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Capella, Bahler co-recipients of Volunteer of Year honours

Two very deserving active volunteers in Sylvan Lake were presented with the HCI Cup as Volunteers of the Year
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Applauded by Mayor Sean McIntyre and Denise Bignold (right)

Two very deserving active volunteers in Sylvan Lake were presented with the HCI Cup as Volunteers of the Year after judges were unable to select a single recipient this year.

Cinzia Capella and Jennifer Bahler were co-winners of the award, selected from nominations of 82 people. The awards were presented during the Volunteer Impact Gala at the community centre Friday night before an audience of 200 people who also enjoyed dinner and entertainment by St. James’ Gate.

Capella is a “warm, welcoming, caring individual always willing to help,” said her nomination from the town’s FCSS team.

“Cinzia has volunteered her time to create, plan and teach the Lil Learners Christmas Art and Lil Chefs. She is also taking on the Resource Library book lending project ... and is going to be working on ages and stages brochures for Parent Place. Cinzia has also played a huge part in facilitating the Me and My World Survey’s in the schools. She is a wonderful support and a great asset to Parent Place and FCSS as a whole.

“Cinzia volunteers to help with any task that we may have and we know we can rely on her to help when needed ... She brings new ideas to our team and has grown to be one of us because it seems like she is always helping one of us with something ... Not only does Cinzia help out at FCSS but she is an active volunteer in our community whether it’s with the schools, scouts or working with different groups in our community. She truly loves to volunteer and is a wonderful person to be around!”

A second nomination indicated that despite serious medical conditions, “she has, without hesitation, volunteered her time, spirit and ambition at countless locations and events in our community throughout her years living in Sylvan Lake”.

“It seems as though she has impacted many people’s lives in a very positive way, and always exchanges a smile and a hello with everyone.”

An “amazing volunteer”, Jennifer Bahler was nominated by the staff at École Steffie Woima Elementary School.

“She has volunteered countless hours in many capacities in our school. Her dedication, commitment and contributions to our school have been absolutely remarkable,” stated the nomination.

She’s the organizer and driving force behind the Steffie Kids Marathon, spending many hours finding sponsors, designing and organizing t-shirts and medals, purchasing supplies, completing applications for approval for the event, finding volunteers to provide safe crossing at the cross walks and organizing prizes. “She is deeply committed to keeping the costs down for kids and families and has spent countless hours trying to find sponsors so that every child can participate.”

“Jenn Bahler is also chair of our school council. In this role she devotes hours of work planning agendas, chairing meetings, representing the council at meetings and special events as well as encouraging parent involvement.

She’s also an active member of the Steffie Woima Fundraising Society. “She willingly shares her expertise and frequently volunteers to take on jobs that need to be done.”

As a member of the school’s playground committee, she has devoted hours to fundraising, locating supporters and corporate donors, and preparing paperwork. “She is such a devoted volunteer that she did the Sylvan Lake Polar Dip to raise funds for the playground.”

“Jenn Bahler has another huge role in school. She is the co-ordinator for our Hot Lunch Program.” That involves countless hours researching healthy lunch options, making hot lunch forms, collecting and counting money, organizing volunteers, creating effective systems to deliver lunch to 500 children, purchasing supplies and even picking up hot lunches.

She’s also secretary of Canadian Parents for French, Sylvan Lake Chapter.

“Mrs. Bahler is truly an outstanding volunteer. Any one of her roles is a huge volunteer commitment. When you consider the volunteer commitment involved in completing all of these roles, it is truly amazing.”

On hand to honour all of the community’s volunteers were MP Earl Dreeshen, MLA Kerry Towle and Mayor Sean McIntyre who each spoke of their thanks for all the contributions.

Dreeshen said volunteers “each play a vital role in our community. They build social networks and inspire intergenerational relationships”. He noted approximately 12.5 million volunteers contributed two billion hours across Canada annually, the equivalent of one million full time employees.

He also talked about the “incredible level of volunteerism in Sylvan Lake, coming off of the Centennial year and then last week pulling together to win Kraft Hockeyville. “Good volunteers get things done, great volunteers inspire.”

“Every time I come to Sylvan Lake, I’m always shocked and amazed about how much community spirit there is,” said Towle. “You all come together ... when you put a step forward you’re creating a better community, a better country.”

She also referenced the apartment fire in Penhold earlier in the week and encouraged everyone to thank our emergency personnel.

McIntyre noted the 82 nominations received for the Volunteer of the Year award was double last year’s total and he encouraged everyone in the room to submit a nomination next year to increase that total again. “Catch people doing good, thank them for it and then tell about it,” he encouraged. “There are hundreds more sitting at home who deserve to be thanked as well.”

“Volunteerism is what transforms a population into a community,” McIntyre said. “When we transfer talents without pay to something we really believe in ... that’s not living independently, we are living together.”