involvement with the Rotary Club of Flin Flon and its many projects, such as Camp Whitney. He also helped spearhead Flinty's Boardwalk, devotes time to the Masonic Lodge and has lent his support to the Flin Flon Recycling Centre, among other worthwhile endeavours. A retired optometrist, Craig also served Flin Flon as mayor for two terms between 1992 and 1998. Likewise, LeClerc has a long list of achievements, including many years of involvement with the Scouts. He is also a proud member of the Knights of Columbus, which he joined in 1959, and has held every position, many more than once, with the Third and Fourth Degree councils. If that weren't enough, the retired Hudbay pipefitter was active with the IAM union and today takes time to visit shut-ins as well as residents of Northern Lights Manor. For her part, Burke has lent a hand to a plethora of volunteer organizations, with the Rotary Club, Flinty Committee and Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce among them. She was a founding member of the Flin Flon Neighbourhood Revitalization Corp., the local Habitat for Humanity chapter and Port in the Storm, which aims to provide rental housing to rural Manitobans who go to Winnipeg for medical treatment. The Diamond Jubilee medal is hardly Burke's first honour for her volunteer work. She has also received the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Club and has been named an Honourary Citizen. MLA Pettersen said last week's ceremony had a limit of three medal recipients per electoral riding. 'There are many (other Flin Flon) volunteers who could have been there, too,' he said. This past May, two other Flin Flonners, Bob Putko and Crystal Kolt, accepted Diamond Jubilee medals during Flin Flon's Royal Weekend celebrations. The medals aim to celebrate volunteerism while marking the Queen's 60th anniversary on the throne.
